Monster Brawl -- It's WWE But With Monsters

 

Name: Monster Brawl

Directed By: Jesse Thomas Cook  

Subgenre: Creature Feature, Comedy

Series: Spooktober 2021 entry #25; review #118

Review: Monster Brawl is a dumb movie that, for some inexplicable reason, I'm kind of into. The film is exactly what it says on the tin: eight monsters fight to the death in a wrestling style tournament. This tournament of horrors has been divided into two conferences, one for the Monsters (Cyclops, Werewolf, "Witch Bitch," and "Swamp Gut") and one the undead abominations (Zombie, Mummy, Vampiress, and Frankenstein's Monster); the various ghouls and ghasts face off against each other until the winners of the respective conferences get to duke it out to see who is the reigning champion of people in cheap rubber outfits. The whole thing is commentated on by two announcers in typical WWE (and the like) fashion--and boy, you know there's gonna a couple of sexy ring girls to keep your attention when the plot inevitably wears thin. The ring--and the only set used for the vast majority of the film--is in a spooky scary cemetery that has a bit of a zombie problem. That's not all that concerning given that one of the fighters is also a zombie, but these free-range face-eaters don't play nice with the crowd.

That last bit is pretty much the only ounce of story you'll get from the film outside of each creature's origin. Thankfully, each monster does get some background, even though most the stories are cliché (but what's a wrestling match without characters with shallow, melodramatic histories?) A referee death here, a dramatic upset there: that's all there is besides lots and lots of monsters rastlin' with each other. The actual wrestling element isn't all that exciting, either. By the look of it, the producers spent all their money piecing together monster suits and makeup and didn't have any left for anything particularly, you know, horrific. There's barely any gore here, which is disappointing given that the plot is literally about monsters fighting to the death. Leaning into the ultraviolence of it all could have done wonders in elevating the film. So, why do I like the movie? Like is a bit strong of a term, I'll admit; it's just that I appreciate efforts to bring together a disparate group of horror icons (with their serial numbers filed off) and have them interact with one another. Basically, I'm still bummed about the whole "Dark Universe"--the Avengers-style ensemble gathering of Universal's horror movie icons--fell through. I'm still on board with hijacking the Halloween franchise toward that end once Michael Myers' time is up (which is approximately the time in which he stops making them money, which is never). This is the best I'll get for the time being, but...honestly, it's not so bad; the film doesn't take itself seriously at all, the pacing keeps things moving along nicely, the monsters have enough narrative flesh and the fights are just interesting enough to put your phone down every now and again. It's a great movie to have on in the background, at the least. Big praise, right?

Overall Score: 2.5 out of 5 transformed Chads duking it out. Did Monster Brawl scare you? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

IMDB: Here

How to Watch: Monster Brawl is available on these platforms.

Official Trailer