The Monster Squad (1987)

This fun eighties classic features a group of misfit kids terrorized by monsters led by the evil Count Dracula. Filming took place in Los Angeles, though mostly in the backlot of Warner Brothers Studios. Fortunately for us, Warners offers a VIP tour that allows you to see the locations up close. 

The school scenes were shot at Richland Avenue Elementary School at 11562 Richland Avenue Los Angeles. The scene where E.J. (Jason Hervey) picks on Horace (Brent Chalem) is in the courtyard in back of the school. 

Museum scenes were filmed in the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County at 900 Exposition Boulevard.

After many hours comparing photos, I believe I've finally tracked down Sean's house in the film. The funny thing is, when I first saw the scene in the film it was the first location I thought of. I checked it out but couldn't find any houses that matched so gave up looking. I then saw a photo that matched the shot of the street seen in the film almost exactly. I went back and took a closer look and it appears that the house (& surrounding area) was just cleverly disguised in the film. 

The area I'm talking about was called "Blondie Street" in Warner Brothers Ranch (located at 411 North Hollywood Way Burbank, CA), a smaller backlot detached from the main studio. Countless TV shows and films have been shot here, including: The Omega Man, Bewitched, The Partridge Family, I Dream of Jeannie, The Waltons, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Lethal Weapon, Karate Kid Part II, Small Soldiers and American Beauty. This lot was off-limits to the general public unless like me, you work in the industry and were on a show filming there. Sadly, this site is being redeveloped in 2023 and is in the process of being torn down and replaced with more soundstages. 

I made the discovery while perusing photos on Adam Jones' excellent Bewitched website, which is one of the few out there with photos from inside the lot. Instead of stealing his photos, I'll just tell you to go there. Sean's house appears to be the "Partridge Family" house, which they specially modified for the film. If you look at the details, you can tell. The giveaway was the above shot, where you can see the row of apartments in the background. These were the very ones used in The Omega Man and the opening credits of Friends. 

Luckily, the Friends fountain was moved to the main WB backlot a number of years back so is in no danger of being destroyed. The outdoor pool was the one Cousin Eddie jumps into in Christmas Vacation. Using information gathered from Jones' site and Bing Maps imagery, I decided to put together a special map which allows you to see the relationship of the houses to one another.

(Click to enlarge!)

In the film, the treehouse appears to be in Sean's backyard but I don't see how this is possible at this location with a parking lot there. It appears the shot of Dracula walking behind the house was the actual back of the house, then they cut to a different shot, so it was likely shot elsewhere. That's my guess anyway.

"Phil's" Drive-in was a heavily-redressed gas station set at WB Ranch that has been in countless productions over the years. I remember it mostly fondly from Cyndi Lauper's music video for "Goonies R' Good Enough." 

The town square at the finale of the film was the "Anytown USA" (or "Midwest Street") section of the Warner Brothers Studio backlot. This is most famous for its use in Dukes of Hazzard & The Gilmore Girls. When I took the VIP tour years ago the tram stopped and allowed visitors to wander around and take photos here. It still looks very much the same as it does in the film. Here is the WB official site with more information about the VIP tour, which I highly recommend. Pro tip: If you go on a weekend, no shows will be filming which opens up more of the lot.