The Monster Squad

There are several reasons that characters from earlier films are brought back in a new movie, there are sequels, remakes, retellings of the story, and comedy. Comedy is usually the last resort for filmmakers, to take a horrific character and make him funny is the final option to make money. Over the years there have been a number of Frankenstein, Dracula, and Wolfman movies made domestically and overseas, Hammer Films being the biggest contributor in Europe. Now when this film was first put together the original idea was to make it a tribute to the original Universal Monsters and use their likenesses. But when Universal cried copyright the designs were altered so as to stay out of trouble. With the changes that were made we're given a very unique film that only skirts the comedy genre and has plenty of action to keep the older kids entertained.
A small group of boys who have a club where idolize the old Monster movies must battle the true forms of evil when Dracula and his group of creatures try to bring about the end of the world. The acting from everyone involved is just the way it should be, every characters seems to be in their natural surroundings. The young Ashley Bank brings by far one of the best reactionary performances from a child actor in the final scenes. To get her true reaction during the final showdown with Dracula, Ashley never saw Duncan Regehr in his makeup until the very moment that she faced him on the set. Therefore the bloodcurdling scream that comes out is her true reaction to the Dracula character. There are well-crafted homage's to the earlier Universal films throughout the film but they're done in such a way that they seem quite original in their own right.
This film is nothing but pure fun, from beginning to end your enjoying yourself so much that the special effects that look aged aren't so bad. There are strong hints of The Goonies and The Little Rascals here but its not so overpowering to keep this movie from becoming its own entity. Working all five original monsters, (Frankenstein's monster, Dracula The Wolfman, The Mummy, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon) into a cohesive story was a challenge but with classic characters and a talented production staff it all comes off without a hitch. Seeing these updated versions of the original movie monsters that we all grew up with is a nice addition to a long line of films that have been able to keep evolving through time to entertain and fascinate an audience that has gotten older but has never stopped being young at heart.