Bao gao lao shi! Guai guai guai guai wu

This one came as a complete surprise to me: behind the rather playful title lies an unexpectedly harrowing, mean-spirited and nihilistic tale that leaves quite the emotional impact.

Lin Shu-wei (Yu-Kai Teng) is an unpopular high-school student who faces daily bullying from his classmates and a lack of empathy from his teacher. When Shu-wei is accused of stealing money, he is given community service, along with three of his most cruel tormenters, led by callous classmate Duan Ren-hao (Kent Tsai). Sent to work at an old people's home, the class bullies abuse the pensioners, with Shu-wei joining in, relieved to not be the target of the torture for a change.

One night, the four teenagers sneak into the home to steal a locked case belonging to an elderly ex-soldier, believing it to contain valuables. During the burglary, the lads encounter a ghoulish flesh-eating girl that chases them out of the building, only for her to be knocked down by a car (which promptly drives away). Taking the creature to their hideout, the bullies set about inflicting pain upon their prisoner, with Shu-wei a reluctant participant. Meanwhile, the cannibalistic kiddie's older sister is on the hunt for her missing sibling...

With almost no genuinely sympathetic characters, the message of Mon Mon Mon Monsters is that humans are the real monsters. We lose much of our sympathy for Shu-wei when he joins in with the bullies, his teacher is heartless, the driver of the car that hits the little girl immediately flees the scene, and Ren-hao and his pals are sociopaths. For some, this will mean that the film will prove too much to handle, but for those who enjoy disturbing cinema, this is a well-directed treat that keeps on surprising, right down to the bitter end.

7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.

From the title and poster, I thought this was going to be a cute monster movie with cute boys but it was actually quite depressing (in a good way!) Proving that bullying is the REAL monster!!

Side note - I have really enjoyed a majority of the International films released on Shudder. Movies like this one are totally worth the subscription price alone!! -not a paid endorsement-

Just love this flick. Is that title supposed to be like the old Casper cartoons? Every time somebody saw Casper they would shout, "Gho gho gho ghost!" Like, if I saw a monster, I might very well shout, "Mon mon mon monster!" Anyway, these monsters are great. They're a sister team of ghouls who live under the city. They catch homeless men and eat them. Then, when a gang of thugs is sentenced to community service by their teacher, they go down into the belly of the beast and catch the younger of the two ghouls, after they abuse the very homeless they were sent to help. They chain up the little one and bring her to their hangout, an abandoned pool. Once there they torture the ghoulet mercilessly. This is the story of how our hero, the abused member of the gang, finally wakes up and figures out who the real ghouls are.

You really have to understand Asian/Chinese/Taiwanese cinema and culture to appreciate this film. The main idea is this: who is the real monster: a monster who eats to live, or humans who delight in tormenting others? As someone who was bullied in school, I appreciate this film. A monster made a monster through no fault of her own, trying to survive, versus teenage humans who take great joy in tormenting and hurting others. Who, indeed, is the real monster? And, what can turn a good person into a monster? Is there redemption for such a person? Do parents create monsters in their children? This is a great film if you understand themes in Asian cinema. Keep in mind that it is magical realism, like many Asian films. It is both in reality, and in a fantasy world. It is both a story, and an allegory. It touches many themes in Asian culture, too many to list here. If you are willing to explore the rich world of Asian cinema and culture, then you will enjoy the hell out of this masterpiece. If you approach it from a Western horror movie mindset, then you might not like it.

Not sure that I understand the hype behind this film. I found it to be mostly uninteresting and even boring. None of the characters are likeable and most of them are honestly just very annoying. Would not recommend