A refreshingly different take on on the Zom-Rom-Com genre previously explored by the likes of "Shaun of the Dead", and a plethora of B, C, and D list offerings, that, actually, pretty much sticks the landing. Lupita Nyong'o is impressive as here, she displays a different side than her usual weirdo/warrior variants, and shows that, unlike the apocryphal W.C. Fields advice to "never work with children or animals", she has the range and chops to do BOTH, and, has fairly believable chemistry with Dave, played by Alexander England. Josh Gad goes sorta' against type as a semi failed actor who found success pretending to be a jovial and exuberant man who entertains kids and loves them. However, he is later revealed to actually be a perverted, selfish, abusive, arrogant, hypocritical, and alcoholic child-hater who is only interested in "boinking" their mothers, including single moms, married moms, pregnant moms,.. well, you get the point.

Not to be overlooked is the delightful, awesomely named Diesel La Torraca, as Dave's nephew Felix, with an honorable mention to Charlie Whitley as Max, who just wants to play putt putt golf.

Worth the watch if you're looking for a spot of less intense horror for an evening.

_Little Monsters_ was pretty good, but there's one glaring issue I found with it. The funniest bits in the movie (which for a comedy basically reads as: "best") all happen **before** there's any actual zombies. The establishing of characterisation in the first twenty minutes was more enjoyable than anything that came in the actual "plot". But to say that the opening of a movie was great and the rest of it, merely good, is about the least scathing of a criticism that you can give a movie, so _Little Monsters_ still comes away with a recommendation.

_Final rating:★★★ - I liked it. Would personally recommend you give it a go._

_Little Monsters_ is an interesting twist on the tired and overplayed zombie genre that has crowded Hollywood in recent years. How a movie about a zombie invasion threatening kids can have such humor and endearing moments is beyond me, but the film is able to deliver these in an effortless way. Lupita Nyong'o does as excellent job as a kindergarten teacher and really reminds me a lot of my own fiancé as she teaches young children, very believable. Alexander England does a fine job as well; he really plays off from his nephew (Diesel La Torraca) and Nyong'o very well. The pair have good chemistry that builds throughout the film and pays off at the end. Josh Gad is very much what you would expect from him, over the top and annoying. I found his character to take away from a lot of scenes, but it didn't hurt the overall experience too much, just wish they toned him down a bit. The comedy is reminiscent of Kindergarten Cop, some of the humor and jokes hit while others missed entirely. I did really enjoy the constant songs and kid controlling mechanisms that they used throughout the film. It added a subtle spice of dark humor with the backdrop of zombies trying to devour the students. This film doesn't do a lot but what it attempts to do, it does fairly well.

**Verdict:** _Good_

Little Monsters is an interesting twist on the tired and overplayed zombie genre that has crowded Hollywood in recent years. How a movie about a zombie invasion threatening kids can have such humor and endearing moments is beyond me, but the film is able to deliver these in an effortless way. Lupita Nyong'o does as excellent job as a kindergarten teacher and really reminds me a lot of my own fiancé as she teaches young children, very believable. Alexander England does a fine job as well; he really plays off from his nephew (Diesel La Torraca) and Nyong'o very well. The pair have good chemistry that builds throughout the film and pays off at the end. Josh Gad is very much what you would expect from him, over the top and annoying. I found his character to take away from a lot of scenes, but it didn't hurt the overall experience too much, just wish they toned him down a bit. The comedy is reminiscent of Kindergarten Cop, some of the humor and jokes hit while others missed entirely. I did really enjoy the constant songs and kid controlling mechanisms that they used throughout the film. It added a subtle spice of dark humor with the backdrop of zombies trying to devour the students. This film doesn't do a lot but what it attempts to do, it does fairly well.

**Verdict:** _Good_

If you’re looking for a zombie film with a little more meat on the bone, look elsewhere; however, if you’re after a heartwarming 94 minutes that just so happens to involve zombie decapitation, ‘Little Monsters’ is for you. Best of luck getting 'Shake It Off' out of your head any time soon.
- Ashley Teresa

Read Ashley's full article...
https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-little-monsters-no-brains-all-heart