“Wolfman’s got nards!”
From its stormy beginning, and sweeping shots of coffins, tombstones and outstretched bat wings, you know that you’re watching an eighties horror classic, Fred Dekker’s Monster Squad.
You may know Dekker as being the one behind Night Of The Creeps, or as the writer of the horror film House. Not to mention, Stan Winston created the monster effects. For those of you not familiar with Stan Winston, he’s responsible for the special and make up effects in such films as T2, Predator and Jurassic Park.
Monster Squad opens up with a retelling of the battle between Van Helsing and the forces of evil, centuries ago. When a portal opens up and all those near are sucked into an otherworldly dimension, the film cuts to the present. The founding members of the Monster Squad are introduced, Shawn and Patrick, who we see sitting in the principals office being punished for their monster drawings, created in class:
“Monsters aren’t real!”
Next, we see the remaining members of The Monster Squad introduced. Horace, whose overweight build leaves him vulnerable to bullies and Rudy, who shows up while Horace is getting humiliated. Instantly, the bully is reprimanded by Rudy, who forces him to eat Horace’s squished chocolate bar on the ground.
The trouble begins when Dracula, whose coffin is seen being transported on a courier plane, escapes through the emergency hatch, but not before scaring the shit out of the employee on board.
The really attractive aspects of Monster Squad is the realism of the dialogue and behaviour of the kids, and of course the throw to the golden days of horror, when Universal were on top with its long list of Wolfman, Dracula, Frankenstein and Creature films.
The real fun begins when we see Dracula at the swamp with a werewolf and a mummy(who has recently broken out of his museum home), followed by a creature from the black lagoon replica( but not officially due to rights) lifting a coffin out of the swamp. With the aid of lightning, Dracula brings the Frankenstein creature to life…from here The Monster Squad struggles to find and battle the malignant powers which seek to enslave all humans.
Monster Squad is a warm, fun, horror film that tests many rumors regarding classic movie monsters, including garlic, crosses, silver bullets and much more. While watching this film it’s incredible obvious that the films director/writer Fred Dekker is a monster movie fanatic. For example, admission into the Monster Club involves monster trivia that only an educated fan may be able to answer. The child actors in this film are incredibly and completely believable, not to mention their amazing lines. However, not all of Monster Squad is playful with routes in classic horror cinema, there are several touching moments. For example, when the wolfman is shot and returns t his human form, he lets out a sorrowful “thank you.” Or when we see one of the kids pass Frankenstein a Halloween mask of his own face, touching his face, he throws the mask out frustration and touchingly mutters “…scary.”
Ever wonder what happens when you blow up a werewolf? Watch Monster Squad and you’ll find out.
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In the vein of kids movies with the title monster, Monster House gets an honorable mention! So good.
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