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The Monster Squad
''The Monster Squad'' is a 1987 American horror comedy film directed by Fred Dekker, and written by Dekker and Shane Black. Peter Hyams and Rob Cohen served as executive producers. It was released by Tri-Star Pictures on August 14, 1987. The film features pastiches of the Universal Monsters, led by Count Dracula. They are confronted by a group of savvy children out to keep them from controlling the world. Although it was financially unsuccessful during its theatrical run and received mixed reviews from critics, the film has gained a positive reception from audiences and has become a cult classic in the years since its release. Plot The Monster Squad is a club of pre-teens who idolize the Universal classic monster movies and their non-human stars. Club leader Sean Crenshaw, whose younger sister Phoebe, desperately wants to join the club, is given the diary of legendary monster hunter Dr. Abraham Van Helsing, but his excitement abates when he finds it is written in German. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fred Dekker
Fred Dekker (born April 9, 1959) is an American screenwriter and film director best known for his cult classic horror comedy films '' Night of the Creeps'' and ''The Monster Squad'' (written with Shane Black). He contributed the story ideas for ''House'' (1985) and ''Ricochet'' (1991), and also directed and co-wrote '' RoboCop 3'' with Frank Miller. One of his earliest movies was a short film he made in college titled ''Starcruisers'', directed in the early 1980s. Life and career Dekker was born on April 9, 1959, in San Francisco and was raised in the Bay Area. He attended the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in the mid-1980s. In 1983, film director Steve Miner hired Dekker to write the script for '' Godzilla: King of the Monsters in 3D'', a project which went unproduced. Dekker's first success came in 1985: a 15-page Twilight Zone-inspired script and an original story that was expanded into a full screenplay by writer Ethan Wiley for what would become the come ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Count Dracula
Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. He is considered the prototypical and archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by some to have been inspired by the 15th-century Wallachian prince Vlad the Impaler, who was also known as Vlad Dracula, and by Sir Henry Irving and Jacques Damala, actors with aristocratic backgrounds that Stoker had met during his life. One of Dracula's most iconic powers is his ability to turn others into vampires by biting them and infecting them with the vampiric disease. Other characteristics have been added or altered in subsequent popular fictional works, including books, films, cartoons, and video games. Stoker's creation Bram Stoker's novel takes the form of an epistolary tale, in which Count Dracula's characteristics, powers, abilities, and weaknesses are narrated by multiple narrators, from different perspectives. Count Dracula is an undead ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Larry Talbot
Lawrence Stewart Talbot, also known as the Wolf Man, is the title character of the 1941 Universal film '' The Wolf Man'' and its sequels, created by Curt Siodmak. He was portrayed by Lon Chaney Jr. In the 2010 remake of the film, he is portrayed by Benicio del Toro and in the 2025 reboot of the film, he is portrayed by Christopher Abbott. The Wolf Man was part of the Universal Monsters ensemble. Biography ''The Wolf Man'' (1941) Larry Talbot returns to his ancestral home in Llanwelly, Wales, to reconcile with his father, Sir John Talbot. He had left for America eighteen years earlier, when his elder brother (also named John) was made heir to the estate, but he has returned following his brother's death in a hunting accident. While there, Larry becomes romantically interested in a local girl named Gwen Conliffe, who runs an antique shop. As a pretext, he buys a silver-headed walking stick decorated with a wolf. Gwen tells him that it represents a werewolf (which she def ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jonathan Gries
Jonathan Gries ( '; born June 17, 1957) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Uncle Rico in '' Napoleon Dynamite '' (2004), for which he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male, the recurring role of Roger Linus on '' Lost'' (2007–2010), and Greg Hunt on ''The White Lotus'' (2021–present). He is also known for other film and television credits such as ''Real Genius'' (1985), ''The Monster Squad'' (1987), ''Martin'' (1992–1994), ''Get Shorty'' (1995), '' The Pretender'' (1996–2000), the ''Taken'' trilogy (2008–2014), and '' Dream Corp LLC'' (2016–2020). Life and career Gries was born in Glendale, California, the son of writer, director, and producer Tom Gries. His first film role came at age 11, when he played the Boy Horace in the Charlton Heston film ''Will Penny'', which was written and directed by his father. Some of his signature roles have come in cult classics. He played Lazlo Hollyfeld in ''Real Genius'' (1985) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frankenstein's Monster
Frankenstein's monster, commonly referred to as Frankenstein, is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' as its main antagonist. Shelley's title compares the monster's creator, Victor Frankenstein, to the mythological character Prometheus, who fashioned humans out of clay and gave them fire. In Shelley's Gothic story, Victor Frankenstein builds the creature in his laboratory through an ambiguous method based on a scientific principle he discovered. Shelley describes the monster as tall and emotional. The monster attempts to fit into human society but is shunned, which leads him to seek revenge against Frankenstein. According to the scholar Joseph Carroll, the monster occupies "a border territory between the characteristics that typically define protagonists and antagonists". Frankenstein's monster became iconic in popular culture, and has been featured in various forms of media, including films, te ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
B-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Brigadier General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in every theater of World War II, and after the war ended, many remained in service, operating across four decades. Produced in numerous variants, nearly 10,000 B-25s were built. It was the most-produced American medium bomber and the third most-produced American bomber overall. These included several limited models such as the F-10 reconnaissance aircraft, the AT-24 crew trainers, and the United States Marine Corps' PBJ-1 patrol bomber. Design and development In March 1939, the US Army Air Corps issued a specification for a medium bomber that was capable of carrying a payload of over at . North American Aviation (NAA) used its NA-40B design to develop the NA-62, which competed for the medium bomber contract. No YB-25 was available ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frankenstein (1931 Film)
''Frankenstein'' is a 1931 American Gothic film, Gothic Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code Science fiction film, science fiction horror film directed by James Whale, produced by Carl Laemmle Jr., and adapted from a 1927 play by Peggy Webling, which in turn was based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. The Webling play was adapted by John L. Balderston and the screenplay written by Francis Edward Faragoh and Garrett Fort, with uncredited contributions from Robert Florey and John Russell (screenwriter), John Russell. ''Frankenstein'' stars Colin Clive as Henry Frankenstein (Victor Frankenstein in the novel), an obsessed scientist who digs up corpses with his assistant in order to assemble a living being from body parts. The resulting creature, often known as Frankenstein's monster, is portrayed by Boris Karloff. The makeup for the monster was provided by Jack Pierce (makeup artist), Jack Pierce. Alongside Clive and Karloff, the film's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brides Of Dracula
The Brides of Dracula are fictional characters in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel ''Dracula''. They are three seductive vampire "sisters" who reside with Count Dracula in his castle in Transylvania, where they entice men with their beauty and charm, and then proceed to feed upon them. Dracula provides them with victims to devour, mainly implied to be infants. Like Dracula, they are the living dead, repulsed by sunlight, garlic and religious objects. In chapter three of the novel, two are described as having dark hair and red eyes, like Dracula, while the other as being fair, with blonde hair and blue eyes. Novel Sometime near the beginning of the novel, after Jonathan Harker arrives in Dracula's castle, Dracula warns Harker that, if he leaves his room, to never sleep in any other room in the castle, but does not tell him why, clearly aware that the sisters will kill him. Late one night, Jonathan explores the castle. He sits at a table writing in his journal and, as he begins to fal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Wolf Man (1941 Film)
''The Wolf Man'' is a 1941 American Gothic horror film written by Curt Siodmak and produced and directed by George Waggner. The film stars Lon Chaney Jr. in the title role. Claude Rains, Warren William, Ralph Bellamy, Patric Knowles, Bela Lugosi, Evelyn Ankers, and Maria Ouspenskaya star in supporting roles. The title character has had a great deal of influence on Hollywood's depictions of the legend of the werewolf. The film is the second Universal Pictures werewolf film, preceded six years earlier by the less commercially successful ''Werewolf of London'' (1935). This film is one of the Universal Monsters movies, and garnered great acclaim for its production. After this movie's success, Lon Chaney Jr. would reprise his role as "The Wolf Man" in four sequels, beginning with '' Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man'' in 1943. Plot Larry Talbot returns to his ancestral home in Llanwelly, Wales, to bury his recently deceased brother and reconcile with his estranged father, Sir John ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gill-man
The Gill-man, commonly called The Creature from The Black Lagoon, or simply The Creature, is the movie monster of the 1954 black-and-white film ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' and its two sequels '' Revenge of the Creature'' (1955) and '' The Creature Walks Among Us'' (1956). In all three films, Ricou Browning portrays the Gill-man when he is swimming underwater. In the scenes when the Gill-man is walking on dry land, Ben Chapman performed the Gill-man in the first film, followed by Tom Hennesy in the second, and Don Megowan in the third. The Gill-man also appears in the 1967 stop-motion animated film ''Mad Monster Party?'', but is referred to as simply "The Creature". It also appears in the 1972 traditional animated film '' Mad Mad Mad Monsters'', again referred to as simply "The Creature". The Gill-man's popularity as an iconic monster of cinema has led to numerous cameo appearances, including an episode of ''The Munsters'' (1965), Stephen King's IT (1986), the motio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Mummy (1932 Film)
''The Mummy'' is a 1932 American pre-Code supernatural horror film directed by Karl Freund. The screenplay by John L. Balderston was adapted from a treatment written by Nina Wilcox Putnam and Richard Schayer. Released by Universal Studios as a part of the Universal Monsters franchise, the film stars Boris Karloff, Zita Johann, David Manners, Edward Van Sloan and Arthur Byron. In the film, Karloff stars as Imhotep, an ancient Egyptian mummy who was killed for attempting to resurrect his dead lover, Anck-es-en-Amon. After being discovered and accidentally brought to life by a team of archaeologists, he disguises himself as a modern Egyptian named Ardath Bey and searches for Anck-es-en-Amon, who he believes has been reincarnated in the modern world. While less profitable than its predecessors ''Dracula'' and ''Frankenstein'', ''The Mummy'' was still a commercial and critical success, becoming culturally influential and spawning several sequels, spin-offs, remakes, and re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dracula (1931 English-language Film)
''Dracula'' is a 1931 American pre-Code supernatural horror film directed and co-produced by Tod Browning from a screenplay written by Garrett Fort and starring Bela Lugosi in the title role. It is based on the stage play ''Dracula'' by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston, which in turn is adapted from the 1897 novel ''Dracula'' by Bram Stoker. Lugosi portrays Count Dracula, a vampire who emigrates from Transylvania to England and preys upon the blood of living victims, including a young man's fiancée. Produced and distributed by Universal Pictures, ''Dracula'' is the first sound film adaptation of the Stoker novel. Several actors were considered to portray the title character, but Lugosi, who had previously played the role on Broadway, eventually got the part. The film was partially shot on sets at Universal Studios Lot in California, which were reused at night for the filming of a concurrently produced Spanish-language adaptation of the same name, also produced by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
