Monster Man

[Dr. Briggs]

This is one of my favorite horror comedies of the 2000s, one which actually lives up to the general "feel" of 80s horror comedies without trying so hard it fails as a good standalone film. No throwbacks to tone or culture (the main characters are very contemporary), but the gore, character-banter, and just plain weird elements, stuff you'd expect from a horror comedy of the filmmaking period, are all present.

Monster Man follows a severely wimpy guy and his jackass friend as they take a road trip in hopes of stopping the wedding of the former's best friend. Along the way, they come across increasingly odd things: towns full of amputees, a speeding hearse, and a madman in a monster truck who wishes to kill them. As the film runs its course, it becomes apparent that the various elements actually add up to something more complicated. No spoilers beyond that; even if you guess the ending, its execution is nigh unpredictable and something to behold.

Sometimes the film's weirdness interferes with it having any sort of smoothly flowing story. Sometimes the characters' banter draws on for too long. However, neither of these things ruined the film for me. The rest was just too creative to hate, often hilarious, sometimes actually suspenseful.

8/10