Love Is the Monster (2026): Cast, Story and Release Details

Prepared by Movies Dock Editorial

Love Is the Monster is a Spanish-language thriller set in a dystopian society shaped by inequality and violence. At its center, a grandmother tries to protect her granddaughter while making the most of their limited time together, with fear and love steadily reshaping her choices.

Love Is the Monster is a 2026 thriller from Costa Rica and Peru, written and directed by Neto Villalobos. The Spanish-language film focuses on a grandmother and granddaughter whose bond is tested by a world defined by inequality and routine violence.

As danger closes in, the grandmother faces choices that challenge the limits of what she is willing to do for the child in her care. The story places family devotion and fear at the center of its dystopian premise.

Love Is the Monster movie details

Story without spoilers

The film follows a grandmother determined to spend meaningful time with her granddaughter during the time they have left together. Their circumstances become increasingly dangerous as a series of events exposes them to the violent pressures of their unequal society.

With their safety at stake, the grandmother is pushed toward decisions she never expected to make. Love Is the Monster builds its central tension around the changing boundary between protection and fear, while keeping the relationship between the two characters at the heart of the story.

What to expect

As a thriller, Love Is the Monster is built around escalating danger rather than a relaxed family drama. Its dystopian setting provides a backdrop of social inequality and everyday violence, while the grandmother-granddaughter relationship gives the premise its emotional focus.

The story also suggests a morally pressured central character. The grandmother’s determination to protect her granddaughter gradually brings her to lines she had not imagined crossing, creating tension between affection, fear and survival.

Cast and creative team

Paulina García plays the Grandmother, with Gloriana Vargas as the Granddaughter and Natalia Regidor as the Daughter. Ericka Reikendorf is also part of the cast, though no character name is provided. Neto Villalobos wrote and directed the film.

• Paulina García as Grandmother
• Natalia Regidor as Daughter
• Gloriana Vargas as Granddaughter
• Ericka Reikendorf

Release and production context

Love Is the Monster is listed as a 2026 release, with a release date of September 14, 2026. It has a runtime of 1 hour and 33 minutes and is spoken in Spanish. The film is associated with Costa Rica and Peru, with production by La Sucia Centroamericana and Candu Films.

Production companies: La Sucia Centroamericana, Candu Films

Love Is the Monster official trailer

Watch the official trailer on YouTube

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Love Is the Monster presents a compact thriller premise centered on family loyalty in a dangerous dystopian society. Its focus on a grandmother and granddaughter, combined with the pressure of escalating threats, gives the film a clear emotional and suspense-driven foundation without relying on a conventional action setup.

Film data:
TMDB · IMDb