Lupita Nyong’o Protects Elementary School Kids From a Bloody Zombie Outbreak in LITTLE MONSTERS - Sundance Review
Little Monsters is probably one of the silliest, most adorable, blood drenched, and vulgar zombie movies that I’ve seen. The movie is also kind of ridiculous, but if you look past the stupidity and realize that this movie knows what it is, then you might enjoy it.
Like most films I see at Sundance, I have no idea what I’m getting myself into. This movie starts off like a relationship comedy as a couple is constantly arguing wherever they go. This leads to them splitting up and the boyfriend, whose name is Dave (Alexander England), ends up at his sister’s house who has a young boy that loves Darth Vader.
As this guy is trying to figure out what to do with his life, he takes his nephew to school one day where he meets his teacher Miss Caroline, who is wonderfully played by Lupita Nyong’o. He immediately falls head over heels for her and wants to impress her. The thing is, this guy has no filter, is extremely annoying, and very vulgar, which really isn’t her thing.
The two end up on a school field trip together at a kids educational amusement park in Australia and, of course, it’s right next to a military base. It’s on this field trip where the movie shifts into a completely different film. It goes from a romantic comedy to a zombie horror film.
There’s a zombie outbreak at the military base that spills over into the amusement park and Miss Caroline and Dave are forced into a situation where they have to protect the kids and keep them from being killed or turned into zombies and things get pretty bloody and brutal.
One of the things they did to keep the kids calm in this situation was tell them that they were involved with a game of tag and they could let the fake zombies touch them, so the whole time the kids thought it was a game.
The movie is a comedic horror film and I can’t stress enough that it is filled with over the top vulgar comedy that I know some people don’t care for. Most of that vulgarity comes from Dave and a popular kids TV personality in the story, who is played by Josh Gad. At first he’s an overly annoying happy-go-lucky guy that seems to love making kids happy. After the zombie outbreak, though, he turns in an overly annoying ass-hole that has some super major issues in his life. I like Josh Gad, but I hated this character that he played. Maybe that was the point. There’s a lot of tasteless comedy from Gad.
The best part of the movie is Nyong’o because she got to play this sweet and lovely elementary school teacher that steps up and becomes an ultimate badass. She brought some class to the film.
This isn’t a movie for everyone, and many people might not think it’s a good movie. But, if you liked Elijah Wood’s zombie movie Cooties, then you might enjoy Little Monsters. If you like zombie movies in general, then you still might want to check it out.
Here’s the official synopsis:
After a rough breakup, directionless Dave (Alexander England) crashes at his sister’s place and spends his days expanding his young nephew’s questionable vocabulary. When an opportunity arises to chaperone an upcoming school excursion alongside the charming and enigmatic teacher, Miss Caroline (Lupita Nyong’o), Dave jumps at the chance to impress her. What he wasn’t anticipating was Teddy McGiggle (Josh Gad), an obnoxious children’s television personality who shapes the excursion’s activities. What he was expecting even less was a zombie invasion, which unfolds after an experiment at a nearby military base goes awry. Armed only with the resourcefulness of kindergartners, Dave, Miss Caroline, and Teddy must work together to keep the monsters at bay and carve a way out with their guts intact.
Doused with a generous helping of absurdity, and pitch-perfect in its timing, this genre comedy forges a path all its own, blending gore and wit like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Writer-director Abe Forsythe has crafted a wild, frenetic ride with Little Monsters, bolstered by a knowing self-awareness and an uproarious cast.
