THE MONSTER SQUAD
Just wonderful for what it is
When it comes to late-80's, PG-13 kiddie horror, only Critters comes out looking better than this one. Directed by Fred "Night of the Creeps" Dekker (who pissed away his career with Robocop 3) and written by Dekker with Shane Black, this one has even more excitement and laughs than NotC, and is grandly entertaining from beginning til end despite some stumbles along the way.
In the middle of a cargo flight (exactly where they're taking him, I don't know), Dracula busts out (in broad daylight - I don't get it) and makes his way to gather some friends of his for an undertaking. See, there's an amulet out there, a force of "concentrated good" that can somehow be used by Dracula to, presumably, take over the world. (so much for good) But the instructions for its use are in Van Helsing's diary, which recently came into the hands of one 12-year-old kid in a club called The Monster Squad. So while Dracula's out getting the amulet, he gets Gillman (that is, the Creature from the Black Lagoon), a mummy, a convenient werewolf, and yes, Frankenstein's monster to go play fetch with the book.
There're basically three sets of players in this movie. First are the monsters. Effects by Richard Edlund and Stan Winston are excellent - all the monsters look great, and Duncan Regehr (he's from Lethbridge!) makes an excellent Dracula. Tom Noonan, unrecognizable beneath the makeup, is also a very good Frankenstein's monster. The other three guys don't really need to act, but the costumes/masks/makeup are all topnotch.
The kids are all pretty good, especially an absolutely adorable 5-year-old tyke named Ashley Bank playing the pain-in-the-ass little sister who wants to join the club. Also of note is Ryan Lambert as the "super-cool" Rudy (you can tell he's cool because he dresses like the Fonz) who hangs out with these dorky kids because their clubhouse has a great view of their neighbor's sexy daughter's bedroom where she frequently neglects to lower her blinds.
The adults are pretty good too, especially Stephen Macht as a hapless dad caught in the mess. (and there's also a too-cute-for-words beagle puppy in there)
The movie makes a few stumbles along the way. For example, it really creeps me out when any movie has little kids with guns coming to the rescue. Dracula really should have figured out that the Wolfman is only an asshole when the full moon's out, and the Frankenstein monster is really a big sweetheart when you show him a little love. And why would the movie make the trouble of acknowledging that Frankenstein is the name of the man, not the monster, when grease-painted Tom Noonan is credited as "Frankenstein"?
Nevertheless, a highly recommended little movie.