Post by Rob W. Case on Oct 31, 2022 20:54:41 GMT -6
The classic TV comedy The Munsters (1964-1966), featuring the ghoulish, yet lovable family loosely based on Universal Studio’s “monsters” franchise may have been only on for two seasons, but its status as a “cult classic” has kept the show alive in reruns, a couple of color films (one theatrical, one made for TV) with most of the original cast, a sequel series/ reboot 22 years later, and a couple of made for TV movies in the 1990’s. Since 1996, no further sequels, prequels, reboots, or remakes have been attempted until now. Heavy metal singer/songwriter and filmmaker Rob Zombie has decided to tell the story of the “bone-tickling” family from Transylvania, who moves into a typical American house in a typical American neighborhood.
The Story:
The film begins in Transylvania, where a mad scientist, Dr. Henry Augustus Wolfgang (Richard Brake) and his unlucky assistant Floop (Jorge Garcia) rob graves in hopes to assemble a creation that carries the unique traits of the people whose parts are being used for this creation. Two brothers are killed, one considered the smartest man in the world, and the other, a lugheaded comedian. When Floop visits the funeral parlor for the head of the smartest man, he accidentally takes the head of his moronic brother. When the creature is assembled in the lab, life is given to a creature that Floop names “Herman Munster” (Jeff Daniel Phillips).
Meanwhile, Lilly (Sheri Moon Zombie), a 150-year-old vampire daughter of The Count (Daniel Roebuck) is looking for love, but she is finding it difficult to land herself the beau of her dreams. But when Herman Munster is unveiled on a morning TV show in Transylvania, she is ultimately enamored by him. When Herman starts performing on the show, he becomes popular, and Lilly seeks him out. When Herman meets Lilly, he is spellbound by her, and the two start seeing each other. This gets The Count angry, as he is turned off by Herman’s boneheadedness, so he tries to whip up a magic spell with his assistant Igor to get rid of him, and set Lilly up with a new mate… but it falls flat. Herman proposes marriage to Lilly after a week of dating, and she accepts. The Count is not thrilled about this at all, and there are things going on relating to the Count, his ex-wife, his deadbeat werewolf son Lester, and manipulation by the Count’s ex in trying to get his castle. Herman and Lilly get married despite the Count’s objections, and Herman decides that the best thing for them to do is move to California in the United States of America. Once there, they buy a run-down house at 1313 Mockingbird Lane. Upon moving in, at the heart of Halloween, the Munsters find that they love their neighbors, thinking that they are like them…. Ghouls, monsters, vampires, etc. The next day, after Halloween is over, they wake up to “another society”, a radically different one that ultimately frightens them…. One that consists of ordinary human beings. It is society that they are unaccustomed to, they must learn to adapt, opening the door to many outlandish situations and circumstances.
My Take:
As someone who grew up with watching reruns of, and is a fan of the original TV show, I saw the trailer, thought it was kind of funny, and thought to give it a try. The movie was slated for a theatrical fall release, but plans changed and it was sent straight to a home video release. Upon watching it, I found that I kind of liked it. The format of the film was very much like a cheesy B-horror film from the 1930’s, but carried within it humor that was similar to the TV series. That said, it was more of a caricature of those “Universal Monster” films, which adds to it a charm that is, in fact, a full-length feature film. One of the things that I appreciated about this movie was that it seemed to connect well with the spirit of the TV show, meaning that it is fun, funny, and entertaining. This is an origin story, so the story does not yet feature Eddie Wolfgang Munster as the Munsters little boy, and as such, The Count is not yet called “Grampa”. Butch Patrick who played Eddie in the series and Pat Priest who played Marylin have cameos in this movie.
That said, if you’re a fan of the TV series, I think you will enjoy this 2022 portrayal of The Munsters.
The Munsters is rated PG and runs 1 hour and 49 minutes.
To view the teaser trailer for the movie (which re-creates the opening theme song from the second season of the original TV show), please click on the "play button" below.
To view the main trailer for the movie, please click below:
"The Munsters" is now available on Blu-Ray, DVD, and various streaming options which can be accessed HERE.
The Story:
The film begins in Transylvania, where a mad scientist, Dr. Henry Augustus Wolfgang (Richard Brake) and his unlucky assistant Floop (Jorge Garcia) rob graves in hopes to assemble a creation that carries the unique traits of the people whose parts are being used for this creation. Two brothers are killed, one considered the smartest man in the world, and the other, a lugheaded comedian. When Floop visits the funeral parlor for the head of the smartest man, he accidentally takes the head of his moronic brother. When the creature is assembled in the lab, life is given to a creature that Floop names “Herman Munster” (Jeff Daniel Phillips).
Meanwhile, Lilly (Sheri Moon Zombie), a 150-year-old vampire daughter of The Count (Daniel Roebuck) is looking for love, but she is finding it difficult to land herself the beau of her dreams. But when Herman Munster is unveiled on a morning TV show in Transylvania, she is ultimately enamored by him. When Herman starts performing on the show, he becomes popular, and Lilly seeks him out. When Herman meets Lilly, he is spellbound by her, and the two start seeing each other. This gets The Count angry, as he is turned off by Herman’s boneheadedness, so he tries to whip up a magic spell with his assistant Igor to get rid of him, and set Lilly up with a new mate… but it falls flat. Herman proposes marriage to Lilly after a week of dating, and she accepts. The Count is not thrilled about this at all, and there are things going on relating to the Count, his ex-wife, his deadbeat werewolf son Lester, and manipulation by the Count’s ex in trying to get his castle. Herman and Lilly get married despite the Count’s objections, and Herman decides that the best thing for them to do is move to California in the United States of America. Once there, they buy a run-down house at 1313 Mockingbird Lane. Upon moving in, at the heart of Halloween, the Munsters find that they love their neighbors, thinking that they are like them…. Ghouls, monsters, vampires, etc. The next day, after Halloween is over, they wake up to “another society”, a radically different one that ultimately frightens them…. One that consists of ordinary human beings. It is society that they are unaccustomed to, they must learn to adapt, opening the door to many outlandish situations and circumstances.
My Take:
As someone who grew up with watching reruns of, and is a fan of the original TV show, I saw the trailer, thought it was kind of funny, and thought to give it a try. The movie was slated for a theatrical fall release, but plans changed and it was sent straight to a home video release. Upon watching it, I found that I kind of liked it. The format of the film was very much like a cheesy B-horror film from the 1930’s, but carried within it humor that was similar to the TV series. That said, it was more of a caricature of those “Universal Monster” films, which adds to it a charm that is, in fact, a full-length feature film. One of the things that I appreciated about this movie was that it seemed to connect well with the spirit of the TV show, meaning that it is fun, funny, and entertaining. This is an origin story, so the story does not yet feature Eddie Wolfgang Munster as the Munsters little boy, and as such, The Count is not yet called “Grampa”. Butch Patrick who played Eddie in the series and Pat Priest who played Marylin have cameos in this movie.
That said, if you’re a fan of the TV series, I think you will enjoy this 2022 portrayal of The Munsters.
The Munsters is rated PG and runs 1 hour and 49 minutes.
To view the teaser trailer for the movie (which re-creates the opening theme song from the second season of the original TV show), please click on the "play button" below.
To view the main trailer for the movie, please click below:
"The Munsters" is now available on Blu-Ray, DVD, and various streaming options which can be accessed HERE.