Monster Slayer
Directed by Catherine Skipp
Produced by Grace Oathout
United States | English | 20' | Animation, Documentary
Monster Slayer is a short animated documentary that follows LA artist and dancer Stephanie "Monty" Montgomery after she’s sexually assaulted at the strip club where she works. When the system fails her—ignored by management and dismissed by police—Monty turns to the one tool she has left: her art. Through a bold public act of protest, she transforms her trauma into a visual reckoning, reclaiming both her story and her space. Using Monty’s own drawings brought to life through animation, the film immerses us in her experience and exposes the broader culture of silence, stigma, and systemic neglect that so many survivors—especially those in sex work—face.
Monster Slayer has a unique perspective, told via interview and the subject’s own animation. The chosen modalities make this horrific experience palatable so as to examine our society from a viewpoint that we often can’t stomach. Art is powerful, and Monty’s use of it to take back her narrative is proof of that. Director Catherine Skipp holds up a mirror, making it impossible to look away. To say that I was moved, is an understatement.
- Elle Shaw, Executive Director