Pop Monsters Review: 4 Mean Girls and a Pool Day Gone Wrong
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Short horror film ‘Pop Monsters’ opens with a bright, summery scene: a young woman lounging by the pool with a Popsicle while a friend paints her nails. At first glance, it feels like the beginning of a breezy teen spring-break movie, but the tone quickly shifts. The story instead follows a spoiled rich girl who shamelessly pits her best friends against each other for a coveted VIP ticket to a major pop concert. What starts as petty rivalry soon escalates into disturbingly intense power games.
Written and directed by Megan Brooks, ‘Pop Monsters’ runs just over 13 minutes, with Yasmin Fletcher playing Charlotte, the manipulative “queen bee” orchestrating the cruel contest. Her friends, portrayed by Avantika, Ally Ioannides, and Laurel Marsden, are drawn into the game, though one walks out early, unwilling to stoop to Charlotte’s schemes. The other two, however, dive headfirst into the competition, determined to win regardless of how twisted their friend’s challenges become. It’s a little like ‘Mean Girls’ for the horror genre, without the high school frills or ‘boy problems’.
The cinematography is visually engaging, capturing the glossy poolside world with bright colors, though the final act veers into a bit of chaotic frenzy. Some of Charlotte’s tests, like an old-school dance-off, feel lighthearted, but others spiral into darker territory. The gradual shift from sunny daylight to shadowy night mirrors the escalation perfectly, with the narrative sliding from playful to sinister before erupting into violence.
What begins as a story of pretty girls enjoying a carefree afternoon, marveling over butterflies and sipping Popsicles, slowly mutates, as the title suggests, into the rise of ‘Pop Monsters‘. Consumed by greed and desire, the friends are willing to go to absurd lengths for the chance to get closer to their favorite pop idol (a VIP ticket usually includes ‘meet and greet’). Greed, after all, has always been one of the oldest and ugliest villains.
The climactic moments throw in a larger-than-life, almost fantastical twist. While not strictly necessary, this flourish injects an extra jolt of spectacle, leaving the short film with a strangely heightened finale, one that might divide viewers, but undeniably adds zing to the tale.
You can watch ‘Pop Monsters’ on YouTube.
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