THE MONSTER SQUAD is one of those '80s nostalgia films that can happily sit in the same company as THE LOST BOYS, GHOSTBUSTERS, and THE GOONIES. Essentially, it's the story of how a band of monster-mad kids manage to defeat a band of genuine movie monsters, and with a running time that barely reaches 80 minutes there's not a great deal of time for anything else other than the set up and the pay off. On the minus side, the film is light hearted and corny throughout, full of predictable clichés involving the monsters and lacking the smallest bit of characterisation.
On the plus side, it has genuine warmth, a good child cast for a change (the late Brent Chalem as Horace or 'Fat Kid' is the best), pretty decent-looking monsters and plenty of cheesy action to recommend it. Of the monsters, my favourite is the Creature from the Black Lagoon, a great guy-in-a-suit effect; Dracula has a little too much goth make-up while Tom Noonan's Frankenstein (sic) looks the part but is too much of a softy. The werewolf is the second best effect and recalls Oliver Reed in The Curse of the Werewolf.
Pacing is spot-on and there are some catchy '80s tunes to enjoy, as well as plenty of references to films, Universal classics and otherwise; the bit where Frankenstein's Monster approaches the little girl by the river bank is my favourite reference and a very clever one it is too. Leonard Cimino has a perfect role as a concentration-camp survivor. The ending of the film features a vortex in time that appears to have been "inspired" by the one at the end of EVIL DEAD II, which coincidentally was released a few months before this movie. Some scenes are hilarious, like the unravelling of the Mummy on the back of the car. The tone of the film veers wildly from kiddie (anything with the cute little girl) to teen-style bad language and bad taste to adult (guns, the black cop getting blown to pieces in the car, the werewolf exploding in a shower of guts and limbs) but it remains entertaining throughout, and that's what counts. Director Fred Dekker clearly loves his material, and it's this love that makes this film touching.
On the plus side, it has genuine warmth, a good child cast for a change (the late Brent Chalem as Horace or 'Fat Kid' is the best), pretty decent-looking monsters and plenty of cheesy action to recommend it. Of the monsters, my favourite is the Creature from the Black Lagoon, a great guy-in-a-suit effect; Dracula has a little too much goth make-up while Tom Noonan's Frankenstein (sic) looks the part but is too much of a softy. The werewolf is the second best effect and recalls Oliver Reed in The Curse of the Werewolf.
Pacing is spot-on and there are some catchy '80s tunes to enjoy, as well as plenty of references to films, Universal classics and otherwise; the bit where Frankenstein's Monster approaches the little girl by the river bank is my favourite reference and a very clever one it is too. Leonard Cimino has a perfect role as a concentration-camp survivor. The ending of the film features a vortex in time that appears to have been "inspired" by the one at the end of EVIL DEAD II, which coincidentally was released a few months before this movie. Some scenes are hilarious, like the unravelling of the Mummy on the back of the car. The tone of the film veers wildly from kiddie (anything with the cute little girl) to teen-style bad language and bad taste to adult (guns, the black cop getting blown to pieces in the car, the werewolf exploding in a shower of guts and limbs) but it remains entertaining throughout, and that's what counts. Director Fred Dekker clearly loves his material, and it's this love that makes this film touching.