A Monster-ous Exclusive!

It’s that time of year again when late night movies on TV tend to turn to the monster-ous side of things and we here at Beyond the Marquee have an exclusive location treat for you.  Back in the 80’s, when kids lives typically revolved around repeated viewings of their favorite films on VHS, one movie consistently stood out amid the more popular hits like Ghostbusters, Gremlins, The Goonies and Teen Wolf .

Can ‘ya Guess It?

‘The Monster Squad’ (1987)

If you’re drawing a blank on what movie we’re talking about, don’t worry.  This exclusive LOCATION, LOCATION, Location? article isn’t going to make you wait two days for the answer like our other entries. The movie we’re focusing on today is none other than The Monster Squad, a now cult-status gem of entertainment from 1987.  This year the film celebrates it’s 25th Anniversary and is still generating new fans day-by-day thanks to annual theatrical showings around the US and a fantastic and comprehensive 20th Anniversary release of the film on both DVD and Blu-ray.

Despite the recent surge in interest for The Monster Squad, there isn’t a whole lot on the Internet about the filming locations for this great film.  Some sites will point to the fact that the climactic battle versus good and evil monsters takes place on the famed Midwest Street located on the Warner Bros. backlot. Beyond the Marquee can cover the Warner Bros. Monster Squad location thing at WB whenever we want … and we may do that someday.  What we noticed, however, was that few attempts have been made to venture out into the ‘real’ world to find some other iconic locations seen in the film that were not studio based.  Lately, our interest has focused on one location in particular that seems to be a victim of prescruption as it has continually stood out as missing-in-action … and we’re glad to finally report – we found it!

Scary German Guy

So, what great find do we have in store for The Monster Squad fans who give a wolf dork what we’re talking about?

How about the location for Scary German Guy’s house?

What would you say to that, huh?  Bitte ermorden uns nicht? 

Going off one clue in the director’s commentary for The Monster Squad, we were recently able to find the real-life location for Scary German Guy’s house in none other than beautiful Santa Monica, California. How we located it is our own little secret, but we hope you like this look at the house as it appears today.  What’s remarkable about its modern day appearance is that it is the polar opposite of how it was dressed to look in the film.  Gone is the foreboding chain-link fence … instead graced with a lush green lawn, delicate flowers and an overall cheerful appearance.  Kudos to the production team for making the house a character in its own right that perfectly suited the shadowed history of Scary German Guy.

So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the THEN and NOW pictures of the house.  Enjoy!

The Scary German Guy’s house from ‘The Monster Squad’ Then and Now.

No sign of Scary German Guy peaking through the curtains.

The same tree is still there. Almost unchanged.

A simple chain-link fence and some dirtied walls make this location perfectly fit the movie.

Rudy and his BMX bike are long gone, but the trees remain.

The current owners have replaced the Scary German Guy with a Scary Green Witch.

Except for the missing Squad, the sidewalk remains the same.

The door hasn’t changed except for a new coat of paint and peephole.

The alley scene which followed the Scary German Guy house scene was conveniently shot in the alley behind the Scary German Guy’s house.

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There are three things that matter in filmmaking and television:

Location, Location, Location.

As part of a fun series here on Beyond the Marquee, I will be choosing random filming locations from some famous (and not so famous) film and television productions throughout the years.  They will be posted here for our viewers to take a guess as to what movie or TV show the location was used.

The location as it looks NOW will be posted on Monday and on Wednesday, I will post the answer and THEN picture identifying the location as it was seen on the large or small screen. Some entries may be very easy to guess, others may be difficult and sometimes I may give a clue that will help point you in the right direction.

Previous LOCATION, LOCATION, Location?  Entries can be found here:

http://beyondthemarquee.com/category/about-us/original-featured-sections/location-location-location/