I thought of another connection between what happened to Jupe as a child and JJ. If the monsters in the film can be seen as a metaphor for fame/ the gaze of the world, then the mauling that happened on set could be seen as a metaphor for child stardom. We have all seen how child stars that experience fame early in life can literally be chewed up by it. Jupe being the lone survivor on his set is like him being the only cast member on a show that didn’t end up in prison or in rehab years later. He thinks that because he was able to “tame” the monster of child stardom he can take on JJ. He is also simultaneously drawn to JJ because part of him wants to reclaim the fame he experienced as a child even though he only narrowly escaped the experience