So it comes out even, thanks to the presence of Dracula, Wolfman, Frankenstein, Gill-Man and the Mummy, who all look great, especially for 1987, thanks to monster FX from Tom Woodruff Jr., the maestro behind The Terminator and Aliens. Like Tony Stark himself, redemption came in the form of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Iron Man 3, and now Shane Black could probably write a sequel/reboot of The Monster Squad if he wished, an awesome/silly notion that adds a fun layer to revisiting this piece of 80’s treasure.Ĭoming two years after The Goonies, Monster Squad is pretty much exactly Goonies with way less famous people (Horace = Chunk), and way more monsters (though Sloth is very much missed). More for Lethan Weapon than Monster Squad, this turned Black into a rockstar insomuch as a screenwriter can be one, until the inevitable downfall came, punctuated with alcoholism. The 1987 film arrived in the same year as the first Lethal Weapon, both written by Shane Black (who co-writes here with Night of the Creeps‘ Fred Dekker, the Squad’s director). If your ideal Halloween is getting drunk while watching horror movies, then The Monster Squad is the perfect nostalgic choice.
