Reviewers Say Rob Zombie’s The Munsters “Fails”
“Rob Zombie fails to make these misfit monsters funny.” (The Wrap)
Fans of The Munsters have been worried ever since the trailer came out for director Rob Zombie’s 2022 film adaptation of the 1960s sitcom. Alas, now that the film is available (currently for sale and also available on Netflix), reviewers are saying it’s as bad as we expected…
For example, Yahoo! Entertainment remarks:
“The Munsters is amiable enough, but Zombie seems content to merely hang out with these characters in their Transylvanian world, to the point that the actual story…gets shoved off into the corner. The film doesn’t even so much end as it just stops…oddly, [it] doesn’t even match the starting point of the series. The film is packed with attempts at humor, but the jokes rarely land.”—‘The Munsters’ Review: Rob Zombie Loves These Misfit Monsters but Fails to Make Them Funny (Yahoo)
On the other hand, AV Club seems to like the film (if a bit shakily):
“Rob Zombie enlists his usual ensemble to great effect…. As a love letter to the sitcom that so inspired Zombie as a child, The Munsters might be the most authentic-feeling television revival ever put on film, warts and all.”—In The Munsters, Rob Zombie trades trailer trash horror for cheeky fun (AV Club)
Of course, my unending love for the original series means I’ll have to check out the film for myself…
About the film
Lily is a typical 150-year-old lovelorn vampire who’s looking for the man of her nightmares—until she lays her eyes on Herman, a 7-foot-tall green experiment with a heart of gold. It’s love at first shock as these two ghouls fall fangs over feet for each other in a Transylvanian romance. Unfortunately, it’s not all smooth sailing in the cemetery as Lily’s father has other plans for his beloved daughter’s future, and they don’t involve her new bumbling beau.
Links to more reviews of Rob Zombie’s The Munsters
The Munsters Review: A Baffling, Painful Take On The Old TV Comedy (Slash Film)
The Munsters Review: Rob Zombie Fails to Make These Misfit Monsters Funny (The Wrap)
The Munsters Review - Rob Zombie Movie Is a Failed Experiment (Bloody Disgusting)
Rob Zombie’s stab at ‘The Munsters’ is fan service you’ll want to send back (Orlando Weekly)
Watch the trailer below…
The Munsters - Official Trailer (2022)
The 2022 film The Munsters is produced, written and directed by Rob Zombie. Based on the 1960s family sitcom of the same title, the story takes place prior to the events in the series, serving as an origin story for the characters. The film stars Jeff Daniel Phillips, Sheri Moon Zombie, and Daniel Roebuck as the titular family, with Sylvester McCoy and Richard Brake. The Munsters was released September 27, 2022 on Digital, Blu-ray, and DVD, and also available to stream on Netflix.