‘Your Monster’ Star Melissa Barrera Says She “Never Felt Anything Weird” About Kissing a Monster: “It Just Felt Very Natural”

Melissa Barrera is ready to be the new scream queen.

“I have so much respect for so many iconic scream queens that have come before,” Barrera told Decider in a recent Zoom interview. “That anyone would call me that is such a huge honor.”

The 34-year-old Mexican actress made a name for herself in Hollywood after she landed the lead of In the Heights, the 2021 movie adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony-winning musical. But since then she’s all but taken over the horror genre—first as the star of the 2022 Scream movie and its 2023 sequel, Scream VI. She was dropped from the next Scream movie after she voiced support for the Palestinian people in the war in Gaza—a controversial decision from the franchise’s production company—but quickly bounced back with a new vampire horror comedy, Abigail, released by Universal earlier this year; and now in Your Monster, a charming indie horror rom-com that opens in theaters today.

Written and directed by Caroline Lindy, and based on Lindy’s 2020 short of the same name, Your Monster stars Barrera as a down-on-her-luck cancer patient named Laura, who is unceremoniously dumped by her longtime boyfriend while recovering from a major surgery. While mourning her break-up, she discovers a monster (played by Casual star Tommy Dewey) living in her bedroom closet. The monster is quick-tempered but sweet, uncouth yet charming, and handsome under that hairy face, in a Beauty and the Beast type of way. Sparks fly. Even if monster-loving isn’t your thing, Barrera and Dewey’s effortless, electric chemistry is impossible to resist.

“Honestly, I never felt anything weird about him being a monster,” Barrera, who is also a producer on the film, said. “It just felt very natural.” That said, there were a few logistical problems when it came time to make out with those Beast-like prosthetics.

“His beard would come off and, like, get on me,” Barrera admitted with a laugh. The actor spoke to Decider about kissing monsters, the Your Monster ending, and why she keeps coming back to horror movies.

DECIDER: Can you start by telling me about embodying this character, Laura, as well as how you developed her as a producer on the film? She felt different from the other characters we’ve seen you play.

MELISSA BARRERA: It was awesome to have Caroline [Lindy, the writer/director] to talk to about Laura, because it’s loosely based on what she went through. Caroline is not a musical theater actress, and she has a great relationship with her parents, so it’s not all her. But I got to talk to her about the process of post-breakup, post-cancer, the state that she was in—how angry she felt, how powerless, and just shitty she felt—and the rage that came out of that.

Thankfully, I’ve never been in a position where I’m I have cancer, but I have had my fair share of heartbreaks that are debilitating—that are that feel like they’re like eating away at you, consuming you. I love a good drama, so it’s easy for me to access those dark places and to go into that painful hole. The trick for this was how to make it funny. lt also is a comedy, so how do I play the truth, but also make sure that people are laughing with her, and not at her. That was a challenge. But the progression of the Monster and Laura’s relationship felt so natural. It happened as Tommy and I got to know each other as actors, and as we started improvising and having fun with each other.

You and Tommy Dewey really do have this great chemistry that propels the story forward. Talk to me more about working with him. What is it like making out with someone with a lot of prosthetics on their face?

[Laughs.] I mean, the prosthetics were so incredible. Dave Anderson [head of special make-up effects] has two Oscars under his belt—he knows what he’s doing. The way that he designed this mask was so perfectly aligned with every muscle on Tommy’s face. So it didn’t feel like anything other than a face. The only thing was that his beard would come off and, like, get on me. The little creases in the mouth would start to peel, so they had to re-glue them. But honestly, I never felt anything weird about him being a monster. It just felt very natural. I think that’s a testament to how good Tommy is.

[Spoiler warning: If you haven’t watched Your Monster yet, skip this next question!]

I want to talk about the ending, which is a little ambiguous. In your mind, is the monster real, or is he in Laura’s head? In other words, did Laura kill her ex on her own?

I debate. The romantic part of me wants to think that he’s real, and that they’re going to ride off into the sunset right after this number. There’s the very obvious dropping of the ruler at the end—that is the murder weapon. It is a story about falling in love with your inner rage and the metaphor of your inner monster. I feel like a lot of people will say that it is all in her head, and that she was falling in love with the ugly parts of herself. It’s that beautiful love story of coming into your own, finding your voice, stepping out of that darkness, and unleashing all that you are into the world. But… I want to believe that the monster is real.

You’ve been taking over the horror genre these last few years with Scream, Abigail, and now Your Monster. Is there something about this genre you keep coming back to? How do you feel about being labeled a Scream Queen?

It’s a tremendous honor to be called that. I have so much respect for so many iconic scream queens that have come before. That anyone would call me that is such a huge honor. I love horror. I’ve fallen in love with how much fun you have on a horror set—the things that you get to do that you don’t get to really do in all the other genre. Like being covered in blood—I’m kind of addicted. The most exciting scripts that I’ve gotten in the last few years have been horror movies. It says a lot about the genre and how it’s pushing the boundaries—how there’s a lot of like very exciting up-and-coming filmmakers that are doing wacky things in horror films and just keep surprising us. I’m not an actor that would say, “I’m only going to do horror movies.” But I love doing horror movies and I want to continue to do horror movies.

Over the last year, in light of the massive death toll in Gaza, a lot more people are saying exactly what you said in the post that got you fired from the Scream franchise. Have you heard from anybody involved in making that decision with an apology, or anything else?

No, nothing.

Have you spoken to Neve Campbell, now that she’s announced she’s returned to the franchise? How you feel about that?

No, we haven’t really spoken. I think everyone makes their choices, and what they think is best for them. I fully respect what people think that they need to do, to keep going in this life.