On a cold October Sunday, I found myself running down the stairs to greet my mother who was already waiting for me on our living room couch. The year was 1994, and as an intrepid 6-year-old, I found myself in love with all things spooky and scary. My mom asked what movie we were going to watch, as if she didn’t already have it prepped and waiting in the VCR. “Monster Squad,” I replied, my body wrapped in a blanket and ready to savor my umpteenth rewatch of the film. She pressed play and my eyes grew large as the opening scene of Dracula emerging from his coffin blared from our 36 inch Zenith.
Now, peculiar enough, but this was not my first copy of the film, but rather a copy of a copy that my uncle had procured for us, after the original VHS called it quits, tapping out after multiple viewings. Years would pass and although my love of Monster Squad would never wane or falter, the ability to find a copy of it was less than slim. It was a box-office ghost, appeared quickly and vanished just as fast due to poor receipts. It wasn’t until my roommate at nursing school had strolled out of his room donning a ‘Stephen King Rules’ shirt, something akin to owning a Morpher from Power Rangers or an Andúril replica from Lord of the Rings, a sigil to a fellow Monster Squad fan. After enquiring about the shirt, and us both realizing that our hearts belonged to the same movie, we made a pact to track down a copy to watch it ourselves.
As luck would have it, a fevered petition by fellow fans had forced the DVD release of the 20th anniversary edition, which found itself in our hands quick enough. A long awaited rewatch was paused for a moment as the fear that nostalgia had simply tricked us into thinking it was no more than just a childhood favorite. However, 82 minutes later we were reassured that it was abso-fucking-lutely worth it. Skip ahead to now, and I am grateful for the opportunity to discuss the film with none other than André Gower, the leader of the Monster Squad. 27 years ago I fell in love with a film, today, I hope to spread that love to anyone willing to listen.
Musings From Monster Squad Enthusiasts
“All my friends loved to talk about The Goonies, while I wouldn’t shut up about The Monster Squad. I stand by my choice. I mean, when a Werewolf jumps out at them they will all be too busy screaming, while I will already have my leg ready to kick him in the NARDS!”
– Kristina Mclean / @KMclean04
“It’s the movie my friends and I watched and quoted more than any other. To this day, when I quote it and someone recognizes it, it’s like finding a long lost member of my own Monster Squad. The perfect mix of scary and fun with incredible moments like when Scary German Guy reveals he knows a lot about monsters.”
– Jimmy Gaspero / @JimmyGaspero
