Monster Brawl (2011)

*** S  P  O  I  L  E  R  S ***

"It's the fight of the living dead!"

RATED- R

RUN TIME- 89 MINS

WRITER(S)- JESSE T. COOK

STARRING- DAVE FOLEY, ART HINDLE AND ROBERT MAILLET

DIRECTOR- JESSE T. COOK

Synopsis taken from IMDb

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

STORY: This was a movie that I've had on my Netflix instant queue for a while now. I've heard some things about this movie and it got me interested enough to give it a shot. The whole movie is shot like a wrestling pay-per view from hell. Cameo's are made by UFC referee Herb Dean and long time wrestling manager Jimmy Hart, who is held in the company of some very attractive ring girls. Jimmy Hart actually favorited a tweet I made right after watching this movie, which I thought was cool.

I liked that it was filmed in a cemetery, although the set was somewhat poorly done and in one of the scenes where Frankenstein is being bashed with tombstones from The Wolfman you can see how apparent it is that the tombstones are foam. The setting of the film wasn't creative but it was fitting. The commentating during this movie will keep you laughing as well and I especially like that there are backstories and promo's for the monsters. The Wolfman comes off the most like a wrestler with some decent microphone skills.

There's some good monsters in here like Lady Vampire and The Mummy. They also have what I guess is their version of the Creature from the Black Lagoon, Swamp Gut, a gassy and nasty slob of a being. Swamp Gut reminds me of what I think Swamp Thing would look like if he stopped working out. However, due to the caliber of the monsters, I found it obvious that it would come down to Frankenstein and The Wolfman. I was rooting for good ol' Frankie to win, and he does, but what an epic fight it is. I'm not certain on if there will be a sequel to this or not, but they definitely leave it open for one when Frankenstein is confronted by a zombified Kevin Nash.

Swamp Gut prepares to face off against the angry Wolfman

ACTING: The acting in this movie is poor and downright cheesy and ridiculous. But that is the type of movie this is, you'll find no Christian Bale in this movie. It isn't about acting, it's the entertainment value you get out of it.



SPECIAL FX/CREATURES: The special effects in this movie suffer a bit with some of the creatures looks and designs. You can tell this wasn't a big budget movie, Frankenstein and The Wolfman looked cool though. I like the intensity Frankenstein had because it matched his severely disfigured face and body. The other creatures weren't very creative in their designs or execution of their designs. I felt like the whole movie was just a means to let Frankenstein rip the Wolfman's head off.



OVERALL: This movie appeals to the manly nature in us men, you women may not like it as much. It taps into our inner child who used to watch wrestling and watch these monster movies and have our minds blown. It combines both things and is pure fun, I don't mean to sound cliche but it's a blast. It's a movie you can watch over and over again. It's a good one to watch with your buddy's while passing the popcorn and drinking beer. This is also a good way to introduce your kids to these monsters, but there is some gore.

THIS FILM GETS 3 REAPER SKULLS OUT OF 5