The Monster Squad
(Tri Star Pictures, 1987)
Tonight’s movie is The Monster Squad, one of my all-time favorite movies from when I was a kid. I really couldn’t tell you how many times I saw this movie back in the day. And it wasn't until they finally released the DVD a few years ago that I was finally able to watch it again. And watch I have. I still love this movie. This year was also the first time my son watched it. He loved it too.
The movie starts off one hundred years before the movie starts off. Wait, what? Yes, there is a little bit of a prologue, and in it we get to see Dr. Abraham Van Helsing and a small group of people trying to destroy the eternal evil. Obviously, they didn't I mean, if they did, we wouldn't have a movie. I just love how when the girl is reading the scroll, he is yelling things at her that only make her more nervous, like, “READ, OR WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE!” No pressure though, right Doc?
After Van Helsing’s EPIC FAIL (sorry about that, I couldn't help myself), we jump to the present, where everyone says “rad”, the girls have really big hair, and you weren’t cool until you had your Member’s Only jacket. Here we end up in a school, in the Principal’s office, where we soon learn of our main duo’s fondness of supernatural creatures. Yep, these guys are the Monster Squad. There is also the token fat kid, the younger kid, and the “I’m too cool for everything” kid.
The kids end up against Dracula, The Mummy, Frankenstein’s Monster, Wolfman, and the Creature (of the Black Lagoon variety). There are a ton of great scenes in this movie. Like the scene with the fat kid kicking Wolfman in the nards. Or the scene where The Creature takes the kid’s Twinkie.
This isn’t a slasher movie for adults, but it’s great fun. If you have kids, this is a great soft-scare movie to share with them. The only thing is that there is a decent amount of course language in this movie. And you might have to explain what a virgin is.
Now, that’s not to say that there isn’t any gore, because there is. I mean, yeah, it is very, very little, but it’s there. All of the effects are superbly done as well. I know this might just be nostalgia talking, but this movie still holds up great to this day. In fact, I showed this to a friend of mine who had gone his whole life without seeing it, and he really liked it.
As for our musical selection, I figured I would change it up a bit with some Weird Al and Nature Trail to Hell.