A couple of teenagers have car trouble that forces them to spend the night at Dr. Frankenstein's creepy old mansion. Throughout the night they meet strange characters and sing songs that will make your ears bleed. This is based on a stage musical that was nearly thirty years old by the time this movie was made. The musical was co-written by Bobby Pickett, of novelty song "Monster Mash" fame. Pickett is also in this movie as Dr. Frankenstein and, yes, we get to see the cast perform that song with some truly embarrassing dance moves. The leads of the movie are Candace Cameron and Ian Bohen. They both do fine considering the material is not much better than your average high school play. Teen Wolf fans might barely recognize Ian Bohen, whose big ears and unfortunate '90s haircut are a far cry from the hunky character he plays on that show. I suspect Candace and Ian only did the singing during their first song, which was more speaking to music than actual singing. When they have a love song duet together, the voices very obviously belong to others. The songs really stink, by the way. The movie's VERY corny and, after awhile, it started to wear on me. I never found it funny or cute, just grating. When I read that this was released theatrically I couldn't believe it. Everything about this production screams made-for-TV. It's an interesting curiosity, I suppose, for fans of the leads or those who like kitsch. But anybody expecting a movie that's actually entertaining will be disappointed.
Review of Monster Mash: The Movie
