Because of its fun and nostalgic aspects, Rob Zombie’s “The Munsters” adaptation, which came to Netflix in September, will be enjoyed by families looking for a cute and campy Halloween movie to enjoy.
The original show was released in 1964 and lasted two seasons. It is about a family of monsters, mother Lily, son Eddie and Grandfather who are vampires, while father Herman is a Frankenstein creature, living in the fictional American town of Mockingbird Heights. The show aired in the 60’s – iconic for its campy and dated humor.
Many people have an emotional connection to the show, including the director and writer of the 2022 version, Rob Zombie.
Zombie has been working on creating a Munsters-based movie or TV show for years. In 2016, Zombie was in the process of creating a television series based on the character Eddie from the original show.
When that project was scrapped, Zombie still wanted to reboot the series. Filming for the movie started in 2021 and in July of 2021 images of the costumes were released.
The first trailer for the movie, released in July of 2022, indicated the plot of the movie, which focused on Lily and Herman’s love story.
The movie’s budget is estimated to be $5 million. The costumes are much more extravagant in the reboot and since it is in color unlike the original they shine even more.
The same can be said for the set and cinematography, with shots featuring a maximalist castle, club and restaurant. The color and shapes cannot be ignored and will catch the eye of anyone watching.
The spooky elements combined with the eccentric colors give the watcher the feeling of a child’s Halloween.
The funny and friendly portrayal of the creepy vampire is sure to rid any child of their fears of monsters under their bed. The writing is cheesy and goofy and reminiscent of the original vintage dialogue. The music by Zeuss (who has done music for Zombies’ other films) is spooky, seasonal and goes perfectly with the visuals. The acting is melodramatic and not serious which fits with the rest of the movie.
The movie is a great family watch because of the nostalgia for older generations and the campiness and silliness perfect for younger viewers.
The biggest flaw of the movie is, without a doubt, its lack of a strong plot. The movie includes a few anecdotes that could be relevant to the movie but are never mentioned again, like the grandfather creating a monster to replace Herman. That monster is never shown or mentioned again.
Most of the movie is about the love story between Lily and Herman and one might assume that the ending would have something to do with that, but it really doesn’t. The ending made no sense in relation to most of the movie and the last half hour doesn’t mesh with the rest of the movie.
Netflix is known for creating limited series and perhaps “The Munsters” would have made more sense in that format. Zombie is known for having movies that don’t really have a plot, even one time filming a movie before having finished writing it and that is mostly where his work falls short.