Of course over the years we've had a multitude of remakes and reboots for both franchises and in general they always tended to be a bit rubbish and not a patch on the original shows. So up steps cult horror director Rob Zombie to helm this new Munster movie. Yes that Rob Zombie, not quite sure how he managed to get this gig but there we go.
Plot wise this is actually an origins tale for the Munsters and (for some reason) combines many subplots, some pointless. Firstly we see how a (random?) crazy scientist (Richard Brake) creates Herman (Jeff Daniel Phillips) and gives him his unique name. We see how Lily (Sheri Moon Zombie) meets Herman. We see how the duo find their pet Spot. Herman briefly becomes a rock star. We see the original Transylvanian home of the Count (Daniel Roebuck) and Lily and learn that the Count's ex is trying to get revenge by taking his castle using his werewolf son Lester who owes her money. Lester eventually tricks newlywed Herman into signing over the castle to the Count's ex and she kicks them out. This leads to the Munsters moving to America (and because Herman wants to try and become a star). We also see them find and buy 1313 Mockingbird Heights and Herman get his job at the funeral parlor.
What year is this set? No clue. In America everything seems pretty modern but Transylvania is clearly dated and populated with all sorts of ancient monsters (they even have their own restaurants). Why is the mad scientist wanting to create life? Unsure, he just is, but this also questions what year the story is supposed to be set in. Lily falls in love with Herman simply through seeing him on TV. Once the Count discovers this he immediately takes a dislike towards Herman for no real reason. The problem here is this take never gets resolved. Why does the Count (a vampire) have a werewolf for a son? I know this is a nod to the original series...but why?? And the fact they are all able to just somehow up roots and go live in America makes no sense, especially with them being monsters and all.
Apparently Zombie wanted to film this feature in black and white, which would have been awesome, but alas the higher-ups said no. This led to the quite bizarre decision to light the movie like Joel Schumacher's Batman and Robin flicks. A hippy trippy-esque hyper colourful black light type of scope that totally shocks you and takes you out of the movie before it's even begun. I get the notion of originality and trying something new but this just felt totally wrong. Add to that the really weird and cheap looking filming technique that literally looks like someone did it on a smartphone on the fly. The entire thing was also clearly filmed in an Eastern European country which often tends to come across as visually cheap (for some reason).
So whilst it wasn't Zombie's fault that he had to film in colour, his choice to amplify the colours unfortunately leaves everything looking woefully tacky in the light of day. Unfortunately this affected everything because the charming spooky look of the original show was gone. Of course colour doesn't always render things worse visually, but in this case black and white would have easily boosted the atmosphere just like it did with the original show. The makeup for instance was actually pretty good here if you ask me. Lester the werewolf, Count Orlock, Grandpa (the Count) Munster, and various other ghouls all looked really good, but in black and white they would have looked even better.
Cast wise is a mess with Zombie casting his friends and wife as usual. Both Sheri Moon Zombie and Jeff Daniel Phillips seem to have no real clue how to play their iconic characters. Yes you could say it's their spin on the characters but eh. Neither of them do this project justice and simply come across as people cast because they are a friend and wife of the director. I mean seriously, could Zombie not actually be bothered to even look for anyone else? Many of the cast have multiple roles here too, like sheesh! Zombie actually cast actors from his ultra adult horror flicks to be in this family friendly sitcom adaptation, dude! And where on earth did they dig up Sylvester McCoy from??
I dunno, I just don't, did I like this? I kinda appreciate the fresh start with an origins tale, new ideas, and the added lore from Zombie isn't actually that bad (I liked his take on Igor and how he ends up as a bat). On the other hand much of it seems wasted, unresolved, and ultimately overstuffed. The movie is quite long yet there was still not enough time to cram everything in or focus on what needs to be focused on. There are quite a lot of nods and winks to the original series but many are pointless and unexplained such as Tin Can Man. There are also a few iconic character actors that pop up here and there as you would expect. And towards the end we do see 1313 in all its glory looking superb if I do say so myself (even in colour). Although I still don't get the choice of having the Transylvania portion of the movie in shocking neon-esque colour and then the America portion in regular colour.
But aside from the all the ham and cheese, the charm and schtick, The Munsters was about family and being yourself. The core of the original show was that the Munsters were an odd looking family that believed they looked normal, like everyone else. The comedic spin was seeing how regular looking folk reacted to the family and how the Munsters just didn't get it. Yet despite this, the family always stuck together. They loved and accepted each other and treated everyone else likewise. You get none of that in this movie. In fact right at the end you get a scene which flips the script and shows how disgusted and shocked the Munsters are of their regular looking neighbourhood whilst the neighbourhood seems to be unoffended by them. Clever twist or horrendous miss? Same question for the entire movie really, eh...it wasn't too bad.
5/10
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