The Monster Squad (1987)

the audience applauded

A Major Disappointment

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

This happens to be the highest ranked movie I'll review for Nostalgia Critic Month! Boy, am I happy to see it and I can gladly say that it's the best movie of the month. This movie features a bunch of kids who find out Dracula is returning to destroy a magic amulet that will keep him from going into another dimension. He gets help from the other movie monsters to help him. I will admit that this isn't the most suitable film for kids, but it's still quite fun. It's mostly because the pacing is so good. At first, I did think it was a little slow but it really caught up after twenty minutes.In a movie that's only 82 minutes long, that's important. The movie itself is basically just awesome. It's a meeting of classic movie monsters with stuff blowing up too! Unlike a Michael Bay film, it actually has the characters act like real people and the people are much smarter here. It's a great looking film and I really do show concern for what happens to everybody. It's not as good as "The Goonies" but is still a enjoyable Halloween flick. This happiness won't last long however. The next movie on my list is the infamous Garbage Pail Kids movie.

It's a shame that The Monster Squad hasn't gathered more of a cult following since it's such a masterful film that is great to get younger kids started into the horror genre. It's certainly one of the memorable films in my childhood that lifted my passion for horror along with the old classic Universal Monster films, Nightmare before Christmas, Godzilla, and so on. What is undeniable is that a script written like this will never appear in another movie for older children. The modern political correct nature of our world would squash this movie in a heartbeat, which makes this film more unique. There is an abundance of crude humor yet very funny that actually depicts kids being kids. Also a typical imagination of children and their idea of monsters such as Dracula, Wolfman, Gillman and Frankenstein's monster coming to life in their reality makes for a great movie. The Monster Squad defines 80's teen features and campy horror, a real treat for anybody to re-watch after years of enjoying the film or to watch for the very first time.

This movie mash is a graveyard smash! Though this horror comedy was not a success on its initial release in 1987, it subsequently developed an even-larger cult following, every year. Directed by Fred Dekker, and written by Shane Black. The movie tells the story of a group of kids call the Monster Squad, whom job is it, to stop a series of monsters, leaded by Count Dracula (Duncan Regehr), from taking over the world. Without spoiling the movie, too much; while it might seem, a bit silly and over-the top. It's honestly, a lot of fun to watch. I love, every minute of it! Yes, the extreme violence & gore, profanity, and dirty sex appeal might turn off, some parents from allowing their kids to watch this PG-13 film. However, as a kid of the early 1990s, I found this movie to be, awesome. Even, now as a mature adult, I find this movie, still very much, appealing; and wouldn't mind, allowing my children to see it, if they wanted to. After all, it's a lot tamer, than what children, see in movies, nowadays. Despite, being a little dated, there is a lot to like. I love how great the Universal Monsters: The Mummy (Michael MacKay), The Gill-man (Tom Woodruff Jr.), The Wolf Man (Carl Thibault), and The Frankenstein's Monster (Tom Noonan), looked. However, some of the other, special effects, needed some work, such as the bats. Still, great work from Stan Winston and his team of special effects artists. Another thing, I like is, how well-acted, all the creatures were. Tom Noonan as Frankenstein's Monster & Duncan Regehr as Count Dracula are the best stand-outs. I love, their chemistry when face with the youngest member of the Monster Squad. It was iconic. Another great scene is the famous, Wolf Man got nards, scene. Even if, you never saw this film. You have, at least, heard of that scene! It's everywhere on the internet as a meme. If you have, saw this movie, you might agree with me, that for the most part, the film has pretty good pacing. There wasn't many boring or slow spots in Monster Squad. The movie is full of gut-blasting action, that you can't take, your eyes away from. Not only does, this movie treat your eyes, it also feeds your ears, some of the best 1980's kid movies music, you'll ever, listen to. This film indeed has an awesome soundtrack. Rock until you drop by Michael Sembello was truly rocking! Still, there are some things that I didn't like, about the film. Examples are, how respective clichéd all the main characters, are. Sean (Andree Gower), Patrick (Robby Kiger), Horace AKA Fat Kid, (Brent Chalem), Rudy (Ryan Lambert), Eugene (Michael Faustino) & Phoebe (Ashley Bank) don't have much, complexity. In my opinion, Eugene being the worst of the group. He literally does nearly nothing to help, further the plot. I really didn't like, the character, at all. I also dislike, the child's acting. He was so annoying. The other child actors weren't that bad, but they sure, wasn't great. It was just mediocre, at best. Another thing, worth criticizing, is the nonsensical plot. The movie doesn't do, a good job, explains, how the monsters got, in the present day. No part of this movie made any sense. The amulet, the diary, the search for a virgin, and even, the large amounts of weapons & explosives, they able to use. All these things, needed more exposition. It was so badly delivered. The worst, had to be Sean figuring out, that the monsters are alive, by finding out that Mr. Alucard is indeed Count. Dracula. It gave me, horrible 1990's Troll 2 flashbacks. Then, there, was the moments in the film, where this film, went to really dark, deep implications at times. A good example of this, is how the "Scary German Guy" (Leonardo Cimino), know so much about monsters. It was very jarring, compare to the rest of light-hearted and relax parts of the film. The movie also went, a little overboard on the mean-spirited jokes. I get the film, was going for uber-realistic on how, children, at the time, acted, but gees, some of the things, these kids, say, are, very offensive insults. Overall: This 1980's cheesy high camp, horror comedy is a trick or treat flick, worth-checking out! Highly Entertaining. Do recommended.

A young group of monster fanatics attempt to save their hometown from Count Dracula (Duncan Regehr) and his army of monsters.A bit of this movie has aged poorly, namely its homophobic comments. Not to say that kids don't talk like that, but it is much less likely you would see it in a movie today (2015) than in the 1980s. The whole outlook on homosexuality has shifted completely (for the better). There is also some potty language which was okay for PG movies in the 1980s but probably would not slide today.Overall, though, this is a really good movie that brings the Universal monsters to the next generation. I am not exactly sure how they were able to use the characters without risking copyright infringement, but well done. And it is great to see Jon Gries in an early role, well before his big break as Uncle Rico.