I can respect Rob Zombie and his zest for the original 1960s series and while some elements weren’t terrible, namely the costumes, makeup and production design, the script (also by Zombie) and humor fell flat making for an arduous time to sit through.
The Munsters
(2022)
Genre(s): Comedy, Fantasy
Universal Studios| PG – 110 min. – $22.98 | September 27, 2022
Date Published: 10/10/2022 | Author: The Movieman
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Universal Studios Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 2/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Lily (SHERI MOON ZOMBIE) is just your typical 150-year-old, lovelorn vampire looking for the man of her nightmares… that is until she lays eyes on Herman (JEFF DANIEL PHILLIPS), a seven-foot-tall, green experiment with a heart of gold. It’s love at first shock as these two ghouls fall fangs over feet. Unfortunately, it’s not all smooth sailing in the cemetery as Lily’s father The Count (DANIEL ROEBUCK) has other plans for his beloved daughter’s future, and they don’t involve her bumbling beau Herman.
Quick Hit Review: Admitting up front, “The Munsters’” TV show was not only well before my time airing 1964-1966, but I never watched it in syndication nor watched the various reboots or made-for-TV movies. So going in to Rob Zombie’s The Munsters, I didn’t really have any level of expectation although the trailer I saw, this looked like a cheap hot mess. And on that front, I guess the trailer did do the movie justice… On the positive side of things, I will say although it does look cheap at times, I did come to respective some of the production design not to mention the make-up was respectable, especially for Daniel Roebuck’s Count character. And if Zombie was going to recreate the cheese factor that presumable the 1960s series had, seems like he succeeded. The issue with this adaptation is, as a comedy it wasn’t very funny barely eliciting even a chuckle out of me, although if you love dad jokes, Herman Munster’s brand of humor is right up your alley.
Clearly The Munsters was a passion project for Rob Zombie (and of course he had to give his wife, Sheri Moon Zombie, a leading role) and I can respect that, unfortunately the final product just didn’t work and at 100+ minutes, it was a chore to sit through. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 4/5 |
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This release comes with a title-embossed slip cover. Included is an Audio Commentary with Producer/Writer/Director Rob Zombie and The Munsters: Return to Mockingbird Lane (1:01:52), a lengthy behind-the-scenes featurette. Say what you will, Rob Zombie usually does have a lengthy making-of documentaries and this one really gives insight into how the movie came to be. |
VIDEO – 4¾/5 |
| Universal releases The Munsters onto Blu-ray and is presented with a 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. The colors here are incredibly vibrant; almost neon at times like the green in Herman’s skin or blue for The Count. In addition, detail was sharp and well defined and black levels appear well balanced throughout. Kind of funny to see this from Rob Zombie’s whose films almost always take a very dark appearance. |
AUDIO – 4¼/5 |
| The included DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is fairly strong outputting clear dialogue and the music and score provide some depth for the front and rear channels. Nothing incredible yet still more than acceptable for what amounts as a sitcom. |
OVERALL – 3/5 |
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Overall, I can respect Rob Zombie and his zest for the original 1960s series and while some elements weren’t terrible, namely the costumes, makeup and production design, the script (also by Zombie) and humor fell flat making for an arduous time to sit through. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.