Monday, October 29, 2018

Underrated Films - The Monster Squad Review




The Monster Squad is a 1987 horror comedy film. Monster Squad is produced by Taft Entertainment, Pictures and Keith Barish Productions and distributed by TriStar Pictures. The movie was written by Fred Dekker and Shane Black and directed by Fred Dekker.



The story is five kids who are part of a club devoted to monsters. Everything seems normal for them until Dracula has risen again in search of an amulet powerful enough for him and his partners Frankenstein's monster, Gill Man, and The Wolfman to takeover the world. With the amulet in the kids' hands they must stop them before all of humanity is ruled by monsters.






Why It's Underrated



What makes The Monster Squad underrated is it simply didn't get enough love when it first came out. Despite all the good stuff the film offered it received mixed reviews and sadly didn't do well at the box office. It only grained $3.8 million against a budget of $12 million. What also makes it underrated is it doesn't get enough attention. It's not shown on television as often as say all of the Friday The 13th films nor is it talked about enough.





Why It's Worth Watching



One of the best things about The Monster Squad is the kids. Not only are they the underdogs in this story but their love of monsters can be relatable to anyone who loves the horror genre.



Another thing you'll enjoy about the movie is it's sense of humor. There's a lot of funny moments. My favorite being a fictional movie in the movie called Groundhog Day Part 12. That kind of was a direct shot to the slasher genre.



Now some of the special effects were a little iffy. It mainly showed with anything that wasn't a practical effect. But that's where the film shines. With the practical effects. That transformation for The Wolfman is great.



The other strong aspect of the film is the friendship that Frankenstein formed with the kids. It was a very charming moment in the film.



Monster Squad also contains nice little nods to classic horror films. And I'm not just talking about the main antagonist. For instance there's a plane called "Browning". For any of you want to know why that's clever just watch 1931's Dracula.



The final thing I'll give the movie credit for is the performances. While the child actors did do a good job with their characters I think the best one is Duncan Regehr as Dracula. He was awesome.





Accomplishments



While the movie didn't have a strong start at first it did get a better reception as the years went by. Audiences grew to love the movie, which in return got the film a cult following and is now in cult classic status.






The Monster Squad is one of those horror comedies that really deserves more love and attention. It has very likeable protagonist, funny moments, spectacular practical special effects, a cute moment with Frankenstein & the kids, clever easter eggs to previous horror movies, and strong performances. The only real problem is not very good effects that aren't practical.




My final rating is Great





While that's going to do it for my Halloween themed reviews. I hope you enjoyed it. Come back next Halloween season when I review the Ghostbusters movies. Yes that sadly means the 2016 film.




State of The Project (Oct 15th - Nov 1st)




Oct 15th - Jaws 2 Review



Oct 18th - Explaining The Halloween Timelines



Oct 20th - Halloween (2018) Review



Oct 22nd - Cinematic Disasters - Jaws 3-D



Oct 25th - Cinematic Disasters - Jaws: The Revenge



Oct 29th - Underrated Films - The Monster Squad Review



Nov 1st - Update Regarding The Road to Dark Phoenix






NOTE: IF ANYTHING CHANGES I WILL TELL YOU!

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