Near perfect reworking of the old Universal monsters, similar to that studio's HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN and HOUSE OF DRACULA. Tom Noonan, who I don't usually like, is excellent as Frankenstein's monster, recalling Karloff's sensitive portrayal. On the other hand, Duncan Regehr is awful as Dracula (although still not as bad as Gerard Butler in DRACULA 2000), and in fact he is the only thing that keeps me from giving this 5 stars.
Some monsters taken from their respective stories and put into a preteen-horror whith a total unoriginal plot which is nothing more than enjoyable...is like the horror version of the Goonies.
Okay, let's knock this one off quickly. I can't believe I recommended this movie to kids. There was this one kid in here who wanted just deviant horror. He always wants deviant horror. His mom wants a PG-13 limit. I don't blame her. The kid is, like, eleven or twelve. Well, he was practically in tears when I said that Poltergeist was pretty brutal for kids, so it was my job to find an alternative movie for her kid. (It always is my job to find an appropriate movie.) Now, I don't know how f*cked up kids in the 80's were, but holy moley, I shouldn't have necessarily offered this one blind. Although it really is a testament to the movies I grew up with as a kid.
This movie isn't as good as The Goonies. I can't necessarily say that with absolute confidence. After all, I grew up with The Goonies. Any movie you grow up with is going to be infinite times more amazing than anything you see as an adult. I know lots of people grew up with this one, so cheers to you. I respect this movie, even though I can now condemn parents in the 80's for seeing this one. This movie contains language and violence that would put most PG-13 movies to shame. The really weird part is that it really is obviously aimed at kids. I was just claiming that Lost Boys is really fun because it's a clearly R-Rated movie with kids at the helm. The kids are in peril, but you know it's aimed at teenagers and twenty-somethings. This is the opposite. It's really violent and language, but it is a kids movie. The concept itself is goofy as heck, but for some reason, Fred Dekker couldn't hold back his obsession with the horror genre to make it truly family friendly.
I'm also amazed that Universal didn't sue the pants off of this movie. Yes, the ideas themselves are pretty cliche'. The Dracula character, clearly designed off of Lugosi's character, is okay because that's what we see for Halloween costumes when it comes to vampires. Frankenstein has the same deal. The mummy, okay, is pretty okay. But the Creature from the Black Lagoon was pretty much a strict Universal transfer. It's not like there are a thousand Creature knockoffs and it is not part of our general popular culture. That was pretty much shameless and there had to be some lawsuits behind that depiction.
I really like some of the tongue-in-cheek stuff and some of the interaction between the kids is pretty well written. The opening really sold me on the movie with the text, but the movie itself I didn't really care about. I mean, I really dug vampires getting staked to the bloodiest degree, but the plot is borderline silly. My buddy, Jim, is obsessed with this movie and really loved the line "Wolfman's got nards." Frankly, that was one line among many. While he likes moments, I just generally like the atmosphere behind the 80's dialogue.
I must admit that I would rate this movie completely differently if I was a kid. There are certain things that I just hated because I grew up and left the demographic that the movie was aimed at. For instance, I saw The Breakfast Club for the first time when I was in college. If I was still in high school, I'm sure that movie would have become the next Ferris Bueller for me, but without that general innocence (and in this case, the robbing of that innocence), I can only say that I really dug the movie, but it is not the cult classic that people thought I thought it'd be.
Honestly, I am amazed at how many people were shocked that I hadn't seen this movie before. What? I didn't see everything as a child! Just a lot...
This isn't a great film by any stretch of the imagination, but it did manage to completely capture my childhood mind. Dracula, The Wolf-Man, Frankenstien, The Mummy, and a swamp creature (ala Creature From The Black Lagoon), all converge on a small suburban town some time in the 80's. Dracula is attempting to bring about the end of the world(never mind why or how), and it involves Frankenstien, the stroke of midnight, and a magical amuelet. Thankfully some junior high kids find a book by Van Hlelsing, and since they already have a horror themed monster club, they decide they are best suited to save the town.
Bieng a boy who watched an innapropraite amount of horror films for his age, I ate this film up, devoured the frames repeateadly for years, and though I am clearly biased, I think alot of it still holds up very well. I can't imagine a time when "Wolfman's got nards!", or "...they call me...(shotgun cocking sound)...Horace!", wouldn't bring an easy smile to my face. All and all it's an imaginative and witty little children's horror film, from the director of "Night Of The Creeps" a hilarously bad 80's throwback to 50's drive in zombie/alien movies. Anyway, it's good kids adventure stuff, with a little more sex/voilence than your average childrens film (or maybe it's just 80's children's film's in general, Artex dying in NeverEnding Story, etc), but still fairly acceptable for all ages. So if your babysitting an eccentric child or feeling that synthesized dayglo 80's nostalgia, Monster Sqaud is good way to kill some time
I still like this movie after all these years. It starts out like an innocent film but moves into casual swearing and genital jokes. Don't be fooled, this was funny and entertaining.
I'm not sure how I went 20 years without seeing this one. I only thought to watch it now because I just found out it was (co-)written by Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Last Boyscout, Lethal Weapon). It seems like just the kind of thing I would have loved as a kid. As it is, though, seeing it for the first time at this age, it's a fun flick, but nothing more. There's some bad acting - some REALLY bad acting, but who cares in something like this, right? It's just cheesy, mindless, (very) 80's fun.
This is a lot like The Goonies - if The Goonies was horror-themed and the major lesson was "Wolfman's got nards" instead of all that stuff about believing in yourself.
How cool is this movie?! - Think The Goonies meets old school horror characters and you have this little 80's gem. This happened to be on tv last week & watching it again for the first time in years brought back some childhood nostalgia.
Another classic. If you like the goonies and have an affinity for the classic horror movies then this is the movie for you. You gotta love the line "Wolfmans got nards!"
If you loved the Goonies then you'll love this movie! Not as uplifting as Goonies was, but still a fun movie. I grew up watching both this & Goonies equally and even now years later I still cry at the end of this movie, it's just that good. WOLFMAN GOT NARDS!
this movie came out when I was so young. Well executed, the characters were developed amazingly. Love to see all the good monsters together. Such an homage to old horror classics!
I wish I could grow up in this world. As a child anytime I would see MS on HBO... I'd become jealous that I couldn't live like the Squad. Totally awesome.
Denne filmen er desverre ikke helt "der" for meg. Jeg så den aldri i ung alder, og jeg vil tro at dette har mye med saken å gjøre. Jeg vil nok tro at denne hadde gått rett hjem hos meg i mine yngre dager, men idag er det kun en litt over middels 80-talls komedie. Jeg liker ideen svært godt, og selv om jeg ikke er helt fornøyd med noen av skuespillerene de har brukt, da hovedsakelig fyren som spiller Dracula, gjør til gjengjeld Tom Noonan en fabelaktig jobb som Frankenstein. Ikke uten sin sjarm, men jeg var nok desverre for sent ute med denne.
Classic, great movie. I loved it. I just watched it again and again recently. Great movie. Funny and kinda sad when Frankenstein was taken away in that black hole thing.
One of those childhood favorites. Any movie that collects the Universal monsters is going to be worth seeing. This one falls roughly between the other two movies to do it. Better than Van Helsing but not quite as good as Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein.
An incredibly enjoyable film that is a true treat for classic monster fans. It's also nice to see a "kid's" film that is not afraid to be, well, scary. It seems that every hundred years, evil gets a chance to destroy an amulet that is pure, concentrated good. Thankfully, the forces of good have the opportunity to use the amulet to open a vortex to banish evil to limbo. Now, Dracula descends on a small town with the aid of a werewolf, a mummy, a gill-man, and Frankenstein's monster. His goal is to destroy the amulet and seize the journal of Van Helsing so that no one can enact the ceremony to banish evil and evil can conquer the world. However, a small group of kids who call themselves the Monster Squad are well aware of what is going on and must fight to save the world. The film is somewhat dated, but it's still hugely entertaining. Kids will get a kick out of it and adults won't have to roll their eyes in annoyance. And no other film can claim to hold the answer to the age old question, "Does Wolf Man have nards?"
Its cheese, its schlock, but its fun. I didn't grow up watching this movie like many people my age, but I still was able to appreciate the nostalgia of watching it as an adult. Wolfman's got nards, indeed.
MCT:August 14, 2008
MCT:August 1, 2008
MCT:July 30, 2008
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MCT:July 16, 2008
MCT:June 27, 2008
