The Monster Squad
It was in 1887 that Abraham Van Helsing and his cohort fought to free the world from evil, entering the lair of Count Dracula beneath his castle in Transylvania, a land besieged by darkness, hoping to vanquish him forever in a confluence of events which occurs only once in a century, but it was not to be, the vortex opened but the forces of light overwhelmed and the master and his monstrous associates escaping.
One hundred years later, the diary of Van Helsing falls into the possession of young Sean Crenshaw who, along with his friends Patrick, Horace and Eugene, form the Monster Squad, fans of horror and in particular the classic Universal films of the thirties, Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy and The Creature from the Black Lagoon, understandably shocked, horrified and somewhat elated in their vindication when it turns out their favourite characters are all real and in town, seeking to establish a new territory of evil.
Released in the summer of 1987 and carefully avoiding treading on the toes of Universal who held the rights to the films which inspired it, The Monster Squad was directed by Night of the Creeps’ Fred Dekker from a script co-written with his friend, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’s Shane Black, a comedy horror action mashup which played consciously towards a younger audience, enjoyable but lacking the bite which turned Gremlins and Fright Night into crossover classics, at more times more reminiscent of E.T. – The Extra-Terrestrial with the gang heading to 666 Shadowbrook Road on their bicycles.
Led by Deep Space Nine’s Duncan Regehr as Dracula, rocking up in a hearse with a subtle silver skull hood ornament, with Mary Ellen Trainor and Stephen Macht as Emily and Detective Del Crenshaw and effects artist Tom Woodruff Jr performing as the Gill-man, it is told through the experiences of the kids, Andre Gower, Robby Kiger and Brent Chalem as Sean, Patrick and Horace with special mention for Ashley Bank as Phoebe, denied access to the treehouse because of her youth and gender but in fact secret weapon against the forces of darkness.
A film of prominent Pepsi product placement which acknowledges kids love horror where the “monsters” are not always quite as they seem, recreating and subverting the drowning scene of Frankenstein, as the misunderstood and inherently gentle galvanised creation Late Phases’ Tom Noonan brings sympathy while Dune’s Leonardo Cimino’s “Scary German Guy” is in fact a kind and supportive neighbour who offers translation services alongside insight, pie and courage to fight against the incarnations of evil, none of them radical reinventions from the traditional but well realised, as would be expected with Stan Winston’s team crafting his designs.
Resurrected in a 4K restoration by Arrow, The Monster Squad arrives with a packed crypt across two discs with two audio commentaries, teaming Dekker first with cast then with director of photography Bradford May, two feature length documentaries, from 2007 and Gower’s own Wolfman’s Got Nards from 2018, interviews with the effects team, composer Bruce Broughton and others, deleted scenes, a music video, a vintage 1986 featurette, storyboards, trailers, television spots and a gallery.
The Monster Squad will be available on 4K UHD and Blu-ray from Arrow from Monday 12th October
