So, Monster Squad finally came out Tuesday on DVD. My pre-order of the disc came in today and I just finished watching it on my laptop.
This film still holds up surprisingly well today. I haven't seen it in well over 15 years or so. Obviously my memory of the film was sketchy.
The film takes place in a small town where a sacred amulet is hidden. The amulet can either let Dracula and his cohorts take over, or it can let good rule for another 100 years. It's up to a small group of kids who call themselves The Monster Squad to destroy the amulet before Evil can use it for their purposes. Dracula is joined here by The Wolfman, The Creature From The Black Lagoon, The Mummy and Frankenstein's Monster.
I had originally purchased the film for two reasons. One was to watch the film again since I hadn't seen it since childhood. Also, I wanted it for my four year old daughter. Apparently that was a bad idea. I had forgotten about the profanity and the violence here. This film would have gotten an R rating by today's standards.
Anyway, the film is still fun as hell. This special edition is by far the best the film has ever looked. Every single shot is clear and the film doesn't show any aging, anything like that.
I highly recommend it. It's just as fun as it was twenty years ago, and it's a perfect fit for b-movie lovers like us. Go pick it up, it's worth the cash.
If it's a B-movie why is it in the good movies board?
Good question Briggs. It's a b-movie but it's really quite good.
Admins, feel free to move the post.
I just wrote this one up over at my blog. I thought it held up well, too. The monster make up in the movie is pretty good with the exception of the Wolfman, which looks crappy. Also, I forgot about the montage. I love motanges.
I also didn't know this until I did a little research for the review but Shane Black wrote the script. The same guy who wrote the first Lethal Weapon. Sweet!
Now they just need to release Dekker's Night of the Creeps and I can shut up.
Good call on the Shane Black script RapscallionJones. I was looking at the back of the box when I first got it, and that name stuck out. I kept thinking and thinking and finally realized it was the same Lethal Weapon/Kiss Kiss Bang Bang Shane Black. I had no idea that he had written it.
I also didn't realize that the creature effects were done by Stan Winston until I watched the film again. I actually thought that all of the creatures, Wolfman included, were done quite well. The Black Lagoon creature was by far the best looking of the creatures.
What I love about Dekker's films is that he keeps a sense of fun and wonder throughout all of his films. It's the same thing with If Looks Could Kill and Night Of The Creeps. It's truly a shame that NOTC hasn't been released on DVD yet. I'll have to stick with my bootleg DVD copy for now.
Quote from: RapscallionJones on July 29, 2007, 06:47:37 AM
. Also, I forgot about the montage. I love motanges.
Even Rocky had a MONTAGE!!!! :drink:
Yeah, I tried to pick up the Monster Squad DVD at Best Buy this week and they sold out the 1st day. Looks like it's going to be one of the top sellers of this year IMO.
QuoteThis film would have gotten an R rating by today's standards
You may be write, but I don't think it would for the profanity or violence. It's not any harsher than, say, many of the superhero movies or The Chronicles of Riddik in those terms. Underage smoking would hurt it though.
I do like how in the 80s the cool kids could still smoke, and you were allowed to ride a bike without a helmet. Holds up quite well, this film.
Jim,
The main scene that I was referring to was the scene showing quite clearly the Wolfman's body parts strewn around. The blood and gore is quite evident and was a bit of a shock to me considering the watered down pg-13 films we get now. It's not a complaint, just a surprise.
I loved Monster Squad as a kid. I wasn't able to see it in the theater, because I was around 3.
But, when I was a bit older, around '92/'93, I used to borrow my grandmom's video of it and would watch it all the time.
The movie rocks.
I finally got this movie on dvd. I don't think I ever got the chance to see it as a kid, though I apparently saw parts of it since several scenes looked familiar. It's actually quite touching and well done overall. I rather liked that the makers stayed true to the wolfman's regret over being a monster and with the Frankenstein monster's victimhood (in that he was made to be a monster. Yes, in the Karloff movie he ends up throwing the little girl he meets into the lake and drowning her, but here we see a bit of a redemption with the same scenario). A couple of things were blaringly problematic for me, though: The opening scene shows armadillos in Dracula's castle, and later one vampire is eating an opossum, two species native to the Americas, not Transylvania. I'm not trying to be overly critical here, this just jumped out at me. It is the equivalent of a movie depicting someone driving down Route 66 in Arizona and hitting a kangaroo. The second problem is "The Monster Squad" song over the closing credits. It is horrible. Anyway, I enjoyed this movie, so I think I'll go now and watch some of the special features.
YAY MONSTER SQUAD!!! We cant wait to revisit this bad boy!
I prefer The Goonies more, but Monster Squad is still a lot of fun. I need to get the recent DVD of it.
The only Monster Squad that I remember was a cheesy Saturday morning show in the early to mid 70's.
Anyone else remember that mess? Or am I having flash backs again?
When I was younger, I had (still have) a VHS copy of this movie and really loved it over time. Im really gald the dvd finally came out! With such awesome special features, who can go wrong?
Was there ever plans back in the day of doing a sequel to this? I'm sure there was but I wonder if they ever tried to go ahead with it.
Quote from: Torgo on September 19, 2007, 02:26:10 PM
I prefer The Goonies more, but Monster Squad is still a lot of fun. I need to get the recent DVD of it.
Goonies = greatest movie ever. :thumbup: