has anybody else seen this fucking awesome 80s movie? it was like goonies with monsters (atleast thats probably what they sold it as), but i grew up with this thing.
Yeah, used to watch this all the time when it was on tv. I remember there being a hot blond 80's chick, and there's a scene where they need a virgin for some ritual, and she has to bow out. It was funny...
oh hell yeah dude!! i wanted to join the monster squad so badly! what do i mean "wanted"? i still wanna join! :-D
Hell yes! The obligatory "tough guy" was pretty cool when he took out those female vampires with his bow.
Does anyone remember what movie the main character would watch on top of his hill, facing down the drive-in? Can't remember.
"WOLFMAN'S GOT NARDS!"
so many classic lines...
creature stole my twinkie.
mummys in my room.
dear army guys, come quick, there are monsters, eugene.
oh, the memories -- this gives me the same tingly feeling i get when i think about the flight of the navigator
If sources are correct, the DVD will hit streets on 10/28.
i remember bits and peices of this movie from seeing it when i was very young, i remember being very sad becuz - doesn't somebody's dad become a werewolf or something and they have to shoot him?
Quote from: MacGuffinIf sources are correct, the DVD will hit streets on 10/28.
best news ever. i cant wait.
Quote from: cowboykurtisoh, the memories -- this gives me the same tingly feeling i get when i think about the flight of the navigator
COMPLIANCE!
Quote from: ewardi remember bits and peices of this movie from seeing it when i was very young, i remember being very sad becuz - doesn't somebody's dad become a werewolf or something and they have to shoot him?
the dude that becomes a werewolf isnt anybodys dad in the movie but it is sad when he gets shot because he turns back into himself and says "thank you". classic. (recently he was in Northfork, me to girlfriend in theatre "wolfmans got nards!") also sad, when frankenstein after making friends with Phobe the Feeb, has to go away in the portal at the end.
i really really hope they use the poster art, because its great. its on the video i have (sans the tagline, which was instead "call them for a monster-ous good time).
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hundland.com%2Fposters%2Fm%2FTheMonsterSquad.jpg&hash=8de00208ba3cce741839a13428df8230e6a50509)
its not like theres any stars faces to blow up but there are probably rights issues to use the artwork which they wont want to pay for, which will result in a shitty cover. fingers crossed for an extra of any kind.
Quote from: themodernage02it was like goonies with monsters
I loved the hell out of this movie in my youth. I recently rewatched it and was not into it nearly as much. If and when this comes out on DVD, someone please watch Goonies, then MS and see how badly they ripped Goonies off. I want to love them both, but I just can't...
aw
Confirmed:
On October 28th, Pacific Family Entertainment will release Monster Squad. Alas, Pacific Family is not a distributor known for their quality, but retail is only $14.95 a pop.
hey macguffin, do you know if this actually came out? cant seem to find any listing for it on amazon or anywhere.
Where is this dvd? The release date has come and gone and it doesn't seem to have been released.
Quote from: themodernage02hey macguffin, do you know if this actually came out? cant seem to find any listing for it on amazon or anywhere.
Quote from: StefenWhere is this dvd? The release date has come and gone and it doesn't seem to have been released.
I guess it was pushed back, but till who knows when. Maybe the owners of the rights put a hold on it.
In the mean time, look at this. (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3375007247&category=41559)
i just watched this again tonite (although i've seen it about 1000 times since my dad brought me to see it in the theatres when i was about 5 years old), and i just wanted to extend my recommendation to anyone who went to see Van Helsing because they really WANTED it to be good. if you have not seen this movie, please seek it out.
its not perfect, but its really worthwhile. if the concept of getting a couple of the big universal monsters together in one movie appeals to you, this is for you. the monsters are all great, and totally respectful of/true to their origins. stan winston does the great makeup here and there are tons of little nods to the old movies (unlike van helsing which is completely unrecognizable as having ANYTHING to do with them outside of the opening sequence). its smart, hip (for the times) and funny and still manages to have some scares. how the hell THIS low budget 80's kids movie managed to be better than a $150 million universal studios summer tentpole i have no idea. if anyone wants to discuss it further on why i think its a great movie, ill be happy to. now where the hell is the dvd?
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.horrordvds.com%2Freviews%2Fa-m%2Fmsquad-jld%2Fmsquad-jld_shot2l.jpg&hash=5307f331532d26c42a639cec5fc99e3cf27bd1ab)
for some reason i've had this movie in my head recently.
the only part i remember is them kicking the werewolf in the balls.
i want to say it's in the middle of a street at night where they've probably put water down because i seem to remember light reflecting off of it.
maybe this part was in the trailer as well.
it was just one of those movies that i saw when my mom would rent a bunch of movies on weekends.
too bad i can't see it.
it seems the same fate is for the Wizard with Fred Savage and Jenny Lewis. a friend and i were talking about it last week.
i guess the advent of chain rental stores like Blockbuster, etc have cleared out mom and pop video stores, so these are no longer for rent on VHS. these movies were probably sold really cheaply when their stock was bought out, and unfortunately have not been released on DVD. it's shame when so much worse crap has been.
___________________________________
after writing this, i decided to check eBay.
it looks like there are legit releases on DVD.
one says "THX Remastering" and 5.1
(unless bootleggers are getting really good)
no idea which is the way to go.
Quote from: bigideasthe Wizard with Fred Savage and Jenny Lewis.
Is that the one about the video game genius with the mario game and the flute? I remember that movie.
Quote from: bigideasthe only part i remember is them kicking the werewolf in the balls.
i want to say it's in the middle of a street at night where they've probably put water down because i seem to remember light reflecting off of it.
fat kid kicks wolfman in the nards when they are trapped in draculas house because frank is buried under some boards and dracula and his vampire brides are blocking the other exits.
all those on ebay are bootlegs, there has been no official release.
Quote from: A Matter Of ChanceQuote from: bigideasthe Wizard with Fred Savage and Jenny Lewis.
Is that the one about the video game genius with the mario game and the flute? I remember that movie.
yes. it was how Nintendo introduced Super Mario Bros. 3.
Jenny Lewis is now the lead singer of Rilo Kiley.
about Monster Squad:
i found the trailer through imdb.
i think i was confusing it with the part where the guy is shooting the bow.
why do you think they're saying THX Remastered and 5.1?
how can someone fake that?
or maybe its not so much fake, but lying.
i'm guessing you still have an old VHS copy?
p.s. i e-mailed one of the ebay guys and asked.
It is Shane Black's finest work (save for Last Boy Scout).
Filmmaker Fred Dekker is appearing at Alamo Downtown screenings of Night of the Creeps on Saturday 4/15 and The Monster Squad on Sunday 4/16.
Quote from: MacGuffin on April 14, 2006, 02:36:14 PM
Filmmaker Fred Dekker is appearing at Alamo Downtown screenings of Night of the Creeps on Saturday 4/15 and The Monster Squad on Sunday 4/16.
In case anyone was wondering, that's in Austin.
Quote from: RegularKarate on April 14, 2006, 02:41:04 PM
Quote from: MacGuffin on April 14, 2006, 02:36:14 PM
Filmmaker Fred Dekker is appearing at Alamo Downtown screenings of Night of the Creeps on Saturday 4/15 and The Monster Squad on Sunday 4/16.
In case anyone was wondering, that's in Austin.
i know. :cry: :yabbse-cry: :cry:
i was hoping this was a dvd release news item
=(
i still really really want to see it, but not 4 hr drive want to see it.
if it were at all possible i would've considered flying in for it. :shock:
thanks modage, this thread made me download this to relive the memories of watching this too many times when I was 5
http://www.aintitcoolnews.com/display.cgi?id=23100
I'm going to write a letter.
i just wrote mine. its going in the mail monday. i dont think its going to happen but i would pay 100$ for a really good SE with commentaries and those 13 minutes of deleted scenes put back into an alt cut of the film. seriously.
I mailed a letter not too long after the screening/ain't it cool business.
No word on anything yet?
Yeah, they released it not too long ago. Did you not get it? It's awesome!
i was hoping they had released some kind of statement saying they got a lot of letters and would consider doing something about it.
Lionsgate to Release 'Monster Squad' 20th Anniversary! mod creams his pants
Source: Bloody-Disgusting news
One of our new favorite horror mags, HorrorHound Magazine, just scored some amazing info this afternoon - Lionsgate Home Entertainment is working on a special DVD release for Monster Squad, which is slated for release sometime this year. The DVD will not be bare bones as the plan is to pack the 20th anniversary release with extra features. More news as it comes in and don't forget to pick up the next HorrorHound, which features a special retrospect on the film. Dracula is alive. In fact, he plans to rule the world and that is why he seeks the help of other legendary monsters. However, a bunch of kids regarded by their peers as losers uncover the devious plan and prepare for a counter strike. "Wolf Man has nards!"
http://www.horrorhound.com/news/newsview.aspx?g=11&f=11&t=65&p=138
BEST DVD NEWS EVER.
Quote from: MacGuffin on February 14, 2007, 10:32:57 PM
Lionsgate to Release 'Monster Squad' 20th Anniversary Because Bigideas Writes Letter!
sweet!
I guess now I'll have to throw out my bootleg DVD.
DVD producer talks MONSTER SQUAD disc
Source: Fangoria
At the just-concluded Monster-Mania convention in New Jersey, Fango sat down with DVD honcho Michael Felsher, who was there getting interviews and more with Fred Dekker and the reunited cast of the director's 1987 cult fave THE MONSTER SQUAD. Having created special features for THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, MANIAC COP and more via his Red Shirt Pictures company, Felsher graduates to DVD producer with MONSTER SQUAD, a long-awaited home release coming from Lionsgate later this year. While an exact street date and content details have yet to be finalized, Felsher tells Fango, "The plan is to do a new transfer in the original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. It has never been presented that way in North America; it was transferred on high-definition a couple of years ago, and that looked great, but it was in 1.78:1. So the new one will be 2.35, and Fred is very anxious to make sure it's presented properly.
"And there will be plenty of extras; here at Monster-Mania, we just completed an audio commentary with Fred and three members of the Monster Squad, Andre Gower, Ashley Bank and Ryan Lambert." Fango was privileged to sit in on the recording, a highly entertaining trip down memory lane for the grown-up SQUAD-ers; a panel discussion with the quartet and creature actors Duncan Regehr (Dracula), Tom Noonan (Frankenstein's monster) and Tom Woodruff Jr. (Gillman) was also taped for the disc. "I'm shooting a series of featurettes here that will be on the DVD as well," Felsher continues. "There are plans for other stuff, but since we're still going back and forth on what else will be on the disc, I don't want to say anything else right now."
The producer goes on to relate that the key reason for SQUAD's delay hitting DVD had to do with "a long, tangled rights history with that picture over the years. It was part of a catalog that was bought up by another company that then became part of this company that became part of another company that became part of a huge conglomerate, and it got kind of buried. A lot of people think that studios don't care about these titles, but sometimes they just don't know, they have no idea; it's just layer upon layer of catalogs. So I followed the catalog that MONSTER SQUAD was a part of, and it ended up at Lionsgate. I spoke to one of the marketing people there and sent them a proposal, and said, 'Look, the 20th anniversary is coming up, there have been screenings at the Alamo Drafthouse and elsewhere around the country; there's a great awareness of this movie right now.' The Lionsgate people are extremely into the genre, so they were very much interested and aware of the film, and they were excited about it and said, 'Sure, let's see what we can do.'
"One of my favorite calls of all time," Felsher adds, "was right after the deal was signed, calling Fred Dekker and saying, 'Guess what, Fred?' Because he would get calls over the years from people saying, 'I want to bring out MONSTER SQUAD.' 'Well, where are the rights?' But I was able to tell him, 'Fred, it's coming.' He's very excited about it, and has been such a great, enthusiastic supporter of this project, making sure that if you had to wait 20 years for a MONSTER SQUAD DVD, it's gonna be worth it." As for when fans will be able to pop it into their players, Felsher says, "I can't speak for Lionsgate as to what their plans are. Obviously their intention is to have it out, I would think, before Halloween. But they haven't made any official announcement, so I'm not really at liberty to say."
One obvious question following from all this MONSTER SQUAD discussion is: What about a disc of Dekker's equally highly regarded debut feature, 1986's NIGHT OF THE CREEPS? "That's owned by another studio," Felsher explains, "and it's one that I've worked with before, and I've been on the phone pestering them about it. It's almost like a subliminal every time I call over there—'Hey, how's it going over there NIGHT OF THE CREEPS?' 'So how's that project coming NIGHT OF THE CREEPS?' [Laughs]
"So I keep mentioning it and throwing it in front of them, and I'm hoping at some point that one of two things will happen: That they'll realize there's a market for this film, or maybe they'll just do it to shut me up! I believe it's eventually going to happen; there's a new transfer that has aired on the Monsters HD network which looks wonderful, so they've got a new hi-def version sitting there. And of course Fred has his preferred ending that everyone seems to know, and that's another title where if the button was pressed, there's a lot of stuff. So I don't believe we're going to have to wait another 20 years to see a decent version of NIGHT OF THE CREEPS, though there are no plans at this particular moment."
Felsher is, however, deep into another exciting DVD project involving a different '80s genre favorite; check back here tomorrow for the scoop on that one, and see him at this weekend's Chicago Fango con for more exclusives and details!
I downloaded this around Halloween, and it wasn't as good as I remember it being. The version I downloaded was really crappy. A straight VHS rip. Maybe if it's a better version.
Final 'Monster Squad' Specs, Cover Art Revealed
Source: Bloody-Disgusting
Apparently the old news was a little premature as we've just received the final "approved" specs for Lionsgate's Monster Squad 20th Anniversary DVD release, which will hit retailers on July 24. Inside you'll find the specs, along with the final DVD cover art. Count Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, the Wolfman, the Mummy and the Gillman – adjourn to earth in search of a powerful amulet that will grant them power to rule the world. However, a bunch of kids regarded by their peers as losers and outsiders uncover the devious plan and prepare for a counter strike. Now, our heroes - the Monster Squad - are the only ones daring to stand in their way.
The 1980s cult classic, The Monster Squad, makes its long awaited DVD debut with a "monster-ous" 20th anniversary edition. To pay tribute to this true fan favorite, the 2-disc set will be featured in collectible foil o-card packaging and is loaded with extra features, including a five-part retrospective, classic interviews, deleted scenes, commentaries and much more!
DVD SPECIAL FEATURES:
• Monster Squad Forever! – A five-part retrospective featuring new interviews with writer/director Fred
Dekker, actors André Gower, Ryan Lambert, Ashley Bank, Duncan Regehr, Tom Noonan and more!
• A Conversation with Frankenstein – A never-before-seen classic interview with the Monster himself!
• Deleted Scenes
• Audio commentary with Writer/Director Fred Dekker and "Squad Members" André Gower, Ryan Lambert
and Ashley Bank
• Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Fred Dekker and Director of Photography Bradford May
• Original Theatrical Trailer and TV Spot
• Stills Gallery
• Newly Mastered 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Cover art:
http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/8808
yeah i could not be happier about this. incredible.
http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/bdtv/Player.php?id=820
A Monster Squad reunion movie?
Source: Moviehole
Like a lot of genre pics, "The Monster Squad" didn't do much on its initial theatrical release but has become somewhat of a cult hit thanks to video. There's a renewed interest in the popular 80s flick - Young kids form a club that is devoted to monsters, but soon get more than they bargained for when Count Dracula adjourns to Earth- with a brand spankin' new special edition DVD due out for the film any day now, and its got director Fred Dekker thinking sequel.
"At Monster Mania, I was sitting around with the Squad and we started talking about 'where are these characters today?'" Dekker tells Dread Central. "I got really excited about it the more we talked about it; imagine Rudy as an auto mechanic in Detroit with a crumbling marriage and an alcohol problem, and he gets a phone call from his old pal Sean who tells him they gotta get back together. That's a movie I would go see!"
Monster Squad Monday: Director Fred Dekker
We talk horror with the cult fave's director!
Welcome to Monster Squad Monday - the first in our three-week celebration of the classic horror-comedy. We're leading up to the film's long-awaited DVD release on July 24 with a weekly role-call of exclusive clips, interviews, announcements and more. Stay tuned to IGN for the next few Monday's for all things Monster Squad and possibly some super-secret, ultra-cool news about the Universal Monsters taking over Comic-Con!
Keep on reading for our interview with the film's co-writer and director, Fred Dekker.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monster Squad is a film almost universally-loved - the rare horror-comedy capable of providing laughs and scares in equal measure while corralling a group of young, relatively unknown pre-teen actors into a series of genuinely affable, charismatic performances. Doing for the classic set of Universal monsters what The Goonies did for pirates, Monster Squad never quite achieved the theatrical success that so many of our aging generation now, in retrospect, understand that it deserved. Rather, it was a film - like many such films - that viewers discovered quietly, and over time, curiously plucked from store shelves and slotted into the over-sized VHS players of the late 1980's. And suddenly, rental by rental, the movie - like the Frankenstein or Dracula that threatened its title characters - began to take on an entirely new life.
Twenty years later, the Monster Squad is ready for its first appearance on DVD - a nostalgic reminder of the entertainments of our collective youth - and while the film may now be two decades older, the memory of classic lines like, "The Wolfman's got nards," is poised to drive viewers, both new and old, to this long-awaited release.
"I've heard a lot of stories about ancient, worn-out VHS copies," says Monster Squad director and co-writer Fred Dekker. Immediately likeable - and equally enthusiastic - one gets the sense that Dekker has managed to retain his child-like love of genre storytelling - having aged, perhaps, but never having quite grown up.
"The film really found its cult status rather late in life," he says. "And I think that there are people who saw the film as kids - who now have kids themselves - who want to revisit the film with the entire family. It's been a long time coming, really. But it's very, very gratifying."
Fortunately, however, Monster Squad was the rare film that earned its cult success not in terms of content - the movie, after all, is both legitimately scary and emotionally resonant - but in the rabid passion of its eventual fanbase.
Dekker laughs at the term.
"You never set out to make a cult movie," he replies. "Personally, I always thought of it as an adventure film. The question, I think, for audiences was whether it was too scary to be funny or too funny to be scary. Comic horror movies, after all, are generally difficult to pull off and very few ever succeed. We just wanted to make a fun, enjoyable adventure film. But the fact that there's some degree of violence and genuine danger - that we take it very seriously, despite the humor - is what makes it work."
But one wonders if there is a place for Monster Squad in the post-Buffy world of demon-slaying, ass-kicking teenagers, and if by virtue of being, almost literally, the granddaddy of them all, Dekker believes there is...
"With all humility, I think the film was actually a bit ahead of its time," says Dekker proudly. "When Monster Squad was released, we found that kids didn't go see it because their parents wouldn't let them - mostly because they thought it was going to be too scary - and parents didn't see it because they thought it was a kid's film. And in fact it took another several years before the combination of young people in jeopardy in genre-horror situations - like Buffy and Goosebumps and Harry Potter - really became acceptable. The audience wasn't ready for it in the 80's. Sure there was The Lost Boys and The Goonies, but specifically the kind of monster-slayer approach wouldn't' be popular for another ten or fifteen years. So I like to think that we were a little ahead of the curve."
The film, which was a product of Dekker's childhood love of classic comedy-horror mash-ups such as Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein, was co-scripted by Dekker and college-chum-turned-acclaimed-screenwriter Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang).
"This was really a tip-of-the-hat to my own childhood," Dekker says, "and Shane just sort of followed my trail of breadcrumbs into the madness."
It was, of course, the beginning of what would 20 years later become a celebrated genre classic, but both writers - early into their respective careers - tackled the project with the typical bravado of youth.
"Both Shane and I have a penchant for doing kind of big, splashy openings," says Dekker with a half-nostalgic laugh. "The original prologue for Monster Squad was longer than it appears in the movie now. There was another sequence we shot - which we couldn't find the footage for when compiling the DVD - where Van Helsing finds and confronts Dracula. The rest, however, which we didn't film, was all a bit bigger in terms of scale. Horses and machine guns and giant zeppelins. There was more violence...and if you remember the scene in the principal's office where they're discussing the Spider-with-Human-Head - that actually appeared in our first draft of the movie - our own monster that we were adding into the mix. Although, I can't for the life of me remember the explanation for where it originated."
For actors born decades after the advent of the Universal monster movie, the kids - now grown up and nearly unrecognizable on the trail for the upcoming DVD release - were surprisingly knowledgeable about the history of the popular creatures.
"Frankenstein's monster and the Wolfman and Dracula are simply so much a part of popular culture," muses Dekker. "Even though the movies are older, I think that most people are fairly familiar with them. And with the kids, we never talked about the history of these creatures - or the rules - because the script presumes knowledge of them, and the kids just played the script beautifully..."
But where, one wonders, would those classic villains fit in today's horror landscape, so chock-a-block with supernatural superstars such as Freddy Kruger, Michael Meyers and Jason Voorhees. Dekker pauses at the notion, musing, and in the brief moment of silence, one can imagine countless creature-versus-creature films - less Freddy vs. Jason and more Frankenstein vs. Meyers - which, at its heart, marks the timely battle between the modern serial killer ideal and mythic, allegorical monster.
"There's a still a kind of serial-killer reality at work with characters like Freddy or Jason - whether they're human or supernatural - and what appealed to me, as a kid, about the Universal characters is that they were cut from the cloth of myths. Science. More classical material. Much like what Guillermo del Toro is doing with films such as Pan's Labyrinth - a more wondrous approach over the visceral violence we see on the news every night."
He continues, clearly impassioned by the philosophical state of the genre. "It all points to the notion of horror as a means of exercising your own personal demons. And the more modern villains are so closely tied into what can actually happen that you lose the metaphor entirely. It's no longer an allegory. If 9/11 made people nervous, then making a movie about terrorists kind of hits the nail too clearly on the head. It might be better - metaphorically speaking - to create something a little more mythic and fanciful..."
The concept is as old as the genre itself - horror as a response to modern, sociological phobias. Frankenstein born on the threshold of modern science; Dracula in a time of human sexual discovery.
"For my money, the last great monster movie was, in a weird way, a kind of remake of Frankenstein - Jurassic Park," says Dekker. "Michael Crichton has been looking at science for years as a way to tell horror stories...Or, for example, George Romero. What I love about George's films is that they are, in a strange fashion, based in reality. What will this world be like when everything goes to shit? The horror of the end of mankind is much scarier than the idea of zombies themselves. If your movie is just about the monster eating you - then OK- but if the monster eating you applies to some aspect of the world in which we live, then that, I think, is something that will stand the test of time. It's totally subliminal and visceral."
And as for the Monster Squad is there a larger, more complex idea beneath what might at first appear to be an otherwise simple story? Dekker believes so.
"I like to think that Monster Squad, in its own small way, says something about what it is to be a kid and to be afraid in the world, discovering the need for heroism."
As the conversation begins to winds down, the inevitable - and perhaps hopeful - question rises steadily to the surface: Should the DVD find its well-deserved success, is there any hope that fans may be able to revisit the world of Monster Squad in the future?
"I would certainly be interested in revisiting these characters, so long as it's done in a slightly more adult way...Audiences now are much more sophisticated and kids these days are used to seeing things that are much darker. The only way to do it right is to take it seriously. I'd love to see these characters grown up - not remake the movie with new kids. That would be death."
Dekker laughs in advance of his next thought. "I've said this before - partly tongue-in-cheek and partly serious - that I'd love to make something mythic and sizeable like the Monster Squad vs. Godzilla... But as for the Universal creatures, it's tricky because those monsters are pretty used up - we sort of tapped that well. But I suspect that the villains we saw in the first film would find some way to return, eventually...because, of course...."
A pause, a breath - of conclusion, of hope - but the grin on the other end of the line is audible.
"They always do."
Monster Squad Monday: Andre Gower
We talk monsters with the leader of the Squad.
In a world of marquee, Hollywood superstars, the name "Andre Gower" isn't likely to earn much reaction from the average filmgoer. Nor would the boyish face of this talented actor command a great deal of immediate recognition. But transform the face from boy-ish to boy, turn back the calendar from mid-thirties to 13 and outfit the man with a wooden-stake and an ages-old amulet and any film-fan worth their weight in nostalgia would be able to identify the leader of the Monster Squad.
Last week, we spoke with one of the masterminds behind the beloved cult film - director Fred Dekker - and where Dekker may have commanded the film's production, Gower commanded the Squad itself. And now, twenty years later, the monster-movie-slash-adventure-film continues to earn a new generation of followers as it prepares to rise from the dead with a two-disc, special-edition DVD.
"We have our original fans," says Gower proudly. "Then we discover the ones who learned about the film through happenstance, over years of running on cable and renting out old VHS copies. And many parents - who were only teenagers when the film first released - are now saying, 'It's the only scary movie I'll let my kids watch, because it was a movie I loved as a kid.' Of course, you start feeling older and older whenever that happens."
Gower laughs, pauses, considers his age and laughs again.
"I suppose that's the reason that the film resonates so well," he continues. "It was never, at heart, purely a monster film; it was an adventure film. And even though we had a viewership ranging from eight to 80 - who were either horror fans or film geeks or simple, everyday moviegoers - they had all, at least, been children at some point. Monster Squad fans are different that way. They never related to the monsters; they related to the squad."
Adventure and childhood spirit aside, the film pays what may prove to be the ultimate homage to the Universal library of monsters, constructed in a time long before a 13-year-old Gower came to the project. Despite the fact, each of the Squad came prepared with a litany of monster lore and terrifying trivia.
"I grew up watching Saturday matinees and reading about film history at a very young age," notes Gower. "I knew the story of Frankenstein and Dracula. And I always dug the Creature from the Black Lagoon. He was the coolest looking monster I'd ever seen - half alien, half amphibian. And, of course, we had a great version of that in the film with our Gilman character. Finally, Young Frankenstein was, to me, what Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein was to Fred Dekker...So I had a pretty well-developed foundation of monster knowledge."
What's immediately striking about Gower is the tangible degree of professionalism which carries across his childhood musings. Where most children would view of a set like Monster Squad as something of a cinematic sandbox, Gower recalls the filming in the most surprisingly adult way possible.
"It was incredibly professional," he says. "As an actor, you're essentially there to do a lot of work in a little time. Of course, it was insanely fun and there were special effects and monsters and explosions almost every day, but even as children, we had to be completely focused. But knowing that you were a part of something that was totally unique, we were all completely cognizant of that.
"However, when you're younger, you don't necessarily appreciate the level of people working alongside you until you're older," Gower continues. "Like Stan Winston, for example. Masters of their craft. It's simply not in your wheelhouse when you're thirteen. And for being right on the cusp of the new technology, the effects in this film still hold up. If we did Limbo and the Vortex and the werewolf transformation today, it would all be CG. And it would look great, I'm sure, but it would lack a certain realism that we had in our film. Or you'd see a completely CG Frankenstein, rather than some guy in four hours worth of make-up... As soon as we jumped over into digital technologies with both feet, you simply couldn't go to a movie in '94 and see what we'd done in '87."
Written in the mid-80's by now-notable writer Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), the original draft of the Monster Squad script was considerably longer. "120 pages," states Gower. "And what we shot, I think, was 82."
And with some of those "lost" scenes included on the upcoming DVD, Gower searches his memory for what might have been cut. The what-could-have-been.
"There were 13 minutes that were filmed, edited and subsequently cut from the final version. The chase scene in the mansion was twice as long and much more scary...It was a great sequence of which only a fraction appears in the final film...Monster Squad included a lot of scenes that were actually pay-offs to smaller moments that ended up on the cutting room floor. Personally, I would have liked to have seen those scenes kept in the final film."
But if there's a line from the film that has earned its place in cinematic history, its credit is shared between Gower's character, Sean, and fellow Squad member, Horace. The Wolfman, gaining dangerously on the two boys, displays his razor-sharp claws, roaring loudly across the room, and just when it seems as if no escape is possible, Sean provides the answer:
"Kick him in the nards!"
And with one swift kick - the creation of a memorable, oft-quoted movie moment:
"The Wolfman's got nards! "
Thinking back on the scene, Gower laughs. "When I read it, I'd never heard the phrase before. I'd called them something else. I actually wanted to change the line...But we filmed it and, all of sudden, everybody knew it. In fact, I recently read something about how Kevin Smith was at an event where someone referenced Monster Squad and Kevin responded with that line. People love it. That's the line they know. And it followed me through college - people yelling out, right there on the quad, something about the Wolfman and his nards."
Twenty years later, Gower has settled into a life of relative normalcy, still connected to Hollywood through the occasional role and his passion project - a film festival his company is in the process of organizing. And while his life is largely outside of performance, Gower admits that an actor is always an actor, and a member of the Monster Squad is a member for life.
"Would I love another go-around with the gang?" asks Gower, as if the question was hardly a question at all. "I absolutely would! Last year - at some appearance or another - we all sat around at breakfast - Fred and the gang and I - sitting there over our eggs and bacon, tossing out ideas. And it all just clicked. Who would grow up to be what and how? We went totally off the charts and none of it proved outlandish. All of it could totally work. And the bottom line - we'd love to get the squad back together."
And fortunately for audiences both young and old, there are still monsters left in the world, hiding beneath our beds, safe in the shadows of our half-open closets. And as the tongue-in-cheek 1987 tag-line states:
"You know who to call when you have ghosts...But who do you call when you have monsters?"
Sounds of the Monster Squad
Intrada announced it will handle the CD release of Bruce Broughton's score for The Monster Squad. Unavailable until now, the company will press 3000 copies. This presentation was lovingly produced with the assistance of "multiple studio hands, Intrada personnel, Taylor White, musicians and the composer."
01. Main Title; The Van Helsing Prologue (7:20)
02. Scary German Guy (0:19)
03. Bat in the Hold (1:35)
04. Let It Begin (0:39)
05. Lock Me Up!; Wolfman Wakes Up (1:32)
06. At Phil's (1:11)
07. Monster Music (0:51)
08. Class Reunion (3:24)
09. Mr. Alucard; Making Plans (3:25)
10. Mummy's Gone (0:13)
11. Phoebe Meets Frank (0:43)
12. Van Helsing's Diary; Monsters (1:57)
13. Walking Dead Guy (1:12)
14. Scary Mask; Phil's #1 (2:59)
15. The Old Wolfman Russe; Not Clark Kent; Twinkie Creature (2:21)
16. At the Mansion; On All Sides (3:08)
17. Phil's #2 (1:06)
18. Recovering the Amulet (2:10)
19. Goodbye Bandaid Breath (1:42)
20. At Sean's House; The Vampire Killed; Kill a Wolfman (7:28)
21. Creature Carnage (1:29)
22. Phoebe and the Count; The Final Vortex & Finale (9:35)
I watched Monster Squad yesterday for the first time. While I didn't love it the way someone who grew up on it would, it was pretty good. It has lots of funny lines, and I liked the idea of different monsters coming together. I felt it needed more, though. Without the end credits the film is about 75 minutes long. The film could have easily accommodated another 20 minutes of footage. But if my only complaint about the film is that its not long enough, then I'd say it was pretty good.
Quote"There were 13 minutes that were filmed, edited and subsequently cut from the final version. The chase scene in the mansion was twice as long and much more scary...It was a great sequence of which only a fraction appears in the final film...Monster Squad included a lot of scenes that were actually pay-offs to smaller moments that ended up on the cutting room floor. Personally, I would have liked to have seen those scenes kept in the final film."
They should have included this longer cut along with the original. It would have fit on the first disc.
i forgot this came out yesterday.
i don't think it was in any of the Sunday sales papers.
Last year, I got my fiancee a copy of Flight of the Navigator, which I hadn't seen maybe since it was first on cable, so we're talking close to 20 years. And it was just fucking terrible. Almost nothing happens in the movie!
Monster Squad is a whole different story. I'm pretty impressed at how well the movie holds up overall, considering that I haven't seen it in more than 15 years. And I must have watched this movie a lot as a kid because I remembered so much from it, like the song from that wonderfully cheesy 80s montage (which is now stuck in my head) and other little things here and there that I have no reason to have remembered after all this time.
Shane Black's mark is all over this movie, particularly the dialogue between the cop dad and his partner. Between hearing that there was 15 extra minutes that was filmed (I didn't listen to the commentaries, does that footage even exist anymore?) and that Black called the original script one of the best he ever wrote, it's a shame that a director's cut couldn't be put together for it.
So is disc 2 worth a netflix rental?
And where's mod?
were you able to purchase it from a physical store or online?
Best Buy/Target/Circuit City had no copies.
Hasting's had 3 backordered by people but had no plans of buying any extra copies.
Seems pretty dumb to me.
i'll have to wait until i put together an online order.
Quote from: bigideas on July 30, 2007, 11:23:02 AM
Best Buy/Target/Circuit City had no copies.
Wal-Mart had it for $14.44
Quote from: MacGuffin on July 30, 2007, 11:43:29 AM
Quote from: bigideas on July 30, 2007, 11:23:02 AM
Best Buy/Target/Circuit City had no copies.
Wal-Mart had it for $14.44
really?
you probably live in a large city though.
i doubt a small town Wal-Mart would have it (especially since all of these other stores in bigger towns didn't), but i'll definitely check it out.
my statement about it not being advertised in the Sunday ad papers could have been erroneous, as i forgot that our sunday paper was stolen (and yesterday's too). =(
Quote from: bigideas on July 30, 2007, 04:19:25 PM
Quote from: MacGuffin on July 30, 2007, 11:43:29 AM
Quote from: bigideas on July 30, 2007, 11:23:02 AM
Best Buy/Target/Circuit City had no copies.
Wal-Mart had it for $14.44
really?
you probably live in a large city though.
i doubt a small town Wal-Mart would have it (especially since all of these other stores in bigger towns didn't), but i'll definitely check it out.
my statement about it not being advertised in the Sunday ad papers could have been erroneous, as i forgot that our sunday paper was stolen (and yesterday's too). =(
Wal-Mart did end up having it, which was very odd - especially considering this is a cult film.
After watching it and listening to the commentaries I'm still not sure if I actually saw it as a kid or just saw the trailer in front of a movie rental.
Watching it did remind me of an 80's horror flick that I saw on cable now and again dealing with a house, mirrors and vampires. Of course, I cannot remember the name or anything.
Quote from: bigideas on August 05, 2007, 10:02:59 PM
Watching it did remind me of an 80's horror flick that I saw on cable now and again dealing with a house, mirrors and vampires. Of course, I cannot remember the name or anything.
Fright Night, maybe?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MAL5VJVezQ
Quote from: john on August 05, 2007, 11:48:00 PM
Quote from: bigideas on August 05, 2007, 10:02:59 PM
Watching it did remind me of an 80's horror flick that I saw on cable now and again dealing with a house, mirrors and vampires. Of course, I cannot remember the name or anything.
Fright Night, maybe?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MAL5VJVezQ
hmmm, i don't know. the finale seemed to happen in the house, but oddly all the lights were on - unusual for a horror film.
UPDATE: Rob Cohen Talks 'Monster Squad' Remake?!
Source: Bloody Disgusting
Update: Rob Cohen quotes inside. This afternoon SpookyDan conducted an exclusive one-on-one interview with Rob Cohen, director of Universal's upcoming The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, who revealed some interesting news about Fred Dekker's classic '87 movie. Cohen tells Bloodyy-Disgusting that Paramount Pictures has acquired the remake rights to Monster Squad, which followed a group of kids hunting down Dracula and his minions who are attempting to take over the world. Cohen also reveals that he is planning to produce the remake, but does not intend on directing. Read on for more info straight for the horses mouth.
"The Wolfmans got Nards! What a great line" Cohen jokes with Bloody-Disgusting. "I am talking with Paramount about the ownership rights, we just found out that because of all the different companies being bought and sold, (it was so hard to do) but we believe all the rights are back at Paramount. I have been waiting to finish this (third Mummy) film, to really start the talks about remaking it. Maybe I would direct, maybe someone else with me producing. I really think highly of that that film...I mean, how great is it with The Mummy, the Wolfman, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Dracula, Frankenstein they all were in it! It would be a prime remake!"
Cohen is one of the original executive producers of The Monster Squad, directed by Fred Dekkar in 1987.
He can go fuck himself. I'll lead a militant resistance to this remake. Some things are worth dying for. I say dying, I mean complaining on the internet about. But he can still go fuck himself.
remakes point people back to the original usually, don't they?
i imagine just about any movie rental store right now is out of their copies of the Burton Batman's, etc.
Sure, but The Dark Knight is a whole different kettle of fish from 1989 Batman. It's a 60odd year old comic book character and so by definition has to be remade and story lines/characters repeated whether it be in comics or films, in order to keep existing.
The Monster Squad is more of a one-off, lightning in a bottle kind of thing. It doesn't need a re-working, or re-imagining or anything. As it stands it is a wonderful movie, perfectly of its time and pretty much corners the market on a movie pursuing that concept. I mean, I'm all for more Universal monster movies but in this context the story's already been told very very well.
I've never seen the original, but in response to bigideas and matt who wrote about the robocop remake in the other thread - there's nothing intrinsically offensive about making a movie, but the trend of studio remakes is annoying because it's a little bit like witnessing something cool with a bunch of your friends, and then have that one particularly annoying friend telling his version of the story, which is a little bit like how you remember it, only more self-serving and creepily selective. except, instead of the annoying friend you have a studio, banding together a thousand people.
I first saw Monster Squad last year, so I have no special attachment to it, but I fear the humor of the original will be blunted to be more PC and that the remake will have a generally bland 2000s studio feel to it.
ah, but what if they use Dekker's full original script?
wasn't there quite a bit cut out, or am i thinking of another film?
but yes, there definitely is something different in 80's kids movies that does not seem to be present today.
i'm not sure what it is exactly.
i don't know that it's content and PC-iness in all cases, because then i think of The Explorers and it's really clean from what i remember.
maybe it's the computer effects aesthetic attached to all current kid action films.
i really don't have high hopes, but there's not anything i can do about it.
`The Monster Squad' Is Back In Action
By MIKE FLEMING; Deadline Hollywood
EXCLUSIVE: Paramount Pictures is remaking the 1987 film The Monster Squad. Rob Cohen, who produced the original, hopes to direct the remake. Cohen will produce with Platinum Dunes partners Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form, and they're meeting with writers.
A group of kids who worship the classic monsters suddenly discover that Dracula is in town, and he's got his pals Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, The Gill Man and The Mummy with him. The kids must stop their efforts to find an amulet that will give the creatures control of the world. Sounds a bit cheesy, but the film is beloved by fanboys.
The script was written by Fred Dekker and Shane Black before Lethal Weapon made the latter Hollywood's highest paid writer of the 1990s. Cohen was one of the producers on that film and many others before he transitioned to the director's chair. The film is at Paramount after Platinum Dunes moved there last fall.
This just in....Cohen has gone on to another project and Paramount is in negotiations for Tim Burton to direct after he finishes work on his Addams Family remake.
or
Tim Burton is in negotiations with Paramount Pictures to remake the 2011 remake of The Monster Squad. The studio is eyeing a 2020 release.
:yabbse-grin:
How the Monster Squad will be edgier. Bigger nards?
Source: SciFi Wire
The proposed reboot of the classic 1980s family monster movie The Monster Squad is moving forward, producers Brad Fuller and Andrew Form told us.
"We're out to writers right now," Form said. "We're going to start hearing takes this week. Hopefully we'll be off to the races writing that." Rob Cohen, producer of the 1987 original, is in line to direct.
The movie comes from Fuller and Form's Platinum Dunes, the company behind remakes of A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th, and it marks a bit of a departure for them into family horror.
The original movie centered on a gang of movie-buff kids who actually had to battle Dracula, the Wolf Man, the Gill Man and the Mummy, with Frankenstein as an ally; it's mostly remembered now for the line "Wolf Man's got nards!" But Form and Fuller promise the reboot will be edgier.
"It seems like it stays within our wheelhouse, and yet it expands what we're doing just a little bit," Form said.
"It's a movie we're really excited about, because we loved movies like Goonies, Monster Squad," Form added. "To take a family adventure-type movie, make it scary, is something a little different for us."
Fuller added: "You're going to have those monsters in there, and Platinum Dunes is not going to make a movie with monsters where they're not scary.
"It's not a soft version," Form said.