The Munsters

This is in my opinion a departure from Rob Zombies movie career and a throwback to his music videos, animated sequences, and stage shows. Cuts, vibrant contrasting colors...a comic book splash page brought to life. I think we saw some of this in The Lords of Salem, but a little more art house serious. Does it work? Maybe. It's not an easy watch, but it is great Halloween atmosphere, maybe on in the background at a party. No offense to Mr. Zombie but in my opinion he peaked at The Devils Rejects. But I did not see that filthy dirthouse magic in 31 or 3 From Hell. I'll give it a 6 because it's neat and looks amazing.

The writing is awful, overall, but the plot line wouldn't matter much if the "jokes" were even slightly amusing.

It almost seems like the main goal was to make sure that no one wants more of this garbage!

The costumes were great and the sets were pretty cool, but there wasn't much else positive about this movie.

I do want to mention that Shari Moon Zombie obviously put in some time and research watching Yvonne Decarlo as Lily. It was great to see the same mannerisms and expressions, but most of the performances fall flat. This stands out even more with the over the top nonsense that simply isn't funny at all.

Okay so I understand the negative reviews. It was pretty cheesy and dumb and the script was lacking. If you compare it to the original you will be very disappointed. Still I was somewhat entertained and got a few laughs out of it. The acting wasn't great but I did think the lead actor who played Herman was pretty good. I got the most laughs from him. The actress who played Lily left a lot to be desired and Grandpa was meh. The sets were kind of cool and it got me in the Halloween spirit. I will agree that the use of green lighting was overkill. Would I see it again? No. But it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be based on all of the terrible reviews. So I am split down the middle on this. It could have been much better but it also could have been worse in my opinion.

So, just to start off, I am a Rob Zombie fan. I don't like all his films, but I respect when he swings for the fences and gets a win. Some hits and some misses.

I went into this wanting Rob Zombie to pull a rabbit out of his hat and blow everyone away.

Pros: the sets are really cool. Whoever designed them and anyone that worked on it should feel proud. They look awesome. I'm kinda jealous. If I ever made a movie, I'd love to use them. The lighting was cool too. I know the garish green and purple highlighting will bother some people, but I kinda dig that sort of stuff. And the acting actually wasn't bad either. Everyone was trying really hard with their respective performances and trying to be campy.

Cons: there is something really off about the movie I can't put my finger on. The editing feels "slow" or "delayed" maybe? I can't explain it but maybe some tightening up was in order. The music (or sound effects rather) are trying to imitate the old 60's show. And it doesn't work. They could've hired someone to compose a memorable score and it would've been a lot better. And finally... the film is boring. It feels like it's three hours long. It's really not funny. Rob should have hired another writer to polish things up. Play to your strengths.

There are things that could've been enhanced and the movie would work soooo much better. I'm afraid to say, I think this one's a miss.

The Munsters (2022) is a movie my wife and I watched on Netflix last night. The storyline follows a legacy Transylvanian family that's daughter is up for marriage but is struggling to find a worthwhile suitor. However, a recently created monster, named Hermann Munster, is making the local news and rise in the underground rock arena and appears bound to be a star. When he meets the daughter looking for a husband it may be the spark to stardom for both of them.

This movie is directed by Rob Zombie (House of 1,000 Corpses) and stars Sheri Moon Zombie (The Lords of Salem), Jeff Daniel Phillips (Westworld), Richard Brake (Barbarian), Jorge Garcia (Cooties) and Daniel Roebuck (The Fugitive).

The look and feel of this movie had so much potential. The makeup, lighting, sets, attire, props and cinematography is magnificent. This is a fun movie to watch...if you shut the volume off. The writing is absolutely horrendous. The storyline, jokes, one liners and all of the humor was a huge miss. I did enjoy the transition and depiction of America and the ending setup for a television series/sequel spinoff. But getting through this movie was brutal.

Overall, this had everything it needed for success but solid writing. I would score this a 4/10 and try seeing it once.