DAY SIX - The Monster Squad (horror movie challenge - 31 days of horror)

Sofia is back! And we indulged in a little cult classic called The Monster Squad.

DAY SIX - THE MONSTER SQUAD (1987)

Wolfman’s got nards!

The Horror Squad is an 80’s horror comedy directed by Fred Dekker who also gave us the wonderful Night of the Creeps. It’s more of a kids movie and I only wish I had watched this when I was young because it would’ve given me life.

I started out with a bit of bad luck because I’m blind as a bat and can’t afford new glasses so when the prologue started scrolling across the screen in red writing on a black background – I was fucked. So I was a little confused on how the monsters actually arrived in modern day, but that’s my bad.

The Monster Squad is a group of young boys and a little girl who love the Universal Monsters like Dracula and the creature from the black lagoon. Their club leader Sean is the shit. He wears a “Stephen King Rules” t-shirt and is now my hero and also I need to make that shirt. Then his little sister, Phoebe, who they won’t actually let in the tree house club, but who is a total bad ass and not only befriends Frankenstein’s monster but saves the whole day. There’s also Patrick and Eugene and “fat kid” whose real name is Horace, but everyone calls him Fat Kid which is so awful I almost cried. And then finally there’s Rudy – the cool junior high kid who wears a leather jacket, smokes cigarettes and drinks beer?!?!?!?! What kind of lack of parenting nonsense.

The monsters are brought into present day because Dracula is searching for an amulet that will allow evil to take over. Once the kids realize what’s happening, they’re the only ones who can save the day!

image credit
The movie was super cute, the monster makeup was classic and the humor was on point. I loved all the kids so much and thought they did a great job of carrying the film. Of course, the adults were pretty great too. What with “scary German guy” helping them read Van Helsing’s journal, and sharing with them he “has some experience with monsters” and revealing his concentration camp number tattoo. Sean’s Dad is a detective and he and his partner have a very great and humorous dynamic.

Oh yeah, also this movie comes with its own classic 80’s rap song:

It just seemed like a love letter to those classic Universal monsters and the kids that grew up loving them. It was respectful and funny and probably a little scary for a very young audience. I really loved it and will definitely watch it again. 8/10.

gif credit

SOFIA'S REVIEW:

Well hello there! Quick intro, my name is Sofia, and I am a 16-year-old budding horror enthusiast. My lovely friend Charlotte asked me to join her on her 31 day challenge, and I undoubtedly agreed, despite the fact that I am a total wimp. Since I am an aspiring writer, you could imagine my excitement when she asked me to co-write on her blog for this wonderful spooky month. You can find me on my personal blog, www.memoirsofanerdgirl.wordpress.com , and join me on my adventure of my life! Now, onto the review!

gif credit

I really enjoyed this movie! The band of misfit kids that played our main characters gave off a Goonies vibe, which of course, is freaking amazing. Also, they have Rudy, a junior high schooler who is clearly the bomb.com. What would he be, 14? Super greaser, complete with white t shirt, black leather jacket and sunglasses, gelled black hair, and the notorious cigarette dangling from his fingertips. Which, by the way, was lit by striking a match off his shoe. And he rides a bike everywhere. *swoon*

I loved the old timey representation of classic monsters, including a zombie, werewolf, Frankenstein's monster and Dracula himself.

At one point, the 'annoying little sister' actually says "come on guys don't be chicken shits" and I died. She was the one brave enough to approach and make friends with Frankenstein's monster. All the power to you, small child!

image credit

Awesome 80's music montage of them preparing for monster fighting. It gave me life. The father, a cop, gets a chilling call from a supposedly dead man turned werewolf saying "they're gonna kill your son", which the cop takes seriously. There's a scene where everyone is going to investigate the spooky house and our chubby goonie look-alike friend is going "maybe we don’t have to be the monster squad. Maybe we can be the nature squad, stay at home, look at rocks" and I have decided this is an accurate representation of mine and Charlotte's relationship. I am the chubby frightened friend, it's true.

Dracula has an amazing end where he bombs the kid’s tree house, and as he walks away and it explodes behind him, he super creepily goes "meeting adjourned" and it is just awesome.

This movie is full of amazing one liners, it made my horror soul happy. Overall, this movie gets a 9/10. Not hella scary, due to its age (1987), but just super enjoyable.

See you back here for Day Seven!
Starting on day 7 is the theme of "new movies" aka movies that have recently come out that I haven't seen. They may be terrible, they may be amazing. We'll find out!
Stay Spooky!