What do you get when you mix Universal Monsters, some wise-ass kids, and the 1980s? Some would say a cult classic, while others, including the filmmakers, aren’t so sure. Monster Squad (1987) did dismally at the box office upon its release only making back a fourth of its budget. After that, the movie drifted off to supposed oblivion along with most of its young stars, while one of its cowriters (THE Shane Black) went on to redefine buddy cop movies for years. Where Goonies succeeded, Squad flopped.
Or did it?
The plot is simple. Monster Squad is a group of pre-teen guys who love monsters and monster movies. They get together to dream up new monsters and discuss existing ones:
But when group leader Sean gets a hold of a Van Helsing diary and discovers that monsters are coming to his town to take over the world, they realize that their little club may be humanity’s only hope. They recruit “cool kid” Rudy, (reluctantly) Sean’s little sister Pheobe, and their older, German neighbor nicknamed “Scary German Guy”, and together they work to save the day (and humanity).
Thirty-five years later Monster Squad is a beloved monster film enjoyed by fans of all ages. From those who saw it in theaters, to those who are just discovering it now, its fan base continues to grow. Its growth has astounded the filmmakers and cast so much that a documentary was made (aptly titled Wolfman’s Got Nards, a nod to a beloved character’s famous lines) to explore the phenomenon. For over twenty years the cast, crew, director, and writers continued to believe the movie was a failure when in reality it had a massive fan base collecting memorabilia, searching for VHS copies, and finding one another on message boards.
The movie resonated in a way they didn’t see coming. I agree with the documentary in that the film’s initial flop and later success can both be traced back to its PG-13 rating. It’s a kid’s movie with a lot of edge… I mean we have a 5-year-old girl yelling “Don’t be chickenshit!” amongst other things. The kids don’t speak like idealized versions of kids from the pen of an adult. They sound like actual kids hanging out with their friends. And while that is pretty exciting, parents ultimately were responsible for getting their kids to the theaters, and in this case, they didn’t. But thanks to VHS rentals, many fans managed to find their way to the Monster Squad and fell in love. Interviews with fans in the documentary reveal that some rented it every week because it was the only time they could watch it. The filmmakers and cast dissect the meaning of a cult film, but by my definition (a film with a fanbase that outshines its box office returns), I think it is one.
The movie was written by Fred Dekker and Shane Black, just before Shane Black finished and sold Lethal Weapon. They were in their early twenties at the time, which is why I think they were able to so accurately depict kids with ease. The dialogue never comes off as forced or researched. They were just young themselves. Well, that and Black is a master of dialogue. You can clearly see early versions of his specific style sprinkled throughout the script, and not surprisingly it’s best between Sean’s cop father and his partner.
Now… the script does come off as amateurish. The plot sort of stumbles along in the end and explanations are few and far between. A lot of the plot points are just happenstance. Sean happens to get a hold of Van Helsing’s diary. The monsters happen to be gathering in his hometown. Sean happens to know a lot about monsters. Rudy happens to be able to make silver bullets. The list really goes on. But for fans of this film, those things don’t matter. What mattered was that kids felt seen. And even today adults who watch for the first time feel a deep nostalgia. Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times got it right in his initial review where he writes that Monster Squad is "fun for the kid in all of us".
I am one of the ones who discovered this movie late. I came across it during its renaissance around the 30th anniversary. Members of the cast celebrated the milestone by going on tour to 17 different Alamo Drafthouse theaters across the country presenting the film to sold-out crowds. Since then, I’ve watched it every year. And now I am a part of the phenomenon and before writing this I didn’t entirely understand why.
As I said, it’s not a particularly artful movie in terms of script or acting. (Now, the monsters are a different story and I’ll get there shortly.) But there is something to the raw energy of the kids that draws me in year after year. I like that they’re a bit of a mess and totally rude to one another. I think for me it’s not always easy to remember what it was like being 13 truly because now it feels young, protected, and very far away. I want to remember it fondly instead of what it really was. I was foulmouthed, I was teased, I teased, sex jokes were everywhere, and I was lonely. So lonely! This little band of misfits working together and staying true to themselves is a healing salve for me even now, I can only imagine how it felt for 13-year-olds in 1987.
I also find the contrast between most of the guys and Rudy to be really compelling. He is just a couple of years older than them but is already smoking and obsessed with sex and women. It’s easy to forget the changes that happen between the few short years of ages 13 to 16. It’s a dramatic shift in one’s energy and focus but happens to most of us. The other boys in the Squad still care more deeply for monsters than anything else, and it’s bittersweet to imagine that in just a couple of short years they’ll be more like Rudy than not. And for Rudy, it’s endearing to watch him spend his time with younger kids, grasping at his younger years not that far gone. (Of course, this movie being of a slightly different time there is a lot in here that just doesn’t fly anymore-- homophobia and sexism-- that will definitely be jarring to you if you watch now. So take everything I am saying with that in mind.)
At home, Sean is faced with his parent’s rocky marriage and at school he misbehaves. His Monster Squad is the only place he gets to be a leader, and his leadership is finally tested when they’re confronted with real and true monsters led by Dracula. Frankenstein’s monster, the Wolfman, the Gillman, and the Mummy are all present and they look phenomenal. This is one place production did not skimp and the end result is really masterful. They hired Stan Winston and his team to design and create each one. (If you don’t know Stan Winston, he’s responsible for visual effects in The Thing, Terminator, and Aliens just to name a few.) My favorite monster is perhaps the Gillman who is grotesque and almost Predator-like (which came out the same year).
How to get rid of these well-crafted monsters is always a little muddled but it doesn’t really matter. They’re scary and they want to take over the world.
Monster Squad managed to wedge its way into the hearts of kids via VHS rentals and HBO reruns. It still blows my mind that for 20 years while fans obsessed, the creators and cast reflected on it as one of their biggest failures and an embarrassment. It really makes you think about the nature of creative work and how we measure our own success. Is it all about the box office (and money) or instead can we measure success in the lives our work touches? I know where society as a whole puts its weight, but I like the idea of aiming to change just a few lives with a piece of work. That feels meaningful.
I saw this when it came out in theatres (yes, I'm that old) and still love it to this day. Like you and others have said, it's not the most solid, story-wise, but it is a lot of fun and entertaining and that's enough for me. I'd definitely recommend this one!