The Monster Squad

100 years ago, the forces of darkness threatened mankind with total dominion and servitude. Led by the evil Count Dracula, the evil ones seemed on the cusp of success. Possessed of an amulet with magical powers, Abraham Van Helsing, Dracula's nemisis, thwarted their evil doings by creating a rift in time, sending them all into a vortex and potentially capping the evil in a permanent state of nothingness.

They Blew It.

Based on a screenplay by Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, Last Action Hero) and Fred Dekker (Night of the Creeps, Robocop 3), The Monster Squad revolves around a young group of friends that are obsessed with horror movies and the myths and legends that surrounds them.

There is a lot of heart to this story and while it can come off cheesy nowadays, if you dig deeper there's a lot of darkness thats implied off screen too.

The kids in this story aren't just fighting Dracula, The Wolfman, The Creature from the Black Lagoon and Frankensteins' Monster, they are also dealing with the issues of parents having marriage problems, sisters who have a bad reputation and there's even a very small subplot involving the holocaust.

That being said though, the film is a lot of fun. Like a precursor to Last Action Hero, the script has nice little nods to existing movie lore and is very self referential.

The film has some spectacular action pieces that hold up well today. The effects are courtesy of Stan Winston, Tom Woodruff Jr and Alec Gillis, all three worked on James Cameron's Aliens. There's a real sense of care and attention to detail here as the creature effects are second to none. There's something to be said about Practical effects and while the optical effects might look hokey, they add to the fun atmosphere of the movie.

The lead actors, André Gower, Robbie Kiger, Brent Chalem and Ryan Lambert are all likeable and give you a sense of being genuine kids having a good time. Supported by a stellar cast of character actors, notable, Tom Noonan, Stephen Macht, Duncan Regehr and Jon Gries, the film is all the better for having a strong cast.

Fred Dekker had only directed Night of the Creeps before this and it doesn't show. The reason why this film works and why, after 22 years is still finding an audience is because of the deft hand behind the camera. Dekker commands each shot with the assuredness of Spielberg and the eye of Carpenter. After this film he has so far only directed one other - Robocop 3.

The Monster Squad appeals to the little kid inside all of us and has been a rare gem of a movie. It has smart dialogue, good performances and great special effects.
I give this film 4.5 out of 5.