The Munsters

Features, Shorts, Live-Action and Direct-To-Video
AV Forum Member
AV Forum Member
Posts: 9990
Joined: September 1st, 2006

The Munsters

Post by Daniel » June 8th, 2022, 4:05 pm

Teaser:



Basically a copy of the original second season theme... minus Marilyn and Eddie. Pretty faithful! Glad it's keeping the vibe of the show. Only real complaint is with Herman. Seems too goofy and lacks Fred Gwynne's rubbery comedic charm. Still, as a big fan of the original it has my attention!

AV Forum Member
AV Forum Member
Posts: 5192
Joined: September 27th, 2007

Re: The Munsters

Post by EricJ » June 8th, 2022, 5:19 pm

Marilyn is in the movie, accdg. to early rumors--
But unlike all the 80's revivals (Edward Hermann made a pretty good Herman), this looks like Rob got his Devil's Rejects repertory company together for vanity cosplay. Imagine what they could have done with REAL casting.

(And I can only dread how they'll handle the "What is Eddie, anyway?" question:
The fact that he's a wolf-boy was rather unambiguously addressed in the original 60's pilot, but quickly reconsidered.)

User avatar
AV Founder
AV Founder
Posts: 25268
Joined: October 22nd, 2004
Location: London, UK

Re: The Munsters

Post by Ben » June 8th, 2022, 8:15 pm

I’m willing to give this a chance. As Dan says, it looks pretty faithful, and I actually thought the casting *looked* pretty good. Would be nice to have a proper new film-film, though, as opposed to a TV movie or streaming special, which is what this looks like so far.

AV Founder
AV Founder
Posts: 7245
Joined: October 23rd, 2004
Location: SaskaTOON, Canada

Re: The Munsters

Post by Randall » June 9th, 2022, 12:20 am

I'm curious to see it. I loved the original, too. Too early to say yet, but the teaser suggests new actors doing impressions of the originals, and not nearly well enough. But really--- who could ever truly replace the originals?

This is the same conundrum other remakes face, of course, and most particularly Get Smart. How do you do Get Smart and NOT have Steve Carrell do a Don Adams impression? Sure, he has to make the part his own, but without Don Adams' mannerisms, inflection, and schtick, it really wasn't Get Smart at all.

And thus it shall be with The Munsters. If it ain't Fred Gwynne, you're stuck with either a bad to so-so impression, or a whole different character. That doesn't mean it'll be bad, but it will likely only make us want to go back to watching reruns. Still, I remain curious.

AV Forum Member
AV Forum Member
Posts: 5192
Joined: September 27th, 2007

Re: The Munsters

Post by EricJ » June 9th, 2022, 1:09 am

I remember an interview with grown-up Lisa "Wednesday Addams" Loring on the Addams TV disc set where she said the two most common questions she got at conventions were
A) was John Astin as Gomez intentionally trying to imitate Groucho Marx, and
B) her stance on the Addams vs. Munsters debate.

She liked to answer both questions by likening the Addamses to a Marx Bros. comedy, and the Munsters to a Three Stooges comedy:
Ie., the Marxes would invade respectable society with their own rules and society would be powerless to stop them, while the Stooges would innocently try to fit in by getting respectable jobs as plumbers and housepainters, but mess everything up by being knuckleheads.

From the other horror fanboys who are excited for anything Zombie does, or loved the "monster show" as a kid, I have a feeling Loring's analysis of the show will be lost in the shuffle.

AV Forum Member
AV Forum Member
Posts: 9990
Joined: September 1st, 2006

Re: The Munsters

Post by Daniel » July 15th, 2022, 4:44 pm

Full trailer:



I wanted to give Rob Zombie the benefit of the doubt given his love of Munsters, but this was pretty bad. It looks like a student film. The sound mixing is awful, overdone HDR, the editing, terrible acting. And Herman's voice... Will say that aside from the distracting mustache, Grandpa is pretty spot on. I'll still keep an open mind, but it really feels all camp with no heart.

User avatar
AV Founder
AV Founder
Posts: 25268
Joined: October 22nd, 2004
Location: London, UK

Re: The Munsters

Post by Ben » July 15th, 2022, 6:01 pm

Yes, this just dropped of the any interest whatsoever dial…

AV Founder
AV Founder
Posts: 7245
Joined: October 23rd, 2004
Location: SaskaTOON, Canada

Re: The Munsters

Post by Randall » July 15th, 2022, 6:37 pm

There are flashes of goodness, but that vanishes whenever Lily or Herman speak. This looks like .. yes, a student film. Or bad direct to video. Or bad cable remake.

Just bad.

AV Forum Member
AV Forum Member
Posts: 1210
Joined: July 9th, 2008
Location: Australia

Re: The Munsters

Post by Bill1978 » July 15th, 2022, 6:52 pm

Looks like a terrible cheap YouTube knockoff. I was mildly curious about it (never really was a Munsters fan) but that trailer has made this a hard skip now.

AV Forum Member
AV Forum Member
Posts: 5192
Joined: September 27th, 2007

Re: The Munsters

Post by EricJ » July 16th, 2022, 12:33 am

Randall wrote:
July 15th, 2022, 6:37 pm
There are flashes of goodness, but that vanishes whenever Lily or Herman speak. This looks like .. yes, a student film. Or bad direct to video. Or bad cable remake.
Uh...I'll go with "Student film" for $200, Ken. :?

Rob wanted to keep his "Maverick independent" Devil's Rejects repertory, instead of selling the idea to Universal and letting more experienced heads give it a little big-budget polish, instead of a cheap self-indulgent backyard home movie...What's the worst that could happen, it would have ended up like the Little Rascals or Beverly Hillbillies movies, rather than Johnny Knoxville's "Dukes of Hazzard"?

And I didn't mind the characters' speaking, as that, and the fan-reverential attempt to put Herman in all his iconic TV-episode costumes (like the motorcycle-gang outfit or the pajamas) seemed to be the only signs that Zombie WAS an actual loyal fanboy of the series, and not doing another Halloween-remake or that Bryan Singer "Couldn't get the Addams rights" thing.

AV Forum Member
AV Forum Member
Posts: 9990
Joined: September 1st, 2006

Re: The Munsters

Post by Daniel » July 16th, 2022, 1:51 am

Think you mean Bryan Fuller.

AV Forum Member
AV Forum Member
Posts: 5192
Joined: September 27th, 2007

Re: The Munsters

Post by EricJ » July 16th, 2022, 3:14 am

No, I mean 2014's "Mockingbird Lane", where--since Singer couldn't get the rights to do the Addamses as a rebellious LGBT-pride metaphor--he six-o'-one outed the Munsters instead:
Turning Herman into twink android Jerry O'Connell, Lily into a hot vampire-cougar, and Eddie smugly bragging to the normies that his folks were monsters and theirs weren't.

Once seen, and never un-seen, Rob's fanboy cosplay doesn't seem so bad after that... :?

AV Forum Member
AV Forum Member
Posts: 9990
Joined: September 1st, 2006

Re: The Munsters

Post by Daniel » July 16th, 2022, 1:34 pm

Figured it was the one-off pilot, Fuller was a part of that too. I saw more inspiration from his previous work on display and not so much Singer. It was also released in 2012. Although not perfect, I actually quite enjoyed it. Showed potential.

AV Forum Member
AV Forum Member
Posts: 9990
Joined: September 1st, 2006

Re: The Munsters

Post by Daniel » August 19th, 2022, 2:06 pm

Coming to Blu September 27:

Image
Bonus Content:
Includes a digital copy of The Munsters (2022) (Subject to expiration. Go to NBCUCodes.com for details.)
The Munsters: Return To Mockingbird Lane – From the mind of Rob Zombie, this hour-long look behind the scenes of The Munsters gives an intimate window into his filmmaking process. Watch as he weaves his way through the production and collaborates with a dedicated team to bring his unique vision to life.
Feature Commentary With Director/Writer/Producer Rob Zombie
Will drop on Netflix at a later date.

User avatar
AV Founder
AV Founder
Posts: 25268
Joined: October 22nd, 2004
Location: London, UK

Re: The Munsters

Post by Ben » August 19th, 2022, 5:51 pm

Which is where I might try and get past the first ten minutes and then give up… :lol:

Post Reply