Monster Brawl

Some people take movies so seriously. This movie gets trashed by a lot of people - but, come on. Take it for what it is. It's not intended to be a good movie; it's not intended to be a serious horror movie. It's basically a spoof. It's a spoof of the whole WWE (or whatever acronyms are out there right now) experience, with over excited commentators (played by Dave Foley and Art Hindle) and an over the top announcer (Jimmy Hart as himself) and pretty (and barely clothed) ring girls and lots of ridiculous action in the ring - and sometimes out of the ring. It's not really much different than you'd see watching pro "wrestling" on television, and as a spoof of all that it's OK.

It's a "tournament" featuring eight monsters divided into two Conferences (the Creatures and the Undead) going head to head against each other. Ninety minutes of it is a bit tiresome in all honesty, but I have to confess (and I'm a wee bit embarrassed about it) that when we finally got to the final match I was interested in seeing whether Frankenstein or Werewolf would come out on top!

As Canadian movies go it's certainly not the worst I've ever seen (and in its opening it even manages to pay homage to the classic opening of Hockey Night in Canada.) I don't remember the exact words that opened the "broadcast," but they were a take on Foster Hewitt's iconic "Hello Canada and hockey fans in the United States and Newfoundland."

It's not a good movie by any means, but it does have some humour in it, it doesn't take itself at all seriously and it is plain old stupid fun. You wouldn't want a steady diet of movies like this, but there's nothing wrong with it from time to time. (4/10)

This is a cult classic B movie that of course is a take on WWF but reviews to date have not pinned down the TEKKEN influence. If the announcer didn't say 'combo' and if that wasn't a big enough clue, the deep voice at the end for the winner ought to have given it away.

There's parodies and nods to Tarantino / Rodriguez movies in terms of video style and events.

This is a fan's movie. I would say that not only does the script have a lot of imagination, but the presenter's puns are actually very funny. As their lines span throughout the picture - one needs to give credit where its due, that's a fair amount of innuendo.

I will admit the acting isn't brilliant, but neither is the acting in great cult movies like 'Evil Dead'. The SFX are as good as your budget TV channel show - if not cheaper.

I think this movie is one to put on low, while you have a party, people will laugh at the pictures and wonder what channel you're viewing. I will agree that it doesn't really have a 'plot', but perhaps the banality and frivolousness of excessive violence is in itself a message. Like Romero used Zombies in the Return of the Living Dead to social comment our own repetitive zombie like behavior to fashion and consumerism as 'zombie-like'. One can then see how Romero's movie is parodied in Shaun of the Dead.

It's not the best horror movie on the market. In terms of referencing real life, cult movie and video game references plus well scripted comedy it does a VERY good job. Unless you know and can reference this movie I think a lot will be lost on the viewer. This explains the poor marks to date. Yes, the movie has bad acting, yes it can seem boring with no plot. But that is like critiquing WWF - Invasion for not having deeper characters. Look at the subject matter and tell me if the Rock or Hulk Hogan are complex characters. I think people will turn off WWF if the writers from BSG or Lost got writing for them.

Anyone who knows pop culture will see where I'm coming from.

3 1/2 Stars = Very Good

It's the Monstermania version of "Wrestlemania!" It's so cheesy, it had to be filmed in Wisconsin, but set in Michigan. I suppose they make cheese too, but I wouldn't want to eat it. It's so stupid, it's hilarious, at least at times. It's so bad, it's good!

Yes, it's "Monster Brawl!" The movie you've been waiting all your life to see! The movie that pits "Creature," against "Creature!" "The Undead," against "the Undead!" Even in two weight classes! Middle weight & heavy weight! But wait, there's more! The winners of their weight class & division are pitted against the winners of the other division, so we have get two world championship matches! "Creature" vs. "the Undead!" Heavy weight vs. heavy weight. Middle weight vs. middle weight. Oh the horror, the agony, the ecstasy! The gooey dripping cheese from my flat screen!

All jokes aside, this is a fairly clever monster bash. The makers of this film intended it to be so bad, it's good, & their good at doing it! No, this is no classic creature feature, but it's a great idea that I'm surprised has not been done before. It lampoons professional wrestling & movies like, "Godzilla vs. King Kong" & "Frankenstein meets the Wolfman, & current film series, like "Underworld" & "Twilight." Yes, the film makers have an agenda here, & it works a good part of the time, to induce a good belly laugh or two.

Their are basically four segments' of this film. You get a little biography on each monster before a match, but unfortunately, more than not, this is pretty weak, only inducing a smile or two. More because of it's total corniness, than any genuine laughs. You have the two wrestling commentators, a big wink at the WWF & WWE, this works better, but not by much, other than when the matches are happening, which works well. In a bigger wink, you get Jimmy Hart, "the Mouth of the South" with two hot vixens in bikinis. This is very corny too, but works in the context of things. Then you get the matches, which are frankly, hilarious! The monster's make up, suitably cheesy for this cheesiest of films. The cheese is running hot! I mean, you got to take this all in context as it was meant to be taken. The matches are down right funny in their lampooning silliness, along with the commentators yakking it up, makes for a lot of fun!

Of course, the makers could've went the straight route, but that in it's self could've been a real cheese fest (especially with their low budget), unintended & no fun. So take "Monster Brawl" in the context it is meant to be, pop a beer, eats some potato chips, & have some fun with it! I did!

Eight classic monsters fight to the death in an explosive wrestling tournament set inside an abandoned and cursed graveyard.

This movie is something of a mystery. It seems to be quite bad and has virtually no plot. Yet, being fully aware of that, it never takes itself very seriously and is therefore somewhat enjoyable. It certainly was not as bad as I expected and not nearly as bad as it could have been.

The real mystery is how they were able to sign on such a cast. Kevin Nash, Herb Dean and Jimmy Hart give it a sense of authentic wrestling or fighting. I did not even realize Hart was still alive. Then you have Dave Foley, horror veteran Art Hindle, and some voiceovers from Lance Henriksen that are a cross between him playing God and being the narrator from "Mortal Kombat". (The script is no stranger to video games -- a reference to King Hippo from "Punch Out" is thrown in.) Is the movie good? Heck no. But it is bad in a way where it appears almost intentional... and therefore more tolerable than other films being released these days. Certainly better than anything Charles Band has been associated with in a long time.

Now I will first start off by saying if your not into wrestling then you will not like this movie. I'm a big wrestling Buff, I watch both WWE and TNA and use to watch ECW and WCW. So I'm the perfect person to appreciate this. It's not meant to be taken seriously, it's not a true horror movie or maybe it's not even a movie at all. But what it is is 90 minutes of hilarious clichés and Wrestling PPV style showmanship. It would almost be better as a real show than a movie. But for what it's worth it is really funny. It has it's ha ha moments and it's WTF moments. But if your into cheesy old school wrestling then you'd appreciate this movie. If your not into wrestling then don't even waste your time. You'll hate it. I hope they continue to make sequels. It has the potential to really create some good story lines.