The Munsters Review: Rob Zombie Prioritizes Nostalgia
The Munsters have returned. Its reappearance isn't particularly noteworthy, unlike that of their frightening rivals, The Addams Family, who have enjoyed success thanks to various film adaptations and an impending spin-off series on Netflix. The Munsters, a sitcom that debuted in 1964, has undergone many grim twists, but with its most recent adaption, hope was given a second chance. The Munsters movie was sought by horror cult icon Rob Zombie, but his ghoulishly sweet love letter is not what The Munsters deserve.
As it begins with a skit-like introduction to the realm of Transylvania, there is an immediate sense of unease. In order to find the perfect specimen, Dr. Wolfgang (Richard Brake) and his henchman Floop (Jorge Garcia) go grave robbing. The werewolf son of Count Dracula (Daniel Roebuck), Lester Dracula (Tomas Boykin), has messed with Zoya Krupp (Catherine Schell), to whom he owes money. Lester is forced to take the Dracula mansion's title or risk having his hands cut off by her. Young Lily Dracula, Lester's sister and the Count's vampire daughter, is a vampire.
She is looking for a partner because she is lonely and is having terrible luck because she dates some unpleasant ghouls. Herman Munster is created as a result of Floop messing with Dr. Wolfgang's creation, which affects Lily and the Dracula family as a whole. The soon-to-be patriarch of the Munster-Dracula family gets into some mischief with his performing career and shady brother-in-law Lester before making his way to 1313 Mockingbird Lane in Los Angeles, California.
The two franchises are inextricably linked since the 1964 premieres of their respective comedies, yet it is impossible to avoid making a reference to The Addams Family. The 1964 comedy and the Charles Addams cartoons' ideas and themes were masterfully raised to reflect contemporary culture by Caroline Thompson, Larry Wilson, and Barry Sonnenfeld, who also developed the plot to perfectly fit a feature-length movie. The series was founded on being a fresh addition to the long line of 1960s sitcoms that featured idealistic working-class American families, but with monsters. The Munsters, at their core, never had the same underlying ideas.