As I've mentioned before, my girlfriend is not a fan of horror films. They genuinely freak her out. So as I continue my eternal efforts to slowly expand her genre film appreciation, I started her off this October with the softest of all soft and cushy "scary" movies, The Monster Squad.
This movie was a longtime VHS-only gem. A half-remembered dream from an 80s child's nostalgic memories. I envy all who grew up with this movie and had "Wolfman has nards!" as a part of their vernacular. I didn't see it until they finally released on DVD a few years ago, but I love it all the same. It takes the classic Universal monsters Dracula, Wolfman, Frankenstein, the Mummy and the Creature From The Black Lagoon and puts them in 80s suburbia, hatching a plot to take over the world with only a ragtag club of kids to stop them. That is pure cinema gold, my friends.
I think it's fantastic that Fred Dekker, a truly talented director, took the time to make a kids horror movie that isn't stupid and doesn't pander just to kids, make it snappy and funny and inject it with some real heart and emotion. It's just an overall great flick that you can show to anyone at any given age and they'll probably dig it.
One thing I love about Dekker is how in both Night of The Creeps (another all-time favorite) and in this flick, all the one-liners are absolute show-stoppers. Dekker clearly knows the lasting power of catchphrases and quotes and it's like someone pulls the needle off a record before each one....shit just freezes for an instant before the goods get delivered. So cheesy, but damn it feels so good.
Also, there's lots of top-notch makeup and creature effects and Tom Noonan is particularly great as Frankenstein.
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