A bunch of horror movie-obsessed kids start a club in a treehouse and have to save their hometown from, you guessed it… Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, the Gill-Man, The Mummy, and The Wolf Man.
Halloween movie #27 is… The Monster Squad.
Written by Fred Dekker and Shane Black and directed by Dekker…. The Monster Squad deserves its spot in the Kids Movie Hall of Fame.
While initially derided as a Goonies (1985) knockoff… the film has become a cult classic.
Kids swearing. Portals. Chambers. Some great creature effects. Some not so great creature effects. “That girl’s your sister?” Amulets. Dark incantations. Title spoken on screen. All hands in. Van Helsing’s diary. Some questionable 80s plot motivations involving a virgin. And, yes, “Wolfman’s got nards”
Remakes, reboots, and alternative concepts have been toyed with and bandied about for years — none have come to fruition (thank god) — but the kids on bikes subgenre is alive and well and the influence points are obvious.
Van Helsing (2004) was an admirable (in concept) effort… sort of. It’s not a good movie, but it almost got there.
Is it perfect? To some. Is it great? Temper those expectations and you won’t be disappointed.
Motherfucker you KNOW there’s a montage.
Impossible to ignore its influence on Stranger Things.
It’s a super-watchable, breezy 80 minute movie.
Great for this season… or any, really.
Tons of fun to (re)watch.
Currently streaming on Hulu as part of Huluween.
One dollar through-and-through!
Recommendations for further viewing: Mad Monster Party (1967), Stand by Me (1986), The Lost Boys (1987)