Review: Wolfman’s Got Nards is a surprisingly emotional tribute to The Monster Squad

The Monster Squad was ahead of its time. Released in 1987, the film starred a gang of young horror-loving kids (André Gower, Robby Kiger, Ashley Bank, Brent Chalem, Ryan Lambert, and Michael Faustino) who had to do battle with the classic Universal monsters (Dracula, The Wolfman, The Creature From the Black Lagoon, The Mummy, and Frankenstein’s Monster) in their suburban neighbourhood. Directed and co-written by Fred Dekker (coming off his wildly fun Night of the Creeps), Dekker wrote the film with Shane Black, just before his career took off with Lethal Weapon. With a great mix of chills and humour, and a believable group of young actors who actually sounded like real ’80s kids, The Monster Squad should have been a no-brainer. Unfortunately, the film bombed on its initial release, devastating Dekker who had poured his heart and soul into the project.

While the cast and crew licked their wounds following the film’s disappointing release, The Monster Squad stealthily became a cult hit over the ensuing decades, with fans discovering the film on HBO and through rabid word-of-mouth, leading to packed anniversary screenings, including a 30th-anniversary blowout in London.

Monster Squad star André Gower moves to the director’s chair and traces that improbable comeback and the film’s enduring legacy in Wolfman’s Got Nards, a surprisingly emotional documentary on the making of the film and its impact on its creators and fans. The film features moving interviews with the surviving cast and crew members, who have had decidedly different reactions to the film over the ensuing years. Some, like Gower, have embraced the film’s legacy, while writer-director Fred Dekker admits he has a hard time reconciling the initial failure of the film with its acclaimed cult status three decades later.

Much of the film’s emotional impact comes from the fact that Brent Chalem (who played the iconic Horace in the film) passed away in 1997, and was never able to appreciate the newfound success of the film, or how his portrayal of a picked-on overweight kid turned monster-slaying badass was an inspiration to so many viewers across the globe.

While The Monster Squad never aspires to be anything more than a campy horror-comedy, the film’s portrayal of a gang of young outsiders banding together has struck a deep chord with fans, many of whom tearily describe what the film meant to them growing up, and how it shaped who they are to this day. If that sounds fairly maudlin, it helps explain how a movie that vanished from theatres over 30 years ago is still finding new audiences, and how the cult surrounding the film seems to grow greater with each passing year.

Wolfman’s Got Nards is a loving tribute to the unlikely second life of The Monster Squad and an emotional look at how movies can impact our lives. That might seem pretty highfalutin for a movie called Wolfman’s Got Nards, but this inspiring doc is truly one of the most moving movies of the year and a wildly entertaining tribute to the beloved film.

Wolfman’s Got Nards is available on iTunes now.