MaximumMadness
The 1989 Fred Savage and Howie Mandel vehicle, "Little Monsters", is a children's/kid's film. While it was a childhood favorite of mine, I recently had a chance to re-watch it, and I have to say, it just doesn't hold up. It suffers from a loose plotting and a disturbingly cruel nature, and I'm shocked my parents actually let me watch it.Savage stars as Brian Stevenson, a young boy who has just moved to a new neighborhood, and is feeling sad because he lost all of his friends. When strange pranks appear, set up all over his house during the night, he is blamed by his parents for setting them up, even though he denies it. In addition, his younger brother claims to have seen a monster that comes out from under his bed at night. Soon, Brian encounters the monster- Maurice (Mandel), a playful and nutty humanoid with bright blue skin, who introduces him to the world of monsters underneath his bed- a massive land with all sorts of creatures who do nothing but play pranks, scare kids and play video games.However, over time, Brian realizes that the pranks and fun have consequences, and he and Maurice are forced to help his brother Eric, whom is subsequently kidnapped by "Boy", the evil leader of the monsters.To give credit where it is due, the film has a strong atmosphere. Although it's meant to be fun, the introduction to the film and the third act are meant to be creepy and unsettling for the audiences, and I will say, this film is oozing with atmosphere and the general creeps. It is well paced and well-shot, and it is very eerie for children. Particularly some of the earlier jumps and some of the monsters.In addition, the script (by future "Pirates of the Caribbean" scribes Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio) is quite imaginative, although it has been long-rumored that many scenes were cut and re-written, and that the final product differs greatly from the first draft.Finally, the music is incredible. It's very haunting and has an air of sorrow, mixed with hints of joy. It gives a good tone and emulates the up's and down's of the story magnificently.However, there are two huge, looming problems with the film.First, despite the imagination, the film isn't well-written. Characters are established well, but are not necessarily likable. And the plot is just a mess. In fact, the "plot" doesn't really exist until the last half-hour. Up until then, it's more of a series of skits and pranks. The villain ("Boy") and his motivations are not made clear, and the climax, without spoiling anything, is a non-sensical, sloppy mess. It brings the film down a few points, and takes away from the scenes that do indeed work.Secondly, this is a very dark, cruel film. Many scenes involve pranks played by the monsters, which become increasingly dark and morally questionable. Scenes involving tricking young children into drinking urine, scaring infants, tampering with food, destroying property, etc. break past the border of bad taste. And there is a great deal of violence in the film, including characters being kidnapped, burned, beaten up, and even a creepy scene where a monster is decapitated and has its head replaced with a pumpkin. It's very dark, and it's inappropriate for children under 12, I'd say. (Which is the target market, as kids who are any older are probably not going to like it) And the bigger problem is that there are no real consequences for the cruelty and violence, making the theme of responsibility very hollow and hypocritical.This film is a mess. It deserves about a 3 out of 10, but my nostalgia for it, and the sleepless nights of creeps it gave me has elevated it to about a 5 out of 10. I'd say it's decent for older children, but parents should plan on watching it with their kids, and making sure the theme of responsibility was clear to them.
t_maly
I saw this movie a few months ago with my young children and was a bit shocked how foul the movie was. Maybe when I was a young boy I found it intriguing, but as a father I don't think I'd want my kids exposed to that stuff until they're older and have a moral framework in place.There are several instances of severe curse words - including sh*t, b*tch, a**hole, etc. and directed toward people, no less. The whole movie is premised around a boy's exploration of a demonic fantasy land and playing practical jokes on other kids while his parents are going through an awful divorce. This is where I first remember hearing the vulgar phrase for a bra: over-the-shoulder-boulder-holder. Not something I particularly want my 10 year old to know about. And then a scene where they pee into a jar and make it look like apple juice for a kid to drink the next day. Very vulgar and my 10 year old laughed hilariously, but I found it a bit too much for that age. It seems like only the mind of an adult who went through ugly times of a parental divorce could come up with a story like this.It reminds me of the recent Where the Wild Things Are movie. Just dysfunctional. Disturbing and not feel-good. Absolutely do not think this is a PG movie that you can take any child under 10 to watch. It's just too disturbing.
Kaliyugaforkix
LITTLE MONSTERS seems like the sort of children's movie that isn't made much now. Maybe Hollywood comes close with the vulgarity factor but those movies have no real heart at their center's. There's something wholesome to this film when comparing it to today's' shiny plastic but intrinsically devoid contributions masquerading as children's fun. It's not deep or intelligent but LITTLE MONSTERS at least has a nice texture the CGI epics of today don't, and that's what counts for me. There's something distinctive to this juvenile but likable fantasy.In a striking fade-in the film's protagonist Brian explains in moody voice-over that his family has moved to a different neighborhood, leaving his former friends behind and forcing him to start anew. While his younger brother (really his younger brother, Ben Savage) doesn't have a problem with it, Brian is left to sneak downstairs to devour peanut butter and onion sandwiches and catch late night cable until running into Maurice (Howie Mandell) a professional monster who enters any house he pleases via the netherworld beneath every child's bed. Deducing that Maurice can't be exposed to bright light, Brian quickly uses this leverage to have Maurice showing him the ropes, sneaking into other family's houses and causing all the mischief you swore wasn't your fault when YOU were a tyke. But there's trouble brewing in the monster's dimension as the sinister "Boy", high chieftain of this rickety realm, decides he wants Brian to join his world permanently and goes to extreme lengths to make it happen. LITTLE MONSTERS delights in scatology and gross-outs like swigs of p*ss & cat food sandwiches, it even has the kids exclaiming "Sh*t" sometimes, something I don't see in today's antiseptic pre-teen movies. It appeals to the mindset of its demographic in other words. The idea of a secret world of labyrinthine staircases, endless nights and mountains of junk food is a seductive one even if it is restricted by the movie's budget. The monsters are just dolled up kids in elaborate Halloween costumes. Howie Mandel is clearly doing his best Beetle-juice impression here with bratty Fred Savage as the adventurous sixth grader. What really has the strongest impact though is Frank Whaley as Boy, the abomination even the other monsters fear. He's soft spoken and androgynous, coyly appealing to Brian at the climax to come and play with him forever in his fabulous netherworld. Only when the camera pans backwards do we see that his face is literally tacked on like a mask, disguising a hideous interior. The sequences with Boy plumb at something deeper and darker than the rest of the film, a vision of curdled boyhood by way of a child predator. This is the only time the flick transcends its status as enjoyable malarkey into something more unsettling. Boy is too adult to really be like the other monsters so naturally he's the villain. I couldn't help thinking of another powerful man-child barricaded in his never-never land, inviting other children to come join him and be young forever.
