MONSTER BRAWL (2012) Review

Directed by: Jesse T. Cook

Starring: Dave Foley, Art Hindle, Robert Maillet

Creature mash-ups are always an interesting concept and have been around since way back. From FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN  to ALIEN VS. PREDATOR and even the Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash comic books. But MONSTER BRAWL is quite possibly the biggest monster mash of all.

Presented like a televised wrestling or boxing match, MONSTER BRAWL brings an array of movie monsters together (Frankenstein’s monster, the Wolfman, a zombie and a witch among others) and pits them against each other in a series of fights until only two remain to brawl for the Heavyweight championship. As far as story goes that’s about it. In between matches there are short introductory sequences for each creature but they aren't much more than just filler.

I will admit that after I read the synopsis for this movie I thought it sounded pretty fucking badass. I had mental images of the combatants tearing each other open, dismembering each other, beating their opponents to death with their own disembodies limbs and other such graphic delights. 

So when the first fight was about to begin, I sat in anticipation of the imminent violence… and was extremely disappointed. 

The fights are incredibly unspectacular, which is a shame because they’re the whole concept on which this movie is built. If the fights were as good as I was expecting then I could have easily forgiven MONSTER BRAWL for some of its other shortcomings. But no, each match seemed to be just as dull as the one preceding it. Even the final heavyweight championship bout (which you would expect to be the climax of the film) was decidedly anticlimactic. That’s not to say that there weren't some interesting and clever moments (the mummy using his sun-god amulet to burn his vampire foe’s flesh for example) but they were few and far between. On a more positive note, there were a lot of neat looking make-up and practical effects and there is a little gore although I would have loved to see more.

One interesting aspect I have to mention is the use of Lance Henriksen’s voice. When the opening credits revealed his voice would be involved I thought he may have been commentating the fights, but instead he provides brief comments in a Mortal Kombat style which are peppered throughout each of the fights.

All in all MONSTER BRAWL is just big, stupid fun. It’s easy to sit down with a few beers and be entertained but it is a shame that the scenes which make up the core of the film (the fights) are not nearly as spectacular as they could have been. And let’s be honest, when you sit down to watch a movie about mythical creatures fighting it out in a boxing ring in the middle of a cemetery, you’re not going to expect groundbreaking cinema. MONSTER BRAWL is a fun concept but ultimately flawed in execution, nevertheless it’s entertaining enough to check out if you’re a fan of creature features.