Starring: Andre Gower, Robby Kiger, Stephen Macht, Duncan Regehr, Stan Shaw, Tom Noonan
Written By: Shane Black, Fred Dekker
Directed By: Fred Dekker
Studio: Kino Lorber
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The 80s cult classic Monster Squad is now available on 4k UHD for the first time (no digital code unfortunately).

For those that don’t know what Monster Squad is, it’s a group of kids who are interested in monsters, mainly dracula, werewolves, Frankenstein’s monster, etc. One day, they actually encounter them with Dracula (Duncan Regehr) leading the group and have to stop them from trying to control the world.

Like with most 80s movies, Monster Squad is a bit dated when it comes to some of the language but other than that, this movie still holds up very well with being such a fun movie. Duncan Regehr was such a good dracula, with classic lines like “meeting adjourned” and “give me the amulet you bitch!” The song “Rock Until You Drop” is what the kids call a banger, and I wish Michael Sembello would put it on streaming platforms. The kids in the movie were funny and weren’t annoying. Rudy was always the cool character in young kids’ minds, who wears leather jackets, smokes and wears loafers. He held up well since he took down the majority of the monsters. Fun fact about Leonardo Cimino, who made his professional stage debut in Gladys Bronwyn Stern’s Middle Man in Suffern, New York. The town where I was born!

It’s not a very long movie but it’s just the right length I think for this type. They introduce the kids in the club, the bullies, and all the stuff going on with Dracula. Sure, they could have spent more time with the German guy and the kids to make this 90 minutes. As a kid, I was pretty scared of the vampire women at the end, and the mummy grabbing onto the car was pretty scary as a kid. What I liked about this movie was the practical effects and why it still holds a place in my heart. Think CGI would just ruin a movie like this if it was made today. Stan Winston was the man!

If you had to compare this to something, it’s like The Goonies, Lost Boys meets E.T. E.T. in the sense that Frankenstein’s monster is the alien in the group. I guess Elliot wasn’t making silver bullets in class to fight off the bad Government agents though. There’s something you’ll never see in most movies, kids holding guns and making bullets! “My name is…Horace”

The 4k UHD has a lot of extras like 2 documentaries, audio commentaries tracks, some archive footage interviews, galleries, trailers and 15 minutes worth of deleted scenes. There’s the documentary Wolfman’s Got Nards which came out a few years ago which is nice to have with the movie. I haven’t seen it yet but will be watching it soon since I own this now. My only complaint really is Kino Lorber doesn’t offer up digital releases and is a strictly physical media company.

Monster Squad still holds up well despite some questionable things and slurs in the movie. The dracula in the film is still scary and I think he was one of the best Draculas on camera honestly. I know it will never happen but it would be kind of cool to have a sequel where the kids of the Monster Squad have to go up against the monsters and others. Until then, enjoy Monster Squad in glorious 4k UHD.

Features:
4K UHD Bonus Features:

DISC 1 (4K UHD):

Brand New HDR/Dolby Vision Master – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative
Audio Commentary by Director Fred Dekker and Cinematographer Bradford May
Audio Commentary by Director Fred Dekker with Actors Andre Gower, Ryan Lambert and Ashley Bank
Triple-Layered UHD100 Disc
Optional English Subtitles

DISC 2 (BLU-RAY):

Brand New HD Master – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative
Audio Commentary by Director Fred Dekker and Cinematographer Bradford May
Audio Commentary by Director Fred Dekker with Actors Andre Gower, Ryan Lambert and Ashley Bank
Monster Squad Forever: Five Part Documentary (79 Minutes)
A Conversation with Frankenstein – Archival Piece with Tom Noonan (9 Minutes)
Deleted Scenes (15 Minutes)
Animated Storyboard Sequence (2 Minutes)
Stills Gallery (10 Minutes)
Theatrical Trailer
TV Spots
Dual-Layered BD50 Disc
Optional English Subtitles

DISC 3 (BLU-RAY):

WOLFMAN’S GOT NARDS (2018) – Documentary Feature Co-Written and Directed by The Monster Squad Star Andre Gower. Starring Shane Black, Fred Dekker, Seth Green, Adam Goldberg, Andre Gower, Heather Langenkamp, Adam Green and Chuck Russell

Optional English Subtitles

Blu-ray Bonus Features:

Brand New HD Master – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative
Audio Commentary by Director Fred Dekker and Cinematographer Bradford May
Audio Commentary by Director Fred Dekker with Actors Andre Gower, Ryan Lambert and Ashley Bank

Monster Squad Forever: Five Part Documentary (79 Minutes)

A Conversation with Frankenstein – Archival Piece with Tom Noonan (9 Minutes)
Deleted Scenes (15 Minutes)
Animated Storyboard Sequence (2 Minutes)
Stills Gallery (10 Minutes)
Theatrical Trailer
TV Spots
Dual-Layered BD50 Disc
Optional English Subtitles

Video:
Codec: HEVC / H.265
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1

Audio:

Subtitles:
English SDH

Bottom Line: Wolfman’s Nards still hold up well
Running Time: 82 mins
Rating: PG-13
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: