Simon is a Los Angeles-based journalist who covers film and TV. In 1987, The Monster Squad felt like it had all the ingredients to be a massive hit. Instead, it turned out to be one of those ...

Thirty years ago, in 1987, Fred Dekker's "The Monster Squad" was unleashed in theaters nationwide, coming just two years after the similar "young kids discover mysterious artifact" romp "The Goonies.

Squad's gleeful monster mash anticipates bloated CGI orgies like Van Helsing, which likely cost a hundred times as much, yet boasts a hundredth of Squad's scrappy, ramshackle charm. At a lean 82 ...