'Little Monsters' Is A Bloody Vulgar Delight [Sundance Review]

There is a great divide when it comes to children. While many people view the pint-sized humans as adorable balls of energy, full of spark and shine, others view kids as terrifying, tiny creatures who wreak havoc on the already complicated lives of adults. Abe Forsythe’s absurdly brilliant Little Monsters is about two people who see children from different sides of the coin. However, they are forced to come together to protect a group of Kindergarteners from some very real monsters.

Set in Australia, the film follows Dave (Alexander England) —an outrageous man-child whom after a decade-long relationship is nursing a broken heart and a long-expired dream of being a rock star while sleeping on his big sister's (Nadia Townsend) couch. Unfortunately, Dave’s adult hiatus is interrupted by the presence of his precocious 5-year-old, nephew Felix (Diesel La Torraca). Adorably innocent and allergic to nearly everything under the sun, Felix is delighted by his Uncle Dave. Slipping out from under the watchful eye of his doting but ultra-protective mother, Felix becomes privy to Dave’s constant vulgarity and horrifically violent video games.

One day after dropping Felix at school, Dave becomes enamored with the little boy’s stunning and charming Kindergarten teacher Miss Caroline (Lupita Nyong’o). Determined to get to know her better, Dave finds himself volunteering to chaperone a field trip to Pleasant Valley Farm petting zoo. What begins as a routine excursion transforms into a horrifying, bloody zombie Apocalypse with Dave, Miss Caroline and the kids trapped in the midst of it.

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Shrouded In Darkness: The Trailer For Jordan Peele's 'Us' Redefines Horror Mythology

"It’s important to note that Us — unlike Get Out is not about race," director Jordan Peele explained to Shadow and Act at an Us trailer-viewing presentation in New York City last week. "It is a horror film. I dedicated a lot of myself to creating new horror mythology and new monsters. I think that monsters and stories about monsters are one of our best ways of getting at deeper truths and facing our fears in society. It was very important to me to have a Black family at the center of a horror film." 

The Us trailer opens warmly enough. A Black family — a mother, father, son and daughter travel along a country road with Luniz's 1995 hip-hop classic “I Got 5 On It” blasting from the radio. The father, Gabe (Winston Duke) sits in the driver's seat rapping along to the music as the mother, Adelaide (Lupita Nyong'o), turns toward the backseat eagerly trying to get her young children (Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex) to engage with the classic song. The kids, of course, are less than impressed. 

The Wilson family soon arrives at Adelaide’s old childhood beachside home in Northern California where they are spending the summer. They take in the day lounging at the beach with some old friends —the Tyler family (Elisabeth Moss and Tim Heidecker). Their blissful day quickly turns sinister when Adelaide —who is haunted by a past trauma -- notices that her son Jason (Alex) is no longer on the beach. Adelaide spirals into a panic running along the sand shouting for her son before finally finding Jason who —seems OK, though perhaps a little thrown off by an eerie figure he sees on the beach. Done with the beach for the day, the Wilsons head back to their summer home for the evening. As night swoops in, the family's lives descends into complete chaos. First, a figure clutching a large pair of shears appears in their driveway along with four silent figures clutching hands. From Peele and the cast's exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly we've learned that these monsters are called "the Tethered." 

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