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Overall Rating : 7.5/10
Directed By : Fred Dekker
Andre Gower
Duncan Regehr (Air Bud: World Pup)
Stephen Macht (Stephen King's Graveyard Shift)
Tom Noonan (Knockaround Guys)
Supplied By : Lionsgate Films
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : July 25, 2007
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| PLOT Count Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, the Wolfman, the Mummy and the Gillman – adjourn to earth in search of a powerful amulet that will grant them power to rule the world. However, a bunch of kids regarded by their peers as losers and outsiders uncover the devious plan and prepare for a counter strike. Now, our heroes - the Monster Squad - are the only ones daring to stand in their way... |
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| THE REVIEW 100 years ago Van Helsing and his team tried and failed to rid the world of Vampires and Monsters alike, so whom do you call on when evil resurfaces 100 years later? The Monster Squad of course! Pre-teens Sean and his pals have taken their love of all things Monsters and formed a special club all their own, something they call appropriately, "The Monster Club". All the club consists of are meetings that usually take place in a tree house(where no girls are allowed) after school where the boys talk about different ghouls and their origins. But little did they know that they would soon be face to face with a few of the Monsters that take up those discussions. It seems that Dracula has returned to wreak havoc and has one goal in mind; to retrieve an amulet that would allow he and all other evil to rule to world, to aide him, he has called on a few old friends of his own - which include; Wolfman, Gillman, The Mummy, and Frankenstein's Monster. Roaming the streets and causing problems for the local Police force, in which Sean's dad works, the Monstrous brood from the unknown seems unstoppable. But not to Sean as he thinks he has a way, and the answer is in a book he has recently received, which appears to be the diary of Van Helsing himself. Sean, Rudy, Eugene, Patrick, Horace, and yes, even Sean's little sister Phoebe all embark on a mission to have the book translated from German and then they are on to their final and most important mission of all.....to kick some Monster butt, but not before kicking Wolfman in the "nards"! My viewing of Lionsgate's 20th Anniversary Edition DVD was the first time in a long time, that I had even seen THE MONSTER SQUAD. I know that this film has a hugely gigantic cult fan base, but to be honest, before this viewing, I remembered very little about the film itself, but one quote brought all memory back to me - "Wolfman's Got Nards!", as quoted by Horace(the fat kid, as his friends and enemies affectionately call him). Although the film, now 20 years old, THE MONSTER SQUAD, has aged remarkably well, and can stand up against many monster epics being made today, it still has it's charm, and potency for adventure in tact. Before this film Fred Dekker tried his hand with they Horror/Sci-Fi picture NIGHT OF THE CREEPS, while that film is as hard to find as THE MONSTER SQUAD was, until now, it wasn't as good, nor was it as entertaining and funny. By funny, I don't mean, funny by today's Horror/Comedy standards, which often seem to go overboard and are not always funny. THE MONSTER SQUAD, was and is naturally funny, the type of funny not to be scripted, it's the type of funny that happens when a few buddies crack jokes on one another if you know what I mean. The approach to filming seems as is this were going for the look and feel of a children's adventure comic, and they succeeded as the film moves at a fast and "adventurous" pace. Also for a film of the 80's, like THE GOONIES, packed on a lot of visuals, some of which were ahead of their time. CGI wasn't around, so the effects, like the vortex had to be implemented via a matting effect, but you must applaud the visuals as the early effects even look better than some of the cheapo CGI I have to sit through these days. The make-up effects by Stan Winston (WRONG TURN), are equally fantastic as well. As I understand, each of the concepts for the Monsters were all original, and I think Winston did a really great job in bringing them to life, they look as if they would come from a kid's imagination - as in something that would be plastered upon The Monster Squad's club house. The film is (finally) presented,in Anamorphic widescreen for it's many fans. I'd say the picture looks great but as others have said, I also thought it could've been better. But who are we kidding, the image destroys the look of any bootleg we could ever have. As for the sound, it's presented in 5.1 and in my opinion, could not sound any better - it's amazing! As for the extras, disc 1 includes 2 commentaries 1 with the Director Fred Dekker and select stars, the other with Dekker and the film's Director of Photography, Bradford May. The 2nd disc of this great collection contains an 87-min featurette, which offers interviews with some of the film's stars, an in-character vintage interview with star Tom Noonan, as Frankenstein, stills, deleted scenes, a storyboard, and the usual TV spots and trailers. Overall, THE MONSTER SQUAD, is a great, great film that still holds up today and is sure to find a whole new audience on DVD, Lionsgate has really outdid themselves here, this may be the best release they've had in quite awhile! |
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| GORE
METER N/A |
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 7/10 awesome score by and soundtrack, there's nothing like a catchy pop song in the middle of a low key point of an 80's Horror movie! The score does nothing but add a whole lot of fun, to an already fun film... |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM Regarded as a favorite to many Horror fans, this is the DVD to have. This film truly never has a dull moment in it - and it's not like you can say often! The cast couldn't have been better, and neither could the story, writers Fred Dekker and Shane Black, really did craft a gem when they wrote this. File this one next to the previously mentioned THE GOONIES and THE LOST BOYS as they seem to be 1980's classics that will never grow old....I highly recommend this! |
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