Tri-Star Pictures
You know who to call when you have ghosts, but who do you call about monsters? The Monster Squad -— a group of young kids devoted to protecting their suburban neighborhood from strange things that go bump in the night. They ain’t afraid of no ghouls! Count Dracula (Duncan Regehr) escapes Van Helsing (Jack Gwillim) and adjourns to modern-day Earth in search of an ancient amulet that will grant him final control over the delicate balance between good and evil in the world. To help him, the creepy Count calls on some old friends: the weird Wolfman (Carl Thibault), grotesque Gill-Man (Tom Woodruff Jr.), mildewed Mummy (Michael MacKay) and freaky Frankenstein (Tom Noonan). Standing in their way -— The Monster Squad! Produced by Peter Hyams, written by Shane Black and Fred Dekker and directed by Dekker, the cult smash Monster Squad makes ghost-busting look like child’s play!
REVIEW
I’ve only seen The Monster Squad once in my life — until now — and I didn’t even see all of it. I remember being in a hotel room on some business trip and the movie was on TV, maybe HBO, so I decided to give it a look … and then fell asleep. It was a catnap apparently because the movie was still on when I woke up but it just didn’t grab me. It seemed cheaply made, and felt too much like it was ripping off 80s movies like The Goonies and others with kids as the ‘heroes’. So I never had a desire to watch it again. But over the years its fan base has grown and the movie has been more warmly received and appreciated in the intervening years. So when Kino Lorber announced a new 4K version of the film for home video, I thought now is the perfect time to revisit it to see if I was wrong about the film after my one-time partial viewing.
I’m happy to say I was completely wrong. Utterly and totally wrong. The Monster Squad holds up amazingly well for a 1987 film. Does it borrow heavily from movies like The Goonies and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial? Sure, but in the best way, taking a completely fantastical situation and grounding it in reality through the great writing of Shane Black and Fred Dekker (though be warned there are some elements of the screenplay — I’d say easily attributable to Black — that would not be acceptable in a film today), and the wonderful performances of its kid cast. André Gower is terrific as Sean, the leader of the Monster Squad, a natural talent who delivers the dialogue with such skill as to make it all sound completely natural (again, the writing gives the kids a real authenticity). Robby Kiger (Patrick), Brent Chalem (Horace), Michael Faustino (Eugene), Ryan Lambert (Rudy) and Ashley Bank (Phoebe) are all just terrific and feel like the friends you grew up with. Duncan Regehr also turns in one of the best interpretations of Count Dracula, never camping it up, and Tom Noonan gives us one of the most sympathetic portrayals of Frankenstein’s Monster since Karloff in the original movie. Even under the amazing make-up from Stan Winston’s crew, Noonan is able to emote so much with his facial expressions that you can’t help but feel empathy for the creature. And his bond with young Phoebe, who accepts him despite his gruesome appearance, give the story even more heart. The relationship of Sean and Phoebe’s parents (Stephen Macht and Mary Ellen Trainor) is strained but also comes off as very natural, a couple going through a tough time due to the husband Del’s job as a police officer who is always on call. The only performance that feels way over-the-top and completely out of place is Stan Shaw as Del’s partner, Detective Sapir. The less said about him, the better, but he doesn’t completely ruin the movie. Leonardo Cimino also turns in a lovely performance as ‘Scary German Guy’ — the character is never given a name — that neighbor all the kids fear because no one really knows anything about him. But when he does interact with the Squad for the first time and they are impressed with his knowledge of monsters, his comments that he is familiar with monsters and a subtle reveal tells us all we need to know about the man is a true gut-punch. He later becomes instrumental in helping the kids save the world.
Many over the years have looked down on The Monster Squad as just a kids movie with kid-friendly versions of the classic monsters, but that perception is just so very wrong. The storyline is handled with surprising maturity, and director Dekker strove to ground the fantastical elements in reality and it paid off in spades. Dracula is surprisingly menacing, the Wolfman has some scenes of shocking violence, the Mummy is actually quite disturbing, the Gill Man is creepy, and Dracula’s Brides are done so well that they could have easily been the inspiration for the characters in Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stocker’s Dracula. The level of violence — though with kid-friendly amounts of blood — is a surprise but it also makes the situation feel real. This is a kids film that never talks down to its target audience and can be enjoyed by adults as well. Like I mentioned, some elements of the screenplay — use of a derogatory F-word, slut shaming, fat shaming — are certainly of the era and may cause eyebrows to raise but the overall story, the performances, the make-up design, cinematography, Bruce Broughton’s score, and Dekker’s direction all add up to a terrific film, and it’s not hard to see why its status among movie buffs has continued to grow over the years. With Kino Lorber’s new edition of the film, presented how the filmmaker’s intended, should keep The Monster Squad‘s reputation, and fan base, growing.
Tri-Star Pictures
VIDEO
I’m going to blame my first impression of the film on the terrible pan-and-scan version that played on TV and was released to home video. The new 2.35:1 4K master from the original 35mm camera negative with HDR/Dolby Vision enhancement is nothing short of spectacular, presented on a triple-layer UHD100 disc that gives the film room to breathe. The video presentation has a fine grain to it that retains the film look and it is sharp, with vivid colors in some of the more fantastical scenes. Other scenes that take place in the kids’ daily lives are completely natural, even though most of the colors tend toward the brown tones that were somehow popular in the 1980s. A lot of scenes also take place in the darkness but there is never any loss of detail. The opening titles are done in a bright red and I did not detect any bleeding of the color, which is common with red, and the brighter scenes are never blown out. It all looks completely natural. The film is presented in its original aspect ratio which also makes the film feel more expensive and reveals some details, some important to the plot, that have been missing from the old pan-and-scan versions. The film was produced before the advent of CGI effects, so all of the monsters are played by actors in amazing make-ups that hold up extremely well in 4K, and even some of the animated effects and blue screen compositing that seem quaint by today’s standards still hold up very well in the new ultra high-definition format. If you’ve never seen The Monster Squad, or if you’ve only seen it on TV, do yourself a favor and pick up this new 4K edition (the package also comes with a Blu-ray that is sourced from the same 4K master). You won’t be sorry.
AUDIO
The disc includes a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track, a commentary track with Fred Dekker and cinematographer Bradford May that gives insight into the production of the film and highlights the classic films that serves as an inspiration for The Monster Squad, and a second commentary track with Dekker and actors André Gower, Ryan Lambert, and Ashley Bank which allows the group to talk about the film and their favorite parts of making it. I always appreciate commentary that actually addresses the film and isn’t simply an barely-related essay. Both of these tracks are informative and entertaining. The 5.1 track gives the audio a lot of depth give gives the surrounds plenty of action. The 2.0 track keeps everything front and center but the dialogue is never overwhelmed by the music or sound effects (and if you happen to listen to the movie with earbuds or headphones, the 2.0 track is the way to go). The same audio tracks are also included on the Blu-ray. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature which appear inside the image frame when turned on.
SPECIAL FEATURES
The Monster Squad comes loaded with bonus material on the Blu-ray (the 4K disc only includes the bonus audio tracks so as to not compromise the video image):
- Monster Squad Forever (77 minutes, not subtitled) — An archival five-part documentary that delves into the making of the film with participation of Dekker, Duncan Regehr, Gower, monster makers Alec Gillis and John Rosengrant, and others.
- A Conversation with Frankenstein (9 minutes, not subtitled) — A mock interview with Tom Noonan in character as the Frankenstein Monster talking about his (the Monster’s) career, the making of the movie and what the future holds for him. In the audio track with the actors, the mention that Noonan was always in character and they never saw him out of make-up so this interview seems to confirm his method approach to the character.
- Deleted Scenes (15 minutes, not subtitled) from Fred Dekker’s personal archives and the syndicated television version of the film.
- An Animated Storyboard Sequence (2 minutes, not subtitled) for the final fight between The Mummy and The Monster Squad.
- Stills Gallery (9 minutes, with music) that collects production stills, lobby card, posters and other artwork from the film’s video releases.
- Two vintage TV Spots (2 minutes, not subtitled).
- Vintage Theatrical Trailer (2 minutes, not subtitled).
The package comes with a third Blu-ray disc containing the 2018 documentary feature Wolfman’s Got Nards, a 90-minute look at the the film’s enduring cult appeal with interviews with Dekker, Black, cast members, celebrity fans, and film enthusiasts. The film was directed by André Gower, and includes optional English subtitles. A very welcome addition to this already stellar package.
OVERVIEW
I’m always happy to revisit a film and find out that my first impression was wrong, and I was so, so wrong about The Monster Squad. Even though the film is set in the ‘Present Day’ of 1987, it never feels too dated. The performances are all terrific (save for that one), the monsters are menacing, the kids all feel like very real people, the script is sharp, and it all looks fabulous in 4K. I really can’t recommend this package enough for long-time fans or newcomers to the film. I’m very happy I gave the film a second chance to make a first impression.
Kino Lorber generously provided Hotchka with the 4K for reviewing purposes.
The Monster Squad has a running time of 1 hour 22 minutes and is rated PG-13.
Tri-Star Pictures
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