A film I feel is a victim of ‘Hype’, I hadnt seen ‘The Monster Club’ before tonight. In fact, as far as im aware this didnt really get any kind of release in the UK…Which almost certainly contributed to this being a missed one for me. But! I know a lot of folks who did grow up watching it, who appreciated it and consider it a classic. And to those folks, I say ‘more power to you!’ Im glad you have a movie that brings you nostalgic joy! For me though? it sadly wasnt the case.

The film follows a group of preteens who are obsessed with horror and monster movies, who inadvetently end up getting pulled into a prophesized catastrophe. 100 years ago a group of monster hunter (led by Van Hellsing) were set to destroy an amulet that would have given the ‘classic’ monsters of the world (Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, the Creature from the Black Lagoon and the Wolfman) an untold level of power. Unfortunately, they botched their mission and instead the monsters were banished to return every 100 years for a limited time to try again. Well, its 1987 and the monsters are ressurrected once again. Leading to ‘The Monster Squad’ forming to take down the beastly baddies!

The comparison to ‘The Goonies’ here is all but inevitable, but for me? the thing that kind of makes this film fall a bit flat is simply because I dont really know who the intended target audience is for it. This is an example of the old 80’s ‘PG’ which goes a LOT harder than the modern rating. And as such the language is a lot LOT harder than expected.

This is, in essence, a kids movie. But they drop homophobic slurs pretty regularly, theres some strong language (stopping just short of F-bombs) and strange extended sequences in which children and young teens Virginities are deeply analysed.

As such, I think most parents wouldnt want their kids to pre-teens to watch this, I think teens would just get annoyed that its a bit too babyish, and as an adult, I kind of struggled to stay interested purely because its a bit slow honestly.

The script has some real pacing issues, with the opening of the film being both slow and somewhat annoying as we go into painful detail setting up the characters, the 2nd act introduces the monsters, but…you dont really feel the historical ‘weight’ behind them, I mean, these are some of movies greatest horror icons for the time…and the film just kind of dumps them into the film without THAT much explanation, and then doesnt really do much to flesh them out either…And worse still. The monsters only have VERY minimal interaction with the present day. before leading to a 3rd act that feels like its finally found its feet, builds a good pace, but ends way too soon and abruptly.

Tonally, it feels like its trying to appeal to teeens strongest, it has a very base style humour that wasnt really for me (‘Wolfmans got Nards’) is probably the best part of this thing. The characters feel cribbed from other 80s movies and dont feel as fully fleshed out as characters, they feel very one note and largely seem to just shout gimmicky catchphrases every so often and little else.

I will say they do seem to manage to handle character growth fairly well here. but its rudamentary. they give 2-4 characters ONE thing thats going to change over the runtime. and then it does in a really bland and beige way…But the fundamentals of the characters pretty much stay the same.

While I think in terms of act structuring and overall pacing, they just about get it right (this is 82 minutes and I think that feel about right) its pacing within the acts is problematic to say the least, and really could have done with just…a bit more pep, and probably a bit more focus on the monsters truthfully.

On the other hand however, this is the first time we’ve seen all the ‘Universal’ era monsters on the screen at the same time, and the first time we’ve seen more than 2 sharing the same screen since the early 1950s. and they look INCREDIBLE. Honestly; this is some fantastic practical work in refreshing the Universal Monsters looks. and I think, barrig Dracula (who doesnt look nearly menacing enough for me) everyone else looks fantastic.

The direciton is creative, rock solid and has a clear and consise vision. Its a shame its applied to a somewhat lacklustre script. But I can see how this COULD have captivated audiences back in the day. The cine is sharp, well composed with plenty of B-roll to help bring the scenes to life. Colour work is consistent and really helps give the film a strong sense of self identity. and the lighting work is superb as well. Its all held together by a rock solid edit. I can accuse this film of having a less than steller script, thats seemingly more of an excuse to wheel out and refresh the ‘Universal Monster’s’. I CANT accuse it of skimping on the visuals. This is a VERY good looking movie.

The performances here are very hit and miss. The biggest problem for me? The Monster Squad themselves. Im not going to go into detail on the quality of the performances, because I dont really pick apart child actors, they’re still learning their craft. But what I will say is that realistically, it feels a bit crowded with there being upwards of between 5 and 7 members of the squad, especially when the script is so poor from a character depth perspective. Honestly, I think this could have been SO much better had the squad been 3 kids and a 4th interchangable character dropping in to help them battle the monsters.

Andre Gower and Ryan Lambert for my money probably would have been a solid pairing together in this. they both seem to get the lions share of the dialogue, they have a strong screen presence and seem to get the most distinct characters out of the lot.

Leonardo Cimino is also fantastic as the elderly ‘scary German man’ who helps the squad out in translating Van Hellsings journals. he has a real presence and transitions nicely across the runtime from being an intimidating figure to a very warm one.

The scores probably the best thing about the movie. it really has a nice atmosphere and the timings rock solid for JUST coming in EXACTLY when its needed.

But…Ultimately, I kind of struggled with this one. It didnt really give me enough to well and truely hook me, and while I really appreciated seeing the ‘Classic’ monsters out with a new lick of paint. the fact the core plot was so basic, and the tone and vibe was so skittish between being kind of fun and kind of offensive…it wasnt really for me.

I can absolutely appreciate it on a technical level. I think there are moments where the script really shines…But The tone pacing, basic plotting, performances and how the cast and monsters were utilized were just too underdone for me. Maybe a rewatch around Halloween could change my mind. but otherwise, this ones ‘Above Average’ by the skin of its teeth. thanks largely to its technical aspects.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/the-monster-squad/