I only decided to watch this because I'd recently seen Us and liked it enough to want to seek out more of Lupita's other films. Man was I not disappointed.

I won't go as far as saying that it was one of the best comedies of the last decade but for sure the best horror comedy. Maybe I'd need to go back to In Bruges where I really enjoyed a comedy this much on the first viewing. I simply love dark humor, especially when it's mixed with absurdity and that's basically Little Monsters. I mean the idea of having a class of kids being protected from zombies by their ukulele-playing teacher, a failed guitarist and a sex-addicted children's TV star is ridiculous by itself, but the film doesn't care how stupid it sounds and instead leans into that (a bit of fourth wall breaking here and there). The immediate contrast of the kids' innocence and the zombies/gore automatically leads to some great material. And without going into too much detail, the film has so many absurd visual/slapstick gags on top of the dialogue that really help sell the overall film. Nice touches like seeing the zombie hand puppet getting obliterated to pieces or that reveal of the teacher's photograph. That's not to say that all the humor works though. The bits where the kids recited whatever came out of the adults' mouths was a bit cringe and unnecessary imo.

The acting was hit and miss with Lupita doing most of the heavy lifting. Her character is the ultimate personification of the "this is fine" meme. And it's just so charming to see her calming the kids down with her ukulele (and great voice as well) that you can't help but love her. She also does an excellent job selling the initial terror with her facial expressions which is honestly something you don't often see in horror comedies where the protagonist is indifferent to the whole situation. Speaking of which, it's refreshing to see a character absolutely lose it and not give a sh*t about formalities like Josh Gad. Oh my what a role. He plays Teddy McGiggle, the children's TV star, and as you would expect in a dark comedy his true persona is the complete opposite of that name and job. Gad must have had a blast making this. It's hilarious watching him just drop his whole act in a heartbeat and becoming this cynical b*stard of a mess who gets the kids panicking. (I think Lupita channeled a bit of 'Red' when trying to calm him down. xD) The guy who played Dave was a bit off though and that's a shame since the film is meant to be about him, despite Lupita clearly stealing the show. Thankfully he gets better as the film progresses and by the end of it I guess his performance kinda works. His arc is exactly what you think it'll be, which some might see as a bit corny perhaps, but it's more wholesome than anything else.

Finally, can we just appreciate how damn great this film can look? I'm talking cinematography, production/sound design, props, practical effects (blood/gore looked realistic with none of that CGI spray), etc. For such a small film on such a small budget, which I imagine was mostly used up by the main actors' salaries, there must have been a ton of effort that went into this in order to make the film as great as it is. Try catching this film if you're into dark comedies. I already know I'll be viewing it again.