The Monster Squad has a killer premise and enough practical-effects charm to explain its cult status. If you're a Gen X parent, you probably have fond memories of this.

But here's the thing: it hasn't aged well. The homophobic slur alone is a dealbreaker for most families, and the relentless fat jokes feel mean-spirited in a way that sucks the fun out of the adventure. The monster stuff is legitimately cool—Dracula is menacing, the Wolfman transformation is gnarly, and Frankenstein's redemption arc has real heart. But the script keeps undercutting itself with casual cruelty that was supposedly funny in 1987.

For modern kids, this is a tough sell. It's not bad enough to skip entirely if you're doing a family monster movie marathon, but you'll need to have a conversation about why some of the jokes are wrong. And honestly? There are better options that deliver the same monster-squad energy without the baggage (Paranorman, Gravity Falls, even the recent Goosebumps reboot).

If you do watch it, treat it like a history lesson in how far we've come.