Girl Vs Monster (2012)

I loved this movie as a kid. For a time, my brother and I were obsessed with it. 

It stars Olivia Holt as Skylar. She’s a girl literally without fear. Her parents are monster hunters but she doesn’t know they’re monster hunters. They plan to tell her when she’s sixteen.

Until then, as far as Skylar is concerned, her parents are scientists who study mold. 

The story starts with Skylar as she’s helping set up for a party that her crush is going to throw on Halloween. It’s at this old, creepy mansion surrounded by a cemetery. Or near a cemetery. Either way, there’s a cemetery. 

Skylar and her best friend, Sadie, cut through the cemetery, so Skylar can make it home in time for her curfew. As they’re talking about Skylar’s crush, Ryan, and the lead singer of his band, Myra, a monster starts to stalk them. Sadie is already freaked out just by being in a cemetery but Skylar is making jokes, totally unphased. They leave the cemetery, just as the monster goes to attack them but the monster is shot by a pair of masked monster hunters. The girls see none of this. 

The next morning, Skylar goes to school after her mom tries to feed her garlic toast, which she throws away. Her mom is really into garlic. She believes it repels monsters but Skylar’s dad disagrees. 

By the end of the movie, it’s still unclear if garlic actually repels monsters. 

Skylar asks if she can go to Ryan’s party but her parents say no. She’s upset, of course. 

At school, we’re introduced to another one of Skylar’s best friends, Henry. He tries to scare her with a monster mask but fails. Skylar isn’t afraid of anything. She tells Henry that her parents said she can’t go to the party. 

Apparently, one of the busiest nights for monsters is Halloween. It’s when there’s enough fear in the air that they can materialize and become real rather than haunt people in their dreams. 

According to the movie’s lore, monsters are created by fear. And they feed on fear. They attach themselves to one person and feed on their fear until the person dies. 

The lore is pretty fascinating. It’s one of my favorite parts of the movie.

After school, Skylar goes home while her parents are leaving. They set the security system, so nobody can get in or out, including Skylar. As soon as they’re gone, Skylar shuts off the power, which will turn off the security system. But when she turns off the power, the cage where her parents trapped her monster is broken. Her monster is released along with a bunch of others. And suddenly, Skylar starts to feel fifteen years of fear all at once. 

According to Cobb, her dad’s assistant and a monster hunter in training, Skylar’s monster is named Deimata. Deimata is one of the ancient ones. She was Skylar’s grandfather’s monster before he died, at which point Deimata attached herself to an infant Skylar but Skylar’s parents trapped Deimata, causing Skylar to grow up without any sense of fear.

This is where the story really takes off. 

Skylar and her friends, Sadie and Henry, head to the mansion, armed with monster hunting gear. 

And Diemata goes after Skylar’s parents. 

The movie is obviously meant for younger audiences but as a whole, I enjoyed it. The characters are very likable. The adventure is fun. I enjoyed the simple, sweet friendships as well as the humor, mostly from Cobb. Plus, the soundtrack is fantastic. 

It’s a fun, good-hearted, easy-to-watch Halloween movie.