Director Fred Dekker’s 1987 cult classic monster mash The Monster Squad (watch it Here) features variations of the classic Universal Monsters characters Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, The Wolf Man, The Mummy, and the Gillman, but it wasn’t actually a Universal production. So to avoid getting in trouble with Universal, the movie’s effects crew at the Stan Winston Studio had to create their own specific designs of the creatures… but that didn’t stop them from sneaking homages to the original monsters in there. It has been known for a while now that designers Steve Wang and Matt Rose hid the face of the original Creature from the Black Lagoon somewhere on the neck of their Gillman suit. Now – as pointed out by Monster Squad super-fan Shawn Robare of Plastic Rocket Pop – the exact location of that face has been found!
Thanks to a listing for a Monster Squad Resin Head Casting on eBay,...
Thanks to a listing for a Monster Squad Resin Head Casting on eBay,...
- 2/3/2024
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
With a love of cinema woven into its DNA, The Monster Squad helped indoctrinate ’80s kids to the classic monsters. The generation that grew up watching it on home video and HBO look back on the 1987 film with the same reverence director Fred Dekker had for the Universal monster movies, and now they’re passing it down in a similar fashion. There’s no better way to introduce the next generation than with the new 4K edition.
Conceived as “The Little Rascals meets the Universal Monsters,” the cleverly-plotted film clocks in at a tight 82 minutes. The punchy script by Dekker and Shane Black doesn’t have an ounce of fat on it, save for the casual homophobia, misogyny, and body shaming of the time. Drawing inspiration from Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, human characters offer well-placed levity and a bevy of memorable one-liners, but the monsters are played straight.
The...
Conceived as “The Little Rascals meets the Universal Monsters,” the cleverly-plotted film clocks in at a tight 82 minutes. The punchy script by Dekker and Shane Black doesn’t have an ounce of fat on it, save for the casual homophobia, misogyny, and body shaming of the time. Drawing inspiration from Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, human characters offer well-placed levity and a bevy of memorable one-liners, but the monsters are played straight.
The...
- 12/8/2023
- by Alex DiVincenzo
- bloody-disgusting.com
With The Last Voyage of the Demeter now in theaters, Dracula is once again on everyone’s mind. In it, Javier Botet plays a horrific version of the count that’s far removed from the recent, classic-style version played by Nicolas Cage in Renfield. How will he stack up against some of the best versions of the fanged Count? First, we must come up with our list of the Best Dracula Actors!
Christian Camargo – Penny Dreadful (2016)
While Universal was trying to figure out how to create their Dark Universe, over on Showtime, Penny Dreadful was already doing a fantastic job beating them to the punch. The series pulled together literary versions of Frankenstein’s monster, the wolfman, Dorian Gray, and eventually Dracula himself. Christian Camargo played Dr. Alexander Sweet in Season Three, who begins to seduce Eva Green’s Vanessa Ives. It is revealed later that this doctor is,...
Christian Camargo – Penny Dreadful (2016)
While Universal was trying to figure out how to create their Dark Universe, over on Showtime, Penny Dreadful was already doing a fantastic job beating them to the punch. The series pulled together literary versions of Frankenstein’s monster, the wolfman, Dorian Gray, and eventually Dracula himself. Christian Camargo played Dr. Alexander Sweet in Season Three, who begins to seduce Eva Green’s Vanessa Ives. It is revealed later that this doctor is,...
- 8/12/2023
- by Bryan Wolford
- JoBlo.com
It’s not very often that you see the 1987 cult classic monster mash The Monster Squad (watch it Here) in the news, but we have some cool news to share about the movie today! Dawn of the Discs has revealed that Kino Lorber is planning to give The Monster Squad a 4K Uhd release sometime later this year.
A specific release date has not yet been announced, but it’s good to know that The Monster Squad will be hitting 4K later this year. As of right now, all we know that this release will contain is the 4K disc with a “Brand New Hdr/Dolby Vision Master – From a New 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative!“, plus a regular Blu-ray copy.
Directed by Fred Dekker (Night of the Creeps), who wrote the screenplay with Shane Black (Lethal Weapon), The Monster Squad was inspired by the classic Universal...
A specific release date has not yet been announced, but it’s good to know that The Monster Squad will be hitting 4K later this year. As of right now, all we know that this release will contain is the 4K disc with a “Brand New Hdr/Dolby Vision Master – From a New 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative!“, plus a regular Blu-ray copy.
Directed by Fred Dekker (Night of the Creeps), who wrote the screenplay with Shane Black (Lethal Weapon), The Monster Squad was inspired by the classic Universal...
- 6/26/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Longtime readers of Arrow in the Head will probably remember the article series The Test of Time. Now The Test of Time has been revived as a video series, and you can check out the new episode in the embed above! With this one, we’re looking back at the 1987 cult classic monster mash The Monster Squad (watch it Here)! To find out whether or not this one stands the test of time, check out the video embedded above.
Directed by Fred Dekker, who wrote the screenplay with Shane Black, The Monster Squad was inspired by the classic Universal Monsters movies (plus Abbott & Costello and The Little Rascals). The film has the following synopsis: A group of youngsters find themselves up against the combined might of Dracula, the Mummy, the Gill Man and Frankenstein’s Monster, who arrive in town in search of a magic amulet.
Andre Gower, Robby Kiger,...
Directed by Fred Dekker, who wrote the screenplay with Shane Black, The Monster Squad was inspired by the classic Universal Monsters movies (plus Abbott & Costello and The Little Rascals). The film has the following synopsis: A group of youngsters find themselves up against the combined might of Dracula, the Mummy, the Gill Man and Frankenstein’s Monster, who arrive in town in search of a magic amulet.
Andre Gower, Robby Kiger,...
- 4/26/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Last week, we posted a list of five forgotten actors we’d like to see make a comeback, and the reaction was so strong, we decided to post a bunch more! There’s a ton of forgotten actors from the 80s and 90s we’d love to have back on our screen, so let’s take a look at another group of them today.
Kelly Jo Minter
Let’s start with a horror favorite and a regular presence on the convention circuit, Kelly Jo Minter. Most folks will remember her from A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, The People Under the Stairs, and a slew of television series appearances. She was everywhere for a while in the 1980s and 1990s, then projects started becoming further and further apart, with nothing between 2008 and 2019, then nothing since. This actress is beloved by many people, and she should get a new part,...
Kelly Jo Minter
Let’s start with a horror favorite and a regular presence on the convention circuit, Kelly Jo Minter. Most folks will remember her from A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, The People Under the Stairs, and a slew of television series appearances. She was everywhere for a while in the 1980s and 1990s, then projects started becoming further and further apart, with nothing between 2008 and 2019, then nothing since. This actress is beloved by many people, and she should get a new part,...
- 2/5/2023
- by Emilie Black
- JoBlo.com
If you were a kid in the eighties, you wanted to be part of The Monster Squad. While a box office dud that made under 4 million dollars at the box office, once this tween classic hit HBO and VHS, its cult status grew. Directed by Fred Dekker (Night of the Creeps), who co-wrote with the legendary Shane Black, The Monster Squad revolves around a group of horror-obsessed boys who come face to face with a gaggle of classic monsters, led by the evil Count Dracula (Duncan Regehr). Now they have to battle Dracula, The Mummy, the Gil-Man and the Wolfman while getting help from a descendent of Van Helsing and the surprisingly gentle Frankenstein’s monster (Tom Noonan – in a performance that tugs at the heartstrings).
In the years following The Monster Squad’s release, the kids from the film went on to varied careers before reuniting after the movie...
In the years following The Monster Squad’s release, the kids from the film went on to varied careers before reuniting after the movie...
- 10/28/2022
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
In a packed Horror Highlights we have the teaser trailer and details on the Swissploitation film Mad Heidi, a release date and the trailer for Wolfman's Got Nards, info on Meet Cute's Spooky Sweethearts releases, details on the 2021 Nosferatu Festival, info on Trouble coming to Hulu, and a Horror Movie Guide for those looking for some horror highlights from the last 100+ years of horror!
Mad Heidi: "The little girl from the alps is back…she‘s all grown up and she‘s Mad as hell. Mad Heidi is an action-adventure-comedy-horror parody of the much-loved children‘s storybook character Heidi. Now all grown up, Heidi is just a girl from the Alps in an alternative Switzerland that has fallen under fascist rule. Little does she know that her yearning for personal freedom will be the spark that ignites a revolution. From fondue torture to death by chocolate, Mad Heidi is a true Swissploitation film.
Mad Heidi: "The little girl from the alps is back…she‘s all grown up and she‘s Mad as hell. Mad Heidi is an action-adventure-comedy-horror parody of the much-loved children‘s storybook character Heidi. Now all grown up, Heidi is just a girl from the Alps in an alternative Switzerland that has fallen under fascist rule. Little does she know that her yearning for personal freedom will be the spark that ignites a revolution. From fondue torture to death by chocolate, Mad Heidi is a true Swissploitation film.
- 10/19/2020
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Featuring: Fred Dekker, Shane Black, Seth Green, Andre Gower, Ryan Lambert, Ashley Bank, Adam Carl, Tom Woodruff Jr., Joe Lynch, Steve Wang, Adam F. Goldberg, Duncan Regehr, Stephen Macht, Zach Galligan | Written by Andre Gower, Henry Darrow McComas | Directed by Andre Gower
Wolfman’s Got Nards is a heartfelt documentary exploring the power of the 1987 cult film The Monster Squad and its 30-year impact on its rabid fan base, the cast and crew, and the future of tween horror comedies. Making his feature debut, actor-turned-director André Gower brings us behind the scenes on the making of the film and digs into what made viewing it such a defining part of many genre fans’ upbringing.
Being independent from the film, unlike the documentary that accompanied Lionsgate’s Us DVD release in 2007, means that Wolfman’s Got Nards has an absolutely refreshing honesty about the film, its production and its reception. It...
Wolfman’s Got Nards is a heartfelt documentary exploring the power of the 1987 cult film The Monster Squad and its 30-year impact on its rabid fan base, the cast and crew, and the future of tween horror comedies. Making his feature debut, actor-turned-director André Gower brings us behind the scenes on the making of the film and digs into what made viewing it such a defining part of many genre fans’ upbringing.
Being independent from the film, unlike the documentary that accompanied Lionsgate’s Us DVD release in 2007, means that Wolfman’s Got Nards has an absolutely refreshing honesty about the film, its production and its reception. It...
- 7/3/2018
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
If you’re a horror fan, then chances are you love The Monster Squad. With that in mind, I think anyone who generally reads a genre website already has a pretty good grasp on just why The Monster Squad has endured for over 30 years, becoming even more popular now than it was three decades ago, and so going into André Gower’s documentary, Wolfman’s Got Nards, I was intrigued to see what he was going to bring to the table for his directorial debut, because I felt like we’d seen a good amount of material out there thus far that has done a solid job of diving into the 1987 horror comedy.
But as Wolfman’s Got Nards weaves through a variety of talking head segments, Q&A footage, and delightful animatics, it becomes clear why Gower is the perfect person to capture all the happenings that coincided with...
But as Wolfman’s Got Nards weaves through a variety of talking head segments, Q&A footage, and delightful animatics, it becomes clear why Gower is the perfect person to capture all the happenings that coincided with...
- 6/25/2018
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Nearly a decade after MTV’s Trl took its final request, the iconic series returned for a new generation of music lovers. Sort of.
RelatedTeen Wolf Series Finale: Did the Ending Offer a Clue to MTV’s Possible Reboot?
Monday’s relaunch opened with a somber message in response to the mass shooting — the deadliest in our nation’s history — that occurred overnight in Las Vegas. The show’s hosts, along with Ed Sheeran and other guest artists, assembled to tell the viewers that their “hearts and prayers go out to the victims and their families … and even though...
RelatedTeen Wolf Series Finale: Did the Ending Offer a Clue to MTV’s Possible Reboot?
Monday’s relaunch opened with a somber message in response to the mass shooting — the deadliest in our nation’s history — that occurred overnight in Las Vegas. The show’s hosts, along with Ed Sheeran and other guest artists, assembled to tell the viewers that their “hearts and prayers go out to the victims and their families … and even though...
- 10/2/2017
- TVLine.com
Fred Dekker, Ashley Bank and Andre Gower came out to the Egyptian Theater for a 35mm screening of The Monster Squad in Hollywood last night. The event was put on by Beyond Fest and presented by The Meltdown With Jonah and Kumail. Below, you'll find just a few snippets from the post-screening Q&A with Dekker and two of his cast members.
Here, Dekker explains how the Wolf Man make-up was supposed to be based on the visage of FX artist Stan Winston, Bank talks candidly about working with method actor Tom Noon (who plays the Frankenstein monster in the film) and Dekker recounts his dialogue with Universal when he approached them about utilizing the classic monsters. He takes a good jab at them; here's a transcript of that bit...
The post Beyond Fest Video Highlights from The Monster Squad Q&A appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.
Here, Dekker explains how the Wolf Man make-up was supposed to be based on the visage of FX artist Stan Winston, Bank talks candidly about working with method actor Tom Noon (who plays the Frankenstein monster in the film) and Dekker recounts his dialogue with Universal when he approached them about utilizing the classic monsters. He takes a good jab at them; here's a transcript of that bit...
The post Beyond Fest Video Highlights from The Monster Squad Q&A appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.
- 10/4/2014
- by Ryan Turek
- shocktillyoudrop.com
Fred Dekker’s 1986 horror-masterpiece Night of the Creeps changed my life – and it probably change yours, too. It was the horror film that brought aliens, parasites, axe-murders and zombies together in one grand, hilarious and terrifying masterpiece. It was the horror film that wed John Hughes’ teenaged life with George Romero’s on-earth death-walkers.
Back in 1959, a meteorite crashed into Earth, bringing with it a type of parasite that feeds on human brains. When the first victim of the parasite is put into deep freeze, no one expects two teenagers, Chris and J.C. (Jason Lively and Steve Marshall) to inadvertently release these slug-like aliens onto their campus when they unthaw an infected man who has been cryogenically frozen since the fifties. Now with the help of a sorority girl that Chris is crushing on and an aging, cynical detective, they must stop the slugs from infecting their friends before...
Back in 1959, a meteorite crashed into Earth, bringing with it a type of parasite that feeds on human brains. When the first victim of the parasite is put into deep freeze, no one expects two teenagers, Chris and J.C. (Jason Lively and Steve Marshall) to inadvertently release these slug-like aliens onto their campus when they unthaw an infected man who has been cryogenically frozen since the fifties. Now with the help of a sorority girl that Chris is crushing on and an aging, cynical detective, they must stop the slugs from infecting their friends before...
- 5/23/2013
- by Lianne Spiderbaby
- FEARnet
It’s finally October, the favorite month of fans of both Halloween and all the ghouls, ghosts, and goblins that come with that. The Universal monsters deserve much love when it comes to scary cinematic treats, which is why it’s high time we covered The Monster Squad on this little commentary column of ours. The film is a cult favorite and it sits in fans’ hearts as more than just a Goonies rip-off with classic horror icons. So let’s ring in All Hallow’s Month with all the great things we learned listening to the commentary for The Monster Squad. It’s got nards. The Monster Squad (1987) Commentators: Fred Dekker (co-writer/director), Andre Gower (“Sean”), Ashley Bank (“Phoebe”), Ryan Lambert (“Rudy”) 1. The commentary begins with Dekker questioning the heritage of Lambert’s character, Rudy Halloran. He believes it’s a Scottish name, to which Lambert responds that it’s Scottish for “badass.” Yep...
- 10/4/2012
- by Jeremy Kirk
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Ignored at the box office, 80s comedy horror The Monster Squad has since gained a devoted following. Glen takes a look back at a cult favourite...
As something of a monster-obsessed child growing up, I lapped up any kind of monster-related goodies I could get my hands on, whether it was things like Monster in my Pocket or monster-related movies or books, few things piqued my interest in the way that these little nasties could.
So, when I saw an ex-rental VHS copy of The Monster Squad offered up for sale at a local video store, I pestered my parents to buy it for me and soon discovered what would be one of my favourite and most watched movies as a child. It featured classic monsters and the protagonists were in the same age range as me. Sure, they would have been a little older and live on the other side of the Atlantic,...
As something of a monster-obsessed child growing up, I lapped up any kind of monster-related goodies I could get my hands on, whether it was things like Monster in my Pocket or monster-related movies or books, few things piqued my interest in the way that these little nasties could.
So, when I saw an ex-rental VHS copy of The Monster Squad offered up for sale at a local video store, I pestered my parents to buy it for me and soon discovered what would be one of my favourite and most watched movies as a child. It featured classic monsters and the protagonists were in the same age range as me. Sure, they would have been a little older and live on the other side of the Atlantic,...
- 1/27/2011
- Den of Geek
Joe Knetter is not only a writer in the indie horror genre but he's a published author, a stunt bot and does a little acting on the side. He has several projects in the works including one werewolf film we've been following for quite some time. Knetter is also one funny guy and you'll find out as you check out my latest "Versus". Consider this an early Christmas present peeps, read on!
Brian S- First off Joe, how'd you get into writing, specifically for the indie horror genre.
Joe Knetter- It was on a cocaine binge deep in jungle's of Brazil. I was covered in honey and waging war against this tribe of fairies called the Dundleberts. Those crazy little bastard loved nothing more than to pull out your pubic hairs while you slept and sprinkle them on your upper lip. Just thinking of them now makes me want...
- 12/23/2010
- by brians
- GeekTyrant
That distant sound of hooves you're hearing is the Four Horseman finally come to lay claim to the Earth because for the third day in a row we’ve got info about another film project involving Famous Horror Author Joe Knetter.
This time it’s a behind-the-scenes video of “Rottentail”, a segment from another anthology Knetter wrote segments of and stars in called Monsterpiece Theater. He gets to co-star alongside Ashley Bank (The Monster Squad), Eileen Dietz (The Exorcist) and Caroline Williams (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2) in this one, so at least he’s in good company!
The story of “Rottentail” follows a house full of people being terrorized by a killer dressed as the Easter Bunny on Easter. Terrifying. Check out the behind-the-scenes clip below, learn more about Monsterpiece Theater on MySpace, then bend over and kiss your ass goodbye cause the apocalypse is here!
Rottentail Behind The Screams
-...
This time it’s a behind-the-scenes video of “Rottentail”, a segment from another anthology Knetter wrote segments of and stars in called Monsterpiece Theater. He gets to co-star alongside Ashley Bank (The Monster Squad), Eileen Dietz (The Exorcist) and Caroline Williams (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2) in this one, so at least he’s in good company!
The story of “Rottentail” follows a house full of people being terrorized by a killer dressed as the Easter Bunny on Easter. Terrifying. Check out the behind-the-scenes clip below, learn more about Monsterpiece Theater on MySpace, then bend over and kiss your ass goodbye cause the apocalypse is here!
Rottentail Behind The Screams
-...
- 12/5/2008
- by Johnny Butane
- DreadCentral.com
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.