The Movie: Mon Mon Mon Monsters (報告老師! 怪怪怪怪物!)
The Director: Giddens Ko
The Cast: James Lai, Meng Tao, Yu-Kai Deng, Kent Tsai, Eugenie Liu
The Story: A man-eating monster hunts down a group of high school bullies who have captured and are torturing her little sister.
The Review:
If yo ever wanted to see some serious social commentary wrapped into a horror comedy monster movie from Taiwan then you are in luck! Giddens Ko has put together a highly entertaining movie that explores role reversal within the genre in several different ways and it all works beautifully. Over the course of the story, we see how a group of students can become villains while flesh eating monsters become sympathetic victims who are detained and tortured for sport.
My one complaint about the movie is the nearly two hour run time as the story easily could have been told in the one hour and thirty minute range and would have actually been even more effective. The second act just sort of sits there and gets bogged down by repetition making it hard to stay fully engaged. That being said, the third act is near perfection and really does a great job of wrapping up all of the movie's themes and plot lines.
There is one particular scene I absolutely loved that involved one of the monsters, a bus full of students, and an extra large watermelon drink with Chara's rendition of My Way (with Yen Town Band) playing over it all. The movie has no shortage of bloody action and for me this outrageous moment rivals the famously iconic elevator lobby scene in The Cabin in The Woods. I also really liked how Giddens Ko was not afraid to rack up the body count while at the same time showing the depths of humanity in some really creative ways.
The Verdict:
Mon Mon Mon Monsters is a fantastic entry into the horror comedy genre although the story has a lot more to it than just scares and laughs. There are messages of youthful angst, disposable culture, and entitlement just to name a few but it never feels heavy handed or preachy and the focus stays on keeping the audience entertained from start to finish.
Mon Mon Mon Monsters is an official selection of the 2017 Hawaii International Film Festival.
TwoOhSix.com coverage of the 2017 Hawaii International Film Festival.
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