Fanboys Anonymous

The 80s was the best decade ever for pop culture media. The fact that we've had a bunch of remakes from some of the best films of the decade occur recently is proof of its enduring popularity. The latest one that was set to be unleashed upon the 21st Century is The Monster Squad. When I first heard about this I was excited because it is one of my favorite comedy horror films of all time.

The problem is, this intended remake is now dead and buried, much like the Frankenstein's Monster that starred in the original. Platinum Dunes' producers Andrew Form and Brad Fuller recently announced they are no longer working on remaking The Monster Squad for a new generation. Bummer. Yet this same company is planning another entry in The Friday the 13th series. I like that franchise but the remake from '09 was crap.

So why the change in plans? I have no idea. Form and Fuller didn't say. I'm disappointed in this news because I love The Monster Squad so much. It's a fun, light hearted homage to the classic monsters of Universal's run during the 30s, 40s, and 50s. It was a smart film too, combining the comedy and horror well while updating the classic stories for an 80s audience. I love the interactions with the characters. The cop father and his partner were great together, they had a smooth chemistry and the overall simplicity of the story was well done; a bunch of kids have to band together to stop monsters invading their town. That's it. It was pitched as Ghostbusters meets The Goonies and fits that well.

What made it so fun for me as a kid was the idea that these kids, who created their club of monster fighters, were just like me. I imagined myself in their place, battling with Dracula and kicking Wolfman in the nards. They were also smart enough to place Frankenstein in the role of a tragic hero, since that was present in the original novel, and he becomes a very sympathetic character in this film. This is a fine movie and could have been a great remake.

I suppose maybe Platinum Dunes believes today's world is not the right environment for this kind of story anymore because it's not dark and gritty enough. The Monster Squad did not do well at the box office upon release, but like many cult films, it found a home on cable outlets and home video, building an audience of fans all over the world. Maybe once Universal's plans to reboot their stable of monsters come into being this remake will come back into focus.

So was anyone looking forward to this? Was anyone even aware of the possibility of a Monster Squad remake? Sound off below.