Scream and Abigail star Melissa Barrera chats to Graham Falk ahead of the UK release of her highly-anticipated new film ‘Your Monster’ this week.
Taking major roles in hit horror films Scream and Abigail over the last few years, Melissa Barrera has developed into one of modern horror’s most recognisable and loved stars over the last five years.
“I love your green walls!” she excitedly tells me, arriving a few minutes ahead of our scheduled Zoom call. Logging in fresh from an early morning flight to Los Angeles, she arrives with boundless energy, a booming smile and an infectious confidence, immediately embroiling me in a discussion around our mutual love of Toronto. Despite being an in-demand star, Barrera is clearly someone who thrives on conversation.
Her new horror-comedy Your Monster lands at UK cinemas this week, and sees Barrera’s multi-faceted talents brought to life as the character of Laura Franco, a stage-actor and recovering cancer-patient who is left desolate when the she loses the love of her life and dream role all in one fell swoop. But when she discovers a charming, empathetic monster living the closet of her childhood home, things begin to change.
“They say if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans,” giggles Barrera. “I never planned on on acting in horror films. I feel like I’ve had a good run so far, I’ve done quite a few horror films at this point, and I want to continue to do them. I think the horror fandom is the best. The most loyal fans, the ones that will show up for you in the rest of your career.
“But there’s a lot of comedy too [in Your Monster]. That’s that I think was the most enjoyable part for me, because people have seen me in musicals now, and they’ve seen me in horror slashers but they haven’t seen me in comedy. Comedy is one of the hardest things to do. I think comedians are geniuses, and it’s either like you have the comedy, you have the comedic timing, or you don’t.
“It’s an interesting world that this movie lives in. If you’re going and expecting a horror movie, you’re going to be disappointed, because it’s not a horror movie, even though what happens to her is horrible. It lives in a more fantastical, romantic, funny, like, life is funny when you get to the deep lows of depression. It can be very funny. So that’s the world that Caroline [Lindy, director] created, obviously, with some elements of horror sprinkled in.
“It feels like I’m still connected to all my loves. I’m connected to the horror, and I’m connected to the musicals. But this is a movie that kind of does its own thing, which I am excited for people to see, because I think it has a little bit for everyone.”
Already a hit Stateside, Your Monster has received glowing praise from critics and fans alike, with one review saying the film showing Barrera at the peak of her powers. While she admits praise is no bad thing, she doesn’t view it as a barometer for her – or the film’s – own personal success.
“We want someone to recognize us, if you’re like, an insecure little actress like me,” she laughs. “I do think that this movie is some of my best work that I’ve ever done, and but I think that it’s because this role was like written like so perfectly for me, it allowed me to showcase so much of what I can do, and I hadn’t gotten that opportunity and and everything else that I’ve done.
“I feel like this allowed me to be funny, but also, you know, there’s a there’s like, deep, very intense, emotional beats, and I get to sing, and I get to do lots of things that people haven’t seen me do. So I think they say like ‘oh she’s gotten better’ – but I feel like I’ve always been good. It’s always a matter of the roles that you get. That’s the thing that people don’t understand in this industry. Some roles are written better than others, and some directors are better than others. That all influences the performance of the actor.”
Winning over audiences in America is one thing, but convincing British audiences to come for the ride is another. Something Barrera herself admits brings a sense of personal pride. The film won the ‘Audience Favourite Award’ at Sundance London in the summer, and she admits recognition across the pond was a huge vote of confidence in the film itself.
“I’m not gonna lie, I was nervous about the London audience,” she laughs. “British humour is very different to American humour. And I was thinking ‘are they even gonna laugh like or is it just gonna be like a silent screening that nobody’s nobody’s laughing?’ But they really got it, and it was also interesting, because they were laughing at different moments. They were like some of the biggest jokes for them were not the biggest jokes for the US screenings and US audiences. So it was very cool to see those differences.
“I spent a lot of time in Ireland shooting Abigail, and I was thinking of just like after staying and traveling a little bit around, and maybe going to Scotland too. And then the [actor’s] strike ruined everything and we had to come back, then when I went back, it was Christmas by that time, and I had to do a re-shoot for Your Monster. So I had to fly straight to New York to do one shoot day. It kind of ruined my plans of traveling over there. But I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to to go sometime.
“I fell in love with Ireland and I feel like Scotland is similar in a lot of ways, and like the beauty of the land and just the warmth of the people. So I would I feel like I would feel right at home.”
Your Monster arrives in cinemas across the UK on Friday 29 November. The trailer for the film can be watched here.
This post was originally published on here
