The Munsters

The Munsters

Directed by Rob Zombie

(2022, Capital Arts Entertainment/Hero Squared/Spookshow International/Universal 1440 Entertainment)

If you, like me, were hoping that director, Rob Zombie would delve into a reimagined, dark take of the classic 1960’s tv show, The Munsters, you might as well request Grandpa Munster to create a potion for you to grant such a wish.

This wildly bizarre take on The Munsters, which itself was already wildly bizarre is embarrassingly lacking of any intelligence, wit, or nuance.

I, like many others, watched in excitement as the Instagram posts rolled in from Budapest (where the movie was filmed) from Rob Zombie. The stills looked like something great was being created. Something new, dark, fresh, and different, breathing life (ahem) on a fun, classic tv show.

It wasn’t until filming wrapped and the actual trailer (not the teaser trailer which still showed promise) dropped that one would ask if this might be a joke. Was this just Mr. Zombie playing with the audience?
The trailer made the movie look like a cheap, straight-to-video movie you might find in the reduced price movie Wal-Mart bin.

Now the incredibly disappointing verdict: it’s worse than that. It does not even rise to the occasion of a straight-to-video movie, which sometimes has surprise diamonds in the rough.

I started to excuse the terribly awful acting, writing, and story by trying to watch it with the angle of a live-action cartoon (one in which Rob Zombie himself says he aimed to do here) however, that would be an insult to even the zaniest of cartoons.

I then tried to watch it with the angle of a children’s Halloween special. However, I’d like to think kids deserve something better than this.

Yes, I am trashing this film – because I expected so much more only to be shoveled up a disgustingly heaping serving of schlock and laziness.

It is just too bad because this had such incredible potential but ultimately should be buried deep in the graveyard behind 1313 Mockingbird Lane.

F