The Monster Squad (1987) Review

"Bogus."
-Frankenstein's Monster



Once every hundred years, a magical amulet that keeps good and evil in balance becomes vulnerable to destruction.  As the date approaches, Count Dracula (Duncan Reghr) assembles his forces including; the Mummy (Michael MacKay), the Wolf Man (Jon Gries), the Creature from the Black Lagoon (Tom Woodruff Jr.), and Frankenstein's Monster (Tom Noonan) to destroy the amulet, but a group of kids, known as the Monster Squad, know all of the monsters weaknesses and are prepared to fight to save the world.


What Works:

I just recently learned about the existence of this movie and I wish I had known about The Monster Squad years ago.  I love the Universal Monsters and have always wanted a movie like this to exist and, for the most part, it delivers.  The last thirty minutes are an absolute blast as the large cast of characters take on the various monsters.  It's a ton of fun and a wild ride.  It delivers on the level of goofy insanity you would expect from a movie like this.

I really like the designs of the various creatures.  I like the updated look for 1987.  They're campy and goofy, but they aren't cheap by any means and are a great contribution to this movie's tone.

As for the Monster Squad itself, most of the characters aren't very memorable, but there are two standouts.  First is our protagonist, Sean (Andre Gower), who is really good.  He's the leader of the Squad and earns that title.  Gower's performance is great and I liked watching him step up to take on these monsters.

The other standout is Rudy (Ryan Lambert), who is the greaser of the group, a little bit older than the others, and is the cool one.  He has a great introduction in the film in defending Horace (Brent Chalem) from some bullies and is utterly competent throughout the film.  He's the one who gathers most of the supplies the Squad needs and almost single-handedly defeats the Mummy, the Wolf Man, and Dracula's trio of female vampires.  Rudy is a badass and the best character in the actual Monster Squad.

Some of the supporting characters are really great too.  I love the inclusion of the Scary German Guy (Leonardo Cimino) in the finale.  Plus, Sean's Dad (Stephen Macht) and his coworker, Rich (Stan Shaw), are really funny and are solid additions to the film.


What Sucks:

Some of the effects and the dialogue haven't aged well, but those are minor complaints.  The Monster Squad has two main problems.  First is, apart from the aforementioned Sean and Rudy, the members of the Monster Squad aren't very interesting.  Both Horace and Patrick (Robby Kiger) are boring and Eugene (Michael Faustino) is annoying.  Fortunately, Sean, Rudy, and the supporting characters make up for the lesser members of the Monster Squad.

It also takes too long for the Squad to meet up with the monsters.  Apart from Frankenstein's Monster, it takes almost an hour for the Squad to take on any of the monsters.  Not counting the credits, this movie is only an hour and seventeen minutes long.  It would be nice to get more monsters earlier in the film. 

Verdict:

The Monster Squad is a very fun movie that I can't believe I haven't seen until now.  The subject matter is right up my alley.  It has a great tone, some fun characters, and a wacky 3rd act that was exactly what I wanted it to be.  Not all of the members of the Monster Squad are great and the movie takes a while to really get going, but it's a fun Halloween film and hes definitely got it going on.

 8/10: Really Good 

  

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