Little Monsters 2019

Set in Australia, Dave [Alexander England] is a blunt, washed-up musician who navigates a rough breakup with his girlfriend Sara [Nadia Townsend] and finds himself crashing with his sister Tess [Kat Stewart] and her son Felix [Diesel La Torraca], a curious kid obsessed with tractors, space blasters, and Darth Vader. This uneasy domestic setup forms the quiet center of a story that tilts between heartache and oddball humor as Dave struggles to find purpose again while trying to be a decent uncle to Felix.

While dropping Felix off at school, Dave meets Miss Audrey Caroline, Lupita Nyong’o the kindergarten teacher, and there’s an immediate tug of attraction between them that adds a bit of warmth to a day that starts off tense and unplugged from romance. The plot quickly shifts from personal longing to public chaos when a farm field trip becomes ground zero for a sudden outbreak. On the day of the trip, zombies spill out from a U.S. testing facility and head for the nearby farm, where the class is trapped and the air fills with fear and confusion.

The survivors retreat to the gift shop, only to discover Teddy McGiggle, Josh Gad, a beloved children’s television personality, has locked himself inside and won’t let them in. Audrey and the children manage to crawl into a narrow opening beside the shop, while Dave climbs in from the roof, fights his way through Teddy, and unlocks the door to bring everyone inside to safety. In the chaos, Felix has an allergic reaction after Dave accidentally feeds him chips with dairy, forcing Audrey to improvise as panic rises around them. A botched attempt to administer epinephrine elsewhere leads Audrey to sprint for help from Felix’s backpack, which had been left in the tractor.

Teddy’s bravado collapses as he reveals his true name, Nathan Schneider, and his troubling backstory—a self-described alcoholic with a difficult history involving women and children—that complicates the already strained dynamics among the group. The night unfolds with Dave opening up about his own past: his father left when he was young, and only his sister Tess stood by him. Audrey reveals that she is no longer engaged—her fiancé had cheated on her—explaining why she still wears the ring as a shield to keep certain people at bay.

The next morning, the mood shifts as a chorus of children wakes up and Dave turns pain into song, leading them in a rendition of Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline and giving the moment a hopeful cadence by turning the chorus toward “Miss Caroline.” Outside, the military gears up to bomb the gift shop to halt the spread, forcing the group to plot a risky escape in a large vehicle. In a tense turn, Teddy betrays Dave, only to be taken down by a zombie version of his own sidekick Frogsie. Dave clings to the van as danger looms, but Felix arrives in a tractor and wrecks a path to safety, rescuing Dave and, soon after, Audrey and the children.

As the convoy drives away, the zombies react to the music Audrey plays, creating a strange, almost magical battlefield rhythm that helps them slip past traps and pursue safety. They reach the military’s protection and escape just as the farm is bombed, the undead forces falling behind as gunfire rips through the air. In the aftermath, Dave and Audrey share a discreet kiss before they—along with the kids—are placed in a 48-hour quarantine to monitor any signs of infection.

The closing scene reaffirms the film’s musical heartbeat: Dave, Audrey, and the kids sing Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off as the kids’ parents watch with tears of relief and joy, a hopeful note that lingers beyond the chaos. The story remains grounded in themes of resilience, found-family, and the quiet, stubborn spark of connection that can survive even apocalypse-level chaos, all while the Australian setting grounds the film in a sensibility that blends humor with humanity.