Mon Mon Mon Monster // 36th BIFFF

Ah, adolescence! That beautiful age when youngsters explore their personalities and take their first steps in the grown-up world, supported by their loving parents and teachers… Not so for Lin Shu-wei. Although quite a good student, the Taiwanese adolescent is the laughing stock of his classmates, especially the tough guys. They steal the money for their school trip and blame it on him. Their teacher’s reaction is unexpected: the wimp and his bullies must perform “voluntary” community service (the kind for which they don’t ask your advice). In a housing block for old people, they run into a filthy, flesh-gobbling monster. The tormenting teenagers make her a captive and subject her to a series of sadistic games. But then the creature’s older sister sets out on a desperate quest for her sibling, targeting those wearing a squeaky clean blue and white school uniform …

Mon Mon Mon Monsters (winner of the Audience Award at the Bucheon Fantastic Film Festival in South Korea) is a film by Giddens Ko. In his home country, this Taiwanese wonder boy is an acclaimed author and lately, he’s also successfully ventured into film making. His latest is a powerful indictment of the global social phenomenon of school bullying. Fortunately, he tells his tale like a clever, wickedly funny mix of a vampire flick and a teen high school comedy.