Mon Mon Mon Monsters

The events take place in modern times, with familiar campus life and surveillance culture. The narrative weaves in memories of past events (such as the missing sisters in 1985) through news and folklore, grounding the horror in a real historical memory. The film contrasts the everyday rhythm of school life and public spaces with a rising threat from two ghouls that defy time.

The story unfolds primarily within a contemporary Taiwanese high school and its surroundings, including the maintenance room by an abandoned pool and an adjacent elderly care home. These dilapidated spaces juxtapose everyday student life with hidden horrors, creating a tense backdrop for bullying and the arrival of monsters. The settings shift between classrooms, the pool area, and the care home, underscoring the film’s blend of ordinary youth culture and supernatural terror.

⚠️ Bullying

A core driver of the plot, the bullying circle wields social status to isolate Lin and coerce him into a cruel dynamic. The bullies systematically humiliate others, exploit the elderly, and weaponize fear to maintain control. The story shows how power, group think, and peer pressure can erode empathy and turn victims into accomplices. The escalating cruelty culminates in catastrophic consequences that ripple through the school.

👹 Monstrosity and humanity

The two ghouls are revealed to be former humans, victims of dark magic whose monstrous forms blur the line between human and monster. Lin’s empathy toward the younger ghoul contrasts with the bullies’ dehumanization, challenging who is considered monstrous. The film uses the creature’s biology and vulnerability to examine how fear and prejudice shape moral judgments. The monsters’ humanity is revealed through their kinship and tragic end.

🔥 Violence and its consequences

Violence compounds violence: the teacher’s death and the ghoul’s rampage expose the consequences of cruelty. Lin’s eventual decision to poison the class and his own demise symbolize the self-perpetuating cycle of harm. The film closes with a grim reflection on how cruelty breeds catastrophe, transforming victims into agents of destruction themselves.