In my lifetime as a crazy, fanatic horror-lover (about 16 years now), I’ve seen a shit ton of horror movies…pardon my French. I’ve seen the good, the bad, the ugly, the insane, and every time I watch a new one, I smile and check it off my list of films to see.

However, there is one film (which isn’t necessarily horror, but it’s like a children’s horror film) that is a constant reminder of why I do what I do.

Can I get personal with you guys for a second? Yeah? Cool. Back when I was 16, my dad passed away. We were never the closest, but we always, always used to go to Blockbuster (when that was a thing) on Friday nights so I could pick out a horror movie. I wasn’t allowed to pick an adult one because I was, you know, seven, so I stuck to Hocus Pocus, Halloweentown, and then one day: what’s this? I’ve never seen this one before! What’s Little Monsters?

We brought it back to his apartment and threw it in the DVD player, and let me tell you, that movie changed my life. I wanted to play whiffle ball in the living room. I wanted to collect baseball cards. I wanted a human dartboard. I WANTED A MONSTER BEST FRIEND.

Sadly, my dad passed away a few years later, but my love for the film never went away. Little did I know, its 26th anniversary is coming up this month, on September 29th! What better time to review the film than right before that milestone?

Alright, let’s talk about the movie. It’s kind of a cult-classic, 80s and 90s kids have probably seen it (specifically horror-loving ones) and everyone else usually looks at me like I have 5 heads when I ask them.

Little Monsters tells the story of Brian (Fred Savage) and Eric Stevenson (Ben Savage), who move to a new town with their parents. Brian hates being away from his friends and family, and he especially hates being woken up in the middle of the night by his younger brother complaining that there’s a monster under his bed.

When Brian takes the initiative to investigate (AKA make fun of poor Eric), he finds that maybe he wasn’t so wrong this whole time…he befriends Maurice (Howie Mandel) a crazy, young-at-heart monster with a knack for telling inappropriate jokes.

When he finds that there’s trouble in the monster world, it leaves Brian wondering what the hell he got himself into…

You guys, I honestly don’t have enough good things to say about this film. It’s the perfect amount of hilarity, inappropriate humor, creepy imagery (there’s a man-child monster named Boy who’s the biggest jerk ever, and there’s a scene with him in it that’s pretty crazy and weird) and maturity. This film is like a dark comedy that is wise beyond its years.

The characters are insanely relatable; Maurice is like the best friend we always wanted but the inner child we’ve always had, and Brian and Eric are both just trying to get through adolescence without screwing up so…that’s all of us, right?

If you have never seen this film, go do it right now. I honestly don’t know what else to say about it.

On to the rating!

Story/Concept: 2
Direction/Style: 2
Scares: 2
Atmosphere: 2
Rewatchability: 2

10/10!! I’m sure my opinion is going to be different than everyone else’s but…sorry not sorry. I would give rewatchability a 200 if I could.

When you go ahead and watch this movie, you can all stop on back and let me know how much you loved it, okay? Okay.

Until next time, stay spooky!

• Author
• Recent Posts

Taylor Krauss

Taylor has been a horror fan for as long as she can remember, begging her parents to let her see The Exorcist at the tender age of just five years old. Since then, she has developed a lifelong obsession with all things strange, paranormal, and creepy. If you find her doing something other than watching a horror film, she’s probably raging as a dwarf barbarian playing Dungeons and Dragons (obsessively…it’s a problem), quoting Lord of the Rings incessantly, or trying to become Dana Scully.

Latest posts by Taylor Krauss (see all)

• [Slamdance Review] MAJNUNI - January 26, 2020
• Panic Fest Short Film Review: BROWN FISH (2017) - February 4, 2019
• Short Film Review: GOOD GIRL (2018) - December 26, 2018