Monster Brawl (2011)

Guys love monsters. Guys also love wrestling. So what could be better than a movie about monsters wrestling? That's the concept of Monster Brawl and that's all you need to know about it. Written and directed by Jesse T. Cook, it really does keep things that simple.

The movie is shot/shown in the style of a wrestling special. A couple of commentators (played by Dave Foley and Art Hindle) are on hand to talk to viewers while monsters square off against each other. It's not non-stop fighting, however, as there are also backstories to be told and statistics to be reeled off. Jimmy Hart appears in the role of . . . . . . . . . Jimmy Hart and he's very annoying in between each wrestling match, though he's also accompanied by a couple of pretty women so every cloud has a silver lining, I suppose. There's also the gravelly voice of Lance Henriksen introducing opponents, announcing special moves and declaring the winner in a style very reminiscent of many old beat 'em up videogames.

Wrestling fans may be kept happy enough to see Kevin Nash in a supporting role but monster fans will want to know who is getting in the ring. Well, that would be Frankenstein (who they admit at one point should be called Frankenstein's Monster), Cyclops, Witch Bitch, Swamp Gut, The Mummy, The Werewolf, Zombie Man and Lady Vampire. A decent selection, I think you'll agree.

Monster Brawl IS fun, it is. You should know from the title exactly what you're getting and you get just that. It's just a shame that there's really nothing more to it. The script has a few funny lines here and there but more would have been welcome. The fighting action is amusing enough the first time around but soon gets tiresome after that. Having said that, perhaps any fan of wrestling (which I am most definitely not) will be able to derive more pleasure from this. It's a standard competition set-up, a kind of Top Trumps with physical abilities being used as opposed to just measured against one another in statistical form.

Add a point to my rating if you're a huge wrestling fan, subtract two points if you're not a huge fan of monsters of any kind and take the score down even lower if you're a cineaste who only likes to watch the worthwhile classics.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Monster-Brawl-DVD-Dave-Foley/dp/B00838056U/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1347484705&sr=1-1