Movie Review: Mon Mon Mon Monsters

Mon Mon Mon Monsters *** / *****

Directed by: Giddens Ko.

Written by: Giddens Ko.

Starring: Deng Yu-kai (Lin Shu-wei), Kent Tsai (Tuan Ren-hao), Eugenie Liu (Older monster), Lin Pei-hsin (Younger monster), Carolyn Chen (Ms. Lee), James Lai (Liao Kuo-feng), Tao Meng (Yeh Wei-chu), Bonnie Liang (Wu Si-hua).

 

The title Mon Mon Mon Monsters does not give an accurate reflection of what Taiwanese director Giddens Ko’s horror movie is actually like. The stuttering, joke-y title implies a comedy more than anything, and while there are laughs in the film, the film has a lot more serious things on its mind. It’s mixture of over-the-top comedy, with over-the-top gore and serious themes about bullying don’t always get together – the ultimate message, that humans are the real monsters in the world isn’t exactly new either. Yet, ultimately the film works better than it probably should – and does have a killer ending.

 

When the movie opens, Shu-wei (Deng Yu-kai) is a nerd – he is picked on by the cooler kids in the class – led by Ren-hao (Kent Tsai), and even their teacher Ms. Lee (Carolyn Chen) can be overly cruel to him – always with a smile on her face though. That changes when Shu-wei finds himself forced to do community service alongside Ren-hao and his friends at the local senior center – and the group discovers a monster. This monster, as we already know, is the younger, smaller of two them – they are likely sisters – of humanoid monsters, who feast of us humans (what precisely are they? I have no clue, as they kind of look like zombies, but they aren’t stupid). The teenagers end up tying the girl up in an industrial complex, and unleash all the violence and rage out on the monster – beating her, mocking her, and essentially being assholes. Shu-wei “feeds” the monster his blood to keep her alive. Now, though, is an accepted member of the group – they share this secret, and he likes it. Then Ren-hao pushes things farther and farther – and the older monster wants her sister back, and is leaving a trail of bodies in her wake. She knows students from their school is responsible, but not who. She can – and will – kill as many as possible.

 

The film works on our sympathies – and eventually, uses them against us. You do immediately feel for Shu-wei (especially if you were one of the downtrodden in high school) – as it appears he has no one to go to, no one he belongs with – so he’s a prime target for bullies. And yet, when those same people reach out to him later, he’s all too willing to go along, all too willing to become what he hated. Part of him knows just how awful he has become – how awful Ren-hao is (who continually shows it) – but it’s easy, and fun, to belong. The monsters themselves are the most sympathetic characters in the film – yes, they’re monsters, but they cannot help that. The humans can.

 

The movie flashes between moments of over-the-top humor and out and out gore throughout much of its runtime. Ko is a talented director, and the film is nothing if not highly stylized. There is a scene of extreme bloodletting on board a bus that will become legendary among those audiences who love that sort of thing. The ending of the film is perhaps a little too neat and tidy – especially in retrospect – and perhaps a little too heavy handed as well. Yet, when the final moments arrive – and the end credits roll – it works – it’s a gut punch of an ending.

 

Overall, Mon Mon Mon Monsters is a strange film. I don’t think it’s altogether successful – it’s trying to do too much. Yet, when the film does work, it works well – and it’s not likely to be a film that you’ll forget anytime soon – especially fans of gore.