Want to end the weekend with a bloody zombie comedy? “Little Monsters” makes it possible – and serves you heavy FSK-16 splashes late at night, without losing sight of the romance (!).
‘Little Monsters’ was shown in cinemas in 2019 and today, October 22, 2023, you can watch the film at 10:25 PM on RTL ZWEI. There is a repeat at 4.10am – but this time is really only for stubborn insomniacs or maybe even for the hard disk recorder if you haven’t programmed it in time the night before. As always, if you miss ‘Little Monsters’ on TV, you can grab the Blu-ray and the like.
In director Abe Forsythe’s zombie comedy, the good-for-nothing David (Alexander England) falls in love with his cousin’s kindergarten teacher. In order to get close to Miss Caroline (Lupita Nyong’o), David, who actually has nothing to do with children, promptly offers himself as a substitute kindergarten teacher – and gets the job.
During a trip to the enormous petting zoo paradise ‘Pleasant Valley Farm’, David is more busy shamelessly hitting on Caroline than caring for the children. But then two problems thwart his plans: first, sleazy child entertainer Teddy McGiggle (Josh Gad) is also interested in Caroline, and second a horde of zombies is now overrunning the park. The kindergarten group barricades themselves in the souvenir shop before the attack – not without first slaughtering an undead or two…
Is ‘Little Monsters’ worth it?
The premise actually sounds kind of fun, a RomCom set in the middle of a zombie invasion during a kindergarten field trip. But unfortunately the balance in this mix of genres tips in favor of the comedic elements, and not so convincingly: “Hero” David isn’t exactly likable and the jokes are in most cases very rude, causing more embarrassment than happiness – but at least the action is really bloody, as the trailer above gives a taste of.
So if it’s enough that the carnage is pretty solid, you might want to take a look – but this selling point also falls by the wayside halfway through the film. As Karin Jirsak says in the FILMSTARTS review: the second half stretches like chewing gum, Because after the group hides in the gift shop, the whole thing turns more into a conversation about failed life choices, and all the zombie fun fades into the background.
As with “Little Monsters,” despite Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o (“12 Years a Slave”) having a strong performance in the lead role, it only received 2 out of a possible 5 stars. Then it might be better to watch another round of “Shaun Of The Dead” – or “Kindergarten Cop”.