'Being Covered in Blood Is in My Contract'

Scream queen Melissa Barrera enlightens Us on what makes Your Monster a horror rom-com

- KAT PETTIBONE

Aspiring actress Laura Franco is undergoing cancer treatment when her boyfriend dumps her — and that’s not even her worst day. Because after a good wallow and one too many texts to her ex (Edmund Donovan), Laura (Melissa Barrera) discovers a furry beast (Tommy Dewey) living in her closet. The twist in Your Monster (in theaters Oct. 25) is that he turns out to be oddly appealing, and sparks fly between them. While Barrera, 34, has become one of filmdom’s favorite scream queens (she jokes that she’s contractually obligated to be “covered in blood” by the end of a movie, this one included), she was ready for something new. Here, the star of 2023’s Scream VI and 2024’s Abigail tells