The Munsters How They Were
The Munsters brings back many childhood memories for a lot of horror fans either old enough to have watched it during its original run or through it’s afternoon reruns after it’s cancellation. The original series was popular enough to have even spawned feature length films. Revisiting the Munsters is like Revisiting the Flintstones – It was a product of its time. Although designed to be as edgeless as Leave it to Beaver and other idealistic family sitcoms at the time, Munsters as well as every other thing made then, could easily fall into the current scrutiny of a more evolved public.
I recently revisited The Original series and there were definitely a few moments that would only fly with a harsher rating and more mature audience than the Munsters original demographic. To be 100% accurate to the jokes being told back then we might need a series titled, It’s Always Sunny at 1313 Mockingbird Lane. Yes! It can get that offensive compared to the inclusiveness of modern family media.
Red Tape Film Making
The Munsters is owned by Universal and is a quirky take on the iconic Universal Monsters as a mundane family. Wolfman is a Wolfboy, Dracula is Grandpa, Dad is Frankenstein’s Monster and Mom is a Vampiress. Rob Zombie known for his brutal, violent and vulgar films would likely find more creative comfort if allowed the edge of an HBO production that mirrors how the Munster’s would be portrayed today if the writing and characterization were allowed to carry over to the modern day for a wide audience. It seems he tried everything he could within the restraints placed on him to be accurate and respectful of the The Munsters license. He wasn’t allowed to shoot the film in Black & White which is a staple of the show’s “Universal Monsters” appeal. That has been the complaint since the trailer was released online. Also The Munsters like every classic comedy had a laugh track that adds to it’s nostalgic charm. Again, rather than playing to the fanbase, they seem to be trying to reinvent and reboot the franchise. Rob Zombie was handed the film as an Eddie Munster goes to school story which he described as aimed at preschoolers. So the intent was, at the forefront, from the studio to totally shift the tone of the entire franchise. Having thankfully thrown that idea in the trash, Rob made the decision to write a prequel within Transylvania to tell the story of how the family ended up in Suburbia in the first place. Transylvania in Rob Zombie’s Munsters is like Halloween Town in A Nightmare Before Christmas. All the creatures and mystics are living in harmony albeit the same harmony humans live in. The harmony that includes greed, corruption, betrayal, all the stuff that prevent us from getting along. It’s this direction that takes us into the motivations of Herman’s existence, the struggling love life of Lily and of course the financial troubles of Grandpa.
Creature from a Murky Lagoon
The creature characters look like they walked right out of the costume and makeup department of the original Munsters. The writing is quick and punchy with one liners that totally embody the attitude without sanitizing it too much for modern audiences. There are still one or two jokes that I’m honestly surprised made it though as it could easily be taken as crossing a line. Unfortunately there are also instances when characters are acting in a way that just doesn’t make any sense to anyone familiar with their personalities. Other moments I’m sure are throwbacks to the original show, but don’t land the same while portrayed in colour without a laugh track.
The Munsters is a film consisting of 4 plots at once and some are dwelled on longer than they need feeling a bit tacked on once they’re finally revisited later in the film. The whole structure feels a bit off and has it’s fair share of missed opportunities. One of the strangest moments shows the Munsters driving through Hollywood which could have allowed for some really amazing shots of them taking in the American Kaiju sized corporate spectacle of Tinsel Town. But instead it’s shot with these clearly hand drawn backgrounds that take away from the lavish, kaleidoscope of colour shown earlier in the film. This all leaves Munsters a mixed bag.
Final Head Count
Stellar performances and makeup effects. Punchy, sometimes stupid, sometimes clever, but most of the time genuinely funny dialogue surpass whatever flaws stack up throughout the film. Disjointed story, questionable character moments and random drops in quality feel out of place to the whole production. Rob Zombie’s Munsters still manages to mostly capture the imagination of the same audience they were aiming at with the original show. You can still enjoy this Munsters with anyone 6 and up and I have no doubt it will put a lot of kids on a horror loving path in life. This film is a win and it wins because it’s well within Rob Zombie’s wheelhouse. The love of the source material is undeniable throughout from every member of the production. Now please allow filmmakers and artists the creative control they need in order to be successful because there is no question without studio interference The Munsters would have been much, much better.
The Munsters (2022)
Director: Rob Zombie
Date Created: 2022-09-27 00:00
2.5
