Mummy man resurrects Monster Squad

The cult classic “The Monster Squad” is – not surprisingly – about to get a contemporary makeover.

“Mummy 3” director Rob Cohen tells Bloody Disgusting that Paramount have purchased the rights to the Fred Dekker flick. What isn’t known is whether or not the remake is in development, pre-production or… merely just an idea at this stage. Interestingly enough, Dekker mentioned last year that he’d be keen to do a sequel to the movie – – but guess that idea dies with the transfer of ownership?

Much to everyone’s surprise – particularly its cast and crew. “The Monster Squad”, a huge flop when it was released theatrically in 1987, is now considered a straight-up out-and-out cult classic because, well, it’s so infectiously tacky and incontrovertibly culpable fun. Written by Dekker and Shane Black and directed by Dekker, it’s a “Goonies” like romp about a bunch of kids that team up to bring down all the movie monsters – including Dracula, The Mummy and the Wolfman.

Unlike a lot of the so-called kid’s films today, 1987s “The Monster Squad” actually gives its audience – in this case, youngsters – what they want, and not just give in to what the studio executives believe kids want. Thanks to the ingenuity of its young writer/director Frank Dekker (“Night of the Creeps”), this one spoke straight to the kids – in the same way say, “The Goonies” did. But more so, this one let the kids swear… not many kids movies these days even feature a single ‘shit’ let alone an ‘asshole’ or ‘bitch’… and it’s not often you’ll find references to ‘virgins’ in the family film, either. It truly was a landmark film for its time – something that was seemingly made whilst big brother (in this case, Mr. studio head) turned his back.

Cohen (“The Mummy : Tomb of the Dragon Emperor”, “XXX”) says he’d produce the remake, not direct it.