They Call Us Monsters

They Call Us Monsters

Directed by Ben Lear

Produced by Bunim/Murray Productions

201682 min6.7 / 10

A morally complex documentary that humanizes incarcerated youth while refusing easy answers about culpability, redemption, and justice.

Behind the walls of the Compound, LA’s most violent juvenile offenders await their trials. To their advocates, they’re kids. To the system, they’re adults. To their victims, they’re monsters. Who are they to you?

Questions people ask

  • Is They Call Us Monsters sad? Yes. More sad than 88% of films.

  • Is They Call Us Monsters easy watching? Not especially. Less comforting than 61% of films.

  • Does They Call Us Monsters end with hope? About average. Almost exactly mid-range.

  • Is They Call Us Monsters violent? About average. Almost exactly mid-range.

  • Is They Call Us Monsters scary? About average. Almost exactly mid-range.

These describe how the film comes across, measured across the whole film and compared with other well-known films. They are not a content list — nothing here was counted or checked scene by scene, so for age-suitability or specific content use a classification board or a dedicated content-warning service.

61/ 100

Cinnamon Score

How much this film gives you that nothing else will, and whether it delivers.

Familiar shape, done well.

Rarity86

How unlike any other film this one feels

Surprise46

How much more it delivers than it promises

Love55

How much audiences actually like it

The highest scores in the catalogue →

Ensemble

Like They Call Us Monsters

Nearest across the full emotional profile.

Same Mood as They Call Us Monsters

Nearest on what's most distinctive about this one.

Like They Call Us Monsters, But Darker

Similar, pushed toward heavier and more intense.

Like They Call Us Monsters, But Lighter

Similar, pushed toward warmer and easier.

Like They Call Us Monsters, But Less Popular

Same territory, far fewer people have seen it.

Share thisXBlueskyReddit