I Am Monsters! (2023) Review

Seasoned horror fans will know, if not immediately recognise, Nicholas Vince from his performances, amongst others, as Chatterer in the first two Hellraiser movies and as Kinski in Nightbreed, but how much do you know about Mr. Vince himself? This filmed version of his one-man show takes a look at the events in his life that shaped his work as an actor and allowed him to delve into the circumstances which both create monsters, allow us to confront monsters and maybe avoid becoming one…

The idea of adapting a theatre experience – subtitled A Play In 5 Acts – which was based around one person chatting to an audience may conjure up visions of the most static and stagey seventy-one minutes ever committed to film but I Am Monsters! avoids falling into the obvious traps by taking frequent detours away from the boards.

The tone and style changes with each aside as Nicholas quotes classic creature-related passages from books such as The Island Of Doctor Moreau and Dracula or relates the details of a frightening accident, rendered via means of quirky animation. There’s even the classic reveal from 1925’s Phantom Of The Opera as further supporting evidence of our fascination with what society would deem unnatural.

An interesting stylistic choice is how the theatre-set scenes play out with only Vince’s voice on the soundtrack, whereas the other vignettes are backed with an eclectic Mitch Bain score. It’s an effective way of portraying the varying shades of the story, with the settings, the visual effects and, primarily, the musical compositions transforming what could have otherwise been a flat, one-note, low-budget trudge into something quite different.

It helps immensely that Nicholas Vince has a thoroughly genial presence, so much so that even his more outré anecdotes have an oddly sweet edge to them. His honest view of his struggles with being a young, gay man certainly tugs at the heart strings and the recollection of his almost accidental activism at the marches against the ridiculous Section 28 legislation shows both a keen sense of the absurd but also his righteous anger at such discrimination.

Given the guy’s circle of friends, if you’re looking for a piece which is loaded with Clive Barker content, you’ll need to get your fix elsewhere. That’s not to say that Barker doesn’t feature – far from it – but there’s a world away from Chatterer which needs to be explored. Of course, there are stories about lengthy sessions in the make-up chair and a (literally) vomit inducing story about being trapped under prosthetics but our subject is surprisingly sanguine about what others would see as an ordeal.

Vince details the key moments in his life but the viewer is still left with some feeling of mystery about him. He mentions his husband in passing but he doesn’t pore over their relationship; they’re happy and that’s that. There’s something delightfully British about his chatty, informal style. Yes, there are elements of his life that are stranger than the norm but at the same time he’s never out to shock just for the sake of it and I felt you could just as easily be talking to him about the same subjects over a cup of tea. Okay, perhaps not the penile bifurcation bit. There’s two words I didn’t think I’d ever use in a review.

That’s not to say I Am Monsters! shies away from real horror, pointing out that the real menace often comes from the supposedly more conventional amongst us. Taking us back to the dreadful effects of AIDS on the gay community, there’s a measured tone to those memories but the heartbreak is clear, be it about the friends Nicholas lost or the terrified attitude of society to those with the disease or the potential to develop it. Also, if you’re squeamish about surgery detail, the first act in particular will see Vince make you wince (I’m so sorry, I just had to include that).

Those looking for salacious gossip from the Hellraiser set or a tour of the goriest excesses of its creator may be disappointed at the lack of both but this is ultimately the engaging story of an everyday bloke coming to terms with his own demons in a frequently unforgiving world, told with a matter of factness that belies an often difficult journey. Under his various masks, Nicholas Vince is a likeable hero – not one of those “arrogant, vain, stupid” Greek mythology ones he so amusingly describes – with which many of us can identify.

Movie Rating:

I Am Monsters! trailer: