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Monster Brawl (2011)
Image Entertainment
Blu-ray Disc Released: 6/12/2012
All Ratings out of
Movie:
1/2
Video:
1/2
Audio:
Extras:
Review by Mike Long, Posted on 6/14/2012
Regular visitors to this website know that I often question the lack of originality in movies. I watch a lot of movies for this site, and I feel that I'm watching the same one over and over. We all know that original ideas are out there, it's just a matter of convincing the money men that they will work. I just wish that somebody would make something different. Well, you know what they say -- be careful what you wish for, as my wish brings forth Monster Brawl.
Monster Brawl is difficult to describe. The movie takes place in an old and cursed cemetery in Michigan, where a series of wrestling matches between monsters is taking place. With Buzz Chambers (Dave Foley) and Sasquatch Sid Tucker (Art Hindle) calling the action, while Jimmy Hart serves as the ringside announcer. Eight combatants are involved in this tournament -- Frankenstein (Robert Maillet), Cyclops, Swamp Gut (both played by Jason David Brown), Werewolf, Mummy (both played by RJ Skinner), Zombie Man (Rico Montana), Witch Bitch (Holly Letkeman), and Lady Vampire (Kelly Couture). Each match is preceded by two vignettes which introduce us to the fighters. Following some preliminary matches, the battle begins to see who will be the heavyweight champion.
To say that Monster Brawl is different would certainly be an understatement. However, to say that it's a movie would be an overstatement, as it doesn't really fit the parameters of a film. There's no true story to speak of -- we simply get the concept of the monster wrestling matches which we then watch unfold. There is character development in the sense that we learn the origins of the monsters in their individual segments, but it never goes beyond this. The characters don't interact save for their time in the ring. The commentators do their thing, the announcer does his thing, the fighters fight, and that's about it. This doesn't feel like a movie -- it feels like a WWE Halloween special.
So, what is the purpose of Monster Brawl? I don't know if I'm sure. It's the brainchild of writer/director Jesse T. Cook, who claimed that he wanted to combine his love for wrestling and monster movies. Well, I guess he's achieved that goal, but I don't know what else the movie does. The piece is very tongue-in-cheek and I think that it's supposed to be funny, but the only thing which I found humorous was when the Mummy spoke in hieroglyphics. Lance Henriksen provides narration for the movie and he also serves to provide comments during the wrestling matches. These come off sounding like something which would be heard in Mortal Kombat or the like. I'm no expert on wrestling, but the actual matches feel very clunky and uninspired. None of them last very long and after a few moves, they are over. Dave Foley and Art Hindle are wasted here, and you have to go a long way to make Dave Foley not funny.
The odd thing about Monster Brawl, beside the lack of a story, is that it's quite slick-looking. The making-of featurette found on this Blu-ray Disc shows us how the movie was made on a shoestring budget, but the set looks good and Cook keeps the camera moving (which I imagine doesn't give us a chance to focus on how poorly constructed some things may be.). The creature effects range from pedestrian to semi-interesting and the little gore shown here works well. But, there's just no getting around the fact that Monster Brawl is a weird bird. If Cook's goal was to make a fake wrestling (those two words have never appeared together before, have they?) special which looks like it could be real, the he succeeded. But, if he wanted to make an engaging movie, he failed. This should have been a straight-up spoof which never showed any seriousness or it could have stuck with this basic premise and then brought in some sort of story so that all of this doesn't feel so one-dimensional.
Monster Brawl isn't very creative with its names for the female characters on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Image Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 20 Mbps. The image is very sharp and clear, showing no grain (except for intentionally added) or defects from the source material. The project was shot on HD equipment and the picture has a notable crispness to it. The colors look good and while this is a dark movie, it's never overly dark and the action is always visible. The image is detailed and the picture offers a nice amount of depth. The Disc carries a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 2.0 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects. Going to back to how odd this "movie" is, the audio effects are generally limited to the sounds of the wrestling matches and those found in the introduction pieces. The stereo effects are well-done and things like thunder fill the surround channels. The wrestling offers some mild sub-woofer effects.
The Monster Brawl Blu-ray Disc contains a few extras. We begin with an AUDIO COMMENTARY from Writer/Director Jesse Thomas Cook and Producers John Geddes and Matt Wiele. "Monster Brawl: Beyond the Grave" (23 minutes) is a making-of featurette which offers a nice amount of on-set footage and interviews with the filmmakers. Cook narrates the piece and takes us step-by-step through the production and we learn how the movie essentially came out of nothing. We see the primary set being constructed and then visit the various locations used in the backstories. We then go on-set to see some key scenes being shot and get a look at the gore effects. "Tales from the Hart: Jimmy Hart Outtakes" (7 minutes) shows the movie's emcee goofing around on-set. The final extra is the TRAILER for the film.
Review Copyright 2012 by Mike Long