Inside ‘The Monster Squad’: Andre Gower On The Cult Classic And New Doc ‘Wolfman’s Got Nards’

In 1987, The Monster Squad felt like it had all the ingredients to be a massive hit. Instead, it turned out to be one of those movies that the term cult classic was created for. And it is all the better for it.

Although its success was never carved in stone, it seems a passion from fans that would span decades and generations was written in the stars. That deep adoration has been documented in Wolfman’s Got Nards.

“That’s what the original concept of the documentary was, investigating why this movie has endured,” enthused Andre Gower, the doc’s director who starred in the original movie. “The short answer for why it has lasted and grown is one reason, the fans. They’re the ones that have kept this movie alive for over 30 years.”

“What the doc wanted to do was look into the reasons that these fans connected with this movie, at whatever age they saw it, and how it impacted them and created this amazing dynamic that just will not wither.”

For the uninitiated, The Monster Squad was about a bunch of kids who are monster fanatics, led by Sean, played by Gower, trying to save their hometown from Count Dracula, Wolfman, Frankenstein’s Monster, Mummy, and The Gill-man. It grossed just $3.8 million against a $12 million budget.

“I think more people have seen this movie to date than probably would have if it was a big hit in the summer of 1987 and then didn’t really have anything after that. Absolutely,” Gower explained. “This movie has grown not only continentally but internationally. We have huge audiences all over, and one of my favorite fan bases is in the UK. It is strong, it is loyal, and it is growing. The interesting and fantastic dynamic is that it’s not just the original fans. There is now a second generation of Monster Squad fans because the original fans have shown it to their kids, they are passing the torch, and those kids are running with it.”

So being released in the era of classic kids adventure movies, was The Monster Squad movie right on time but unlucky or, given its appreciation now, was it ahead of its time?

“I think that’s twofold,” Gower mused. “You are onto something there with it ahead of its time because of the stuff it was dealing with. It had great modern practical effects, it had early digital effects, and the storyline was a little bit darker.”

“It was a little more dangerous for a kids adventure film than most things that we had seen except for maybe Red Dawn, which is my favorite kids adventure movie. People always chuckle when I say that’s a kids adventure movie, but that’s exactly what Red Dawn is.”

He added, “I think The Monster Squad also came out at the exact right time to become this phenomenon. It hit right in that sweet spot of kids during a certain era, of a certain age, that when the audience got past that, it was okay that they were still connected, and dug it because we went into other things and time moved on, and here we are today. It’s okay to stay connected to something that shaped you. Interestingly, the story was about old classic monsters at a time that we were having, in genre movies of the 80s, the new monsters, which are now the new classics like Freddy, Jason and Michael Myers. Genre movies are always kind of a reflection of the culture at the time or society’s take on what’s going on in the world. The Monster Squad had more than one thing that mixed in that landed with people. We wanted to look into that. Is there an answer? I don’t know. Maybe it’s something that it’s only the fans that connected with it can answer.”

That is precisely what Wolfman’s Got Nards does. As well as the fans, the documentary also looks at its impact on the cast, crew, and the industry. But how did Gower get the industry to cough up the money to make a documentary about a movie that, while beloved, was a box office bomb?

“That’s exactly sort of the question you ask when you’re thinking about this, and the answer to how you get it done is that you’ve got to be creative,” Gower explained. “You don’t just have to be creative with your concept or your filmmaking; you’ve got to be creative on the business side of it. What happened in this situation was that I had an idea for a documentary that I was going to try to do on my own or with a couple of friends. Maybe we’d go out on the convention circuit and make something cheap and easy and guerilla-style, and then maybe we’d put it up on our website or something.”

“What happened then was, I had a very serendipitous meeting outside of the Pilgrim Media Group studios building. I ended up having a conversation with Henry McComas, Wes Caldwell, and Aaron Kunkel, who became my production team on this. Henry and I started to collaborate and came up with a way to present this documentary to the executives at Pilgrim Media. I threw a deal at them that was basically, ‘Why not?’ And I think that’s what filmmakers have to find out, ways to get creative on the business side. What we did was that we ended up coming to a deal where we co-produced it; I put in some funding on my side, they put in money and production elements, and we became partners.”

He added, “It was something they had never done before, but something not a lot of other people in that space were doing at the time. Years and years ago, that used to be the way you got things done. I think it worked out in a very symbiotic way because both sides had what it needed and took the chance to make something happen. It took all of the pressure off, and we were able to really drill down. I got to work with my production crew, daily, for a year and do what we wanted to do because we were partners on it. We didn’t have someone looking over everybody’s shoulders. We were trying to get the best result that we could, and that started with a creative deal on the business side.”

While Gower might not be instantly recognizable, The Monster Squad rarely needs any introduction.

“Where the interesting reactions are when people are Monster Squad fans, and they don’t put it together when they’re talking with you. I get a kick out of that because it happens quite frequently,” he laughed. “Now we’ve had a lot of exposure over the last ten years, most people recognize you and know what you look like for The Monster Squad solely, but there are some great times where people don’t realize that they’re talking to you when the topic is The Monster Squad. When the coin drops, they usually flip. They lose it. I like to give them a little bit of time to figure it out, but then sometimes you just got to hit them with it and be like, ‘Well, I’m glad you liked it because that means a lot to me since I was Sean in the movie.’ It’s funny.”

“My favorite interaction with that example is when I happened to be in the same cafe as one of my favorite Monster Squad fans who I’ve never met until that moment. It was Ryan Gosling. He’s a huge Monster Squad fan. I just walked up to him and his buddy and completely interrupted their grilled cheeses or whatever they were having, and I just said, ‘Hey, by the way, you and I have a mutual friend, and I’d just wanted to say hello.’ He was like, ‘Oh, great. Who’s that?’ And I said, ‘Well, it’s the writer-producer-director, Shane Black.’ Ryan was so happy, he said, ‘Oh, that’s my guy.’ I was like, ‘I understand that. I just wanted to say hey, and I also know that you’re a Monster Squad fan.’ And I stood there for a minute, but it wasn’t happening, so I just finally had to lean in and say, ‘It’s nice to meet you. I’m Andre. I played Sean in The Monster Squad.’ And we all just lost our minds for about two minutes and hung out then, and then we went on to our iced teas and grilled cheeses. So that was a great interaction with exactly the setup I have with so many others.”

Even though The Monster Squad didn’t land as well as expected, was it initially seen as a potential franchise?

“I think it would have been nice if that was the vision ahead of time,” Gower explained. “Back in the day, they did one thing and waited to see if it was successful or not, and then maybe continued. We had the conversations, it’s in the contracts, for instance, if there’s a sequel or animated series, or action figures or whatever there is that you’re supposed to be involved in it.”

“Of course, those are the things you read or talk about at the time, and we’re like, ‘Yeah, let’s do that.’ But it’s not up to you. It’s up to studios, it’s up to the box office, it’s up to reviewers, and it’s up to the ultimate success or lack of success. When that doesn’t happen, they move on, and you’re done.”

While it wasn’t conceived as a franchise, The Monster Squad has not only stood the test of time, but it has gone on to grow a broader, stronger fanbase. Could a sequel or a TV show be in its future at all?

“You’ve probably got more voice than I do for that, but I would certainly love to see something like either of those examples,” Gower said. “It’s always been a rights issue with the IP of The Monster Squad, even when the 2007 DVD came out by Lionsgate. Title rights were somewhere, video distribution rights were somewhere else, but that could be all changing. In the next year? I have no idea, that’s not my purview in this situation, but I would love to see something that original fans and new fans can continue their connection with. If the right people are doing it, I think it’s a great thing.”

“There are a ton of stories to tell with this IP, right? Most people think about our story from the movie, what happened right after and leading up to today, which would be fantastic fun to do. That’s obviously a grown-ups story and a passing of the torch type thing. But there are potentially some awesome stories leading up to our two days in the movie. For starters, Dracula had been walking around for 100 years, waiting for limbo to be balanced. There’s a lot going on there. What was Dracula doing in the 50s? There’s a ton of story there that I think, you know, people can have fun with.”

Maybe superfan, actor, producer, and director Ryan Gosling could help?

“Well, maybe we’ll figure something out there,” Gower joked. “I’ve always wanted to. The writer-director Fred Dekker and co-writer Shane Black have always loved their original story. They’ve always wanted to continue The Monster Squad in some way, shape, or form, whether it’s an animated series or a graphic novel. I hope one day they get to dive back in there, and if I or my other castmates get to be involved, that would be gravy.”

Wolfman’s Got Nards is available to VOD from Tuesday, October 27, 2020.