As a kid I loved horror movies, but wasn’t always given access to them. Luckily, I grew up in the 80’s so there were a number of films that were “children’s” films that at least offered up the scares in family friendly ways. Fred Dekker’s iconic Monster Squad being the most obvious, alongside Tim Burton’s early Beetlejuice, but coming in a close third is the Fred Savage starring “Little Monsters”.

Little Monsters stars Savage is Brian, a young boy who ACTUALLY does have a monster living under his bed. This monster’s name is Maurice, and in a turn right of the future Monster’s Inc. Maurice befriends Brian and takes him into the world of monsters and out on his scares. This is cool with Brian, until he starts turning into a monster, which is not what he signed up for.

It’s been about 10 years since I’ve last seen Little Monsters, and I didn’t remember much. For some reason, of all the monster kid films of the 80’s this one never seems to stick. Watching it now I can see why. As a kid I know I rented this a few times, and I must have enjoyed it, but it’s not as fun as I remember it. It seems to take ideas from better films and stick it all together to make something infinitely less interesting.

Because this was the 80’s the FX work was pretty damn great, so I have to praise that. Howie Mandel as Maurice was solid, but he if I recall always was a solid prop comic. Savage, does his childhood Fred Savage thing to great effect.

Vestron presents Little Monsters in a solid 1:78:1 1080p transfer. Detail is fine, blacks are solid, but grainy, colors are nicely reproduced. Audio is a 2.0 HD audio track and sounds clear and fine. Extras include a commentary track, interviews, and archival featurettes. RECOMMENDED.