I remember the original series of The Munsters from when I was a kid. It was pretty cool, but i was more into the Addams Family, but I do remember it fondly. How was the Rob Zombie version going to stack up? Well, only one way to find out I guess. This one, like every Rob Zombie movie starts the always lovely Sherri-Moon Zombie as Lily Munster.
Sherri Moon Zombie as Lily Munster
THE PLOT
The story follows Lily and Grandpa who live together in a grand old mansion in Transylvania. Lily is looking to meet someone. Grandpa thinks Count Orlok would make a great suitor (the version of dracula in Nosferatu) but Lilly doesn’t see it happening. Meanwhile Dr Wolfgang is busy experimenting with bringing the dead back to life. He’s hoping to create a physically and mentally superior human out of the remains of dead locals but his assistant Igor steals the wrong brain which is then used for Wolfgangs creation. The result is Herman Munster, a likeable construction of flesh based on the Frankenstein Story.
Herman Munster doesn’t live up to expectations, and is discarded by Dr Wolfgang so he seeks a career in entertainment. It is here that he captures Lily’s attention and heart. The two commence a whirlwind romance. Its kind of hard to go too much further without ruining the plot but there’s appearance by a wolf man like brother of Lily’s, and the original Orlok reference was a classic homage to the great movie.
THE VERDICT ON THE MUNSTERS
The internet was a buzz with speculation on how this movie would turn out. Most panned it before it had a fair chance. I have to say I think Rob Zombie did a great job on the remake of The Munsters, its different enough to bring it into the current era but definitely gives the movie an old school tip of the hat and the respect it needed. I have to say I really enjoyed this movie, the camera work is excellent too, visually stunning colour usage, its a real treat to the eyes. There’s some pretty cool funny moments that follow closely with the humour of the original series as well. Over all this isn’t too far off the mark with the original series, just with supercharged visuals.
One of the best things about this is the fact there’s no gore or serious horror in this, so its the type of Rob Zombie film the whole family can enjoy together!
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