The Monster Squad

Yesterday I managed to get to 48,180 words on NaNoWriMo, which means I have less than 2,000 words to write to complete the challenge. The story is already at it's climax.

Last night I was watching a 1987 film called The Monster Squad, directed by Fred Dekker. The film is a blend of comedy and horror and tells the story of Count Dracula (played by Duncan Regehr) arriving in 1980s California in search of a magical amulet, however a bunch of monster-obsessed kids (who call themselves "the Monster Squad") uncover Dracula's plan. Unfortunately for them, Dracula is being helped by The Mummy, Frankenstein's Monster, the Wolf-Man and the Gill-Man (from Creature from the Black Lagoon). The movie works as a homage to monster-movies (especially the famous Universal Studios monster movies of the 1930s through to the 1950s) and a teen comedy. It manages to zip along with a brief running time (about an hour and fifteen minutes) and is often very funny. In fact, it actually works a lot better than it may sound, and the special effects, although obviously dated, are pretty good, especially the monster make-up and fans of the old monster movies will probably really like it. I love those old monster movies.

Today was the first day back at work for the week. My video news thing was being played in the canteen. I haven't seen it yet, though. I've put in for Friday off. I thought it would be good to do something fun after completing the NaNoWriMo challenge. I still haven't got my leave for Friday signed off. My Christmas leave hasn't been approved either, for that matter, which I am quite annoyed about because I put in for two weeks off and it was submitted over a month ago. There are things that I want to do over the Christmas vacation, especially since my birthday falls during that time ,but I can't make any definite plans until I know for sure what days I have off.