In The Munsters, Lily Gruesella is a vampire trying her best to navigate the dating scene. Her most recent date was with fellow vampire, Orlock, but despite an obvious connection the pair lacked chemistry.
However, things soon begin to pick up, when Lily spots Herman Munster on television. Herman is a patchwork person, created in a lab by a mad scientist, and Lily is very keen to get to know him.
After approaching Herman about a date, Lily is pleased to discover that he is equally as interested in getting to know her. From here, they begin dating, and love quickly blossoms.
But Lily’s father, The Count, is less-than pleased about the burgeoning relationship between his daughter and Herman, and when the two get hitched, he is not happy. The Count’s dislike for the relationship then worsens when he learns that Herman has inadvertently signed over the deeds to his home, causing the whole family to have to relocate.
Written and directed by Rob Zombie, The Munsters is a horror-comedy, which is based on the 1964 television show of the same name. The film stars Sheri Moon Zombie, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Daniel Roebuck, and Richard Brake, and makes its UK debut today, through DVD, Blu-ray, and video-on-demand platforms.
Now before anyone jumps in and says “erm… wasn’t this movie released last year?”, let me add that while The Munsters is brand-new to the UK today, the film was released last September in the US. The movie debuted in the US ahead of the Halloween season (via Netflix), but us Brits are only just receiving it now.
The fact The Munsters is making its UK debut on January 2nd, which is a public holiday and the last day of the Christmas break before everyone goes back to work, should tell you all you need to know about this movie. It is essentially being dumped out while no one is paying attention, with the hope that maybe some horror-fans will pick it up, using any leftover Christmas cash.
My advice? Unless you are the world’s greatest Munsters fan, or you have a high tolerance for pretty much anything, give this movie a wide berth. Painfully unfunny, dreadfully acted, and mind-numbingly slow, The Munsters is truly bloody awful.
Had this film been released in the UK last year, it would have featured amongst my list of the worst films of 2022. As it stands, we’re only two days into 2023, and The Munsters is already on my list for one of the worst films of this year.
Playing out like a cross between a bad Saturday Night Live sketch and an episode of a cheap Fox Kids show from the ‘90s, The Munsters is a chore to watch. The movie is filled with cringeworthy dialogue, some of the flattest ‘dad’ jokes ever told, and some woefully embarrassing performances that wouldn’t look out of place at an amateur pantomime.
Have you ever watched 1998’s oft-forgotten The Addams Family Reunion with Tim Curry and Daryl Hannah? Well, The Munsters is as bad as that film, if not worse.
I was bored within the first ten minutes of watching, and about ready to pluck out my own eyeballs by the end. How I made it through all 110-minutes is anyone’s guess, but ultimately, I survived it so that you don’t have to.
However, if you do decide to ignore my advice, and give this film your precious time, as well as your hard-earned money, then you should know that this movie is an origin story, so you don’t need to have seen any of the previous Munsters shows before. And in my opinion, after watching The Munsters, I very much doubt you’ll be rushing out to watch any further Munsters material either.
If the film has one saving grace, which stops it from being a complete and utter car crash, it is in the visuals. As bad as the script, acting, and direction go, The Munsters is visually appealing with a luscious, vibrant colour palette that simply pops off the screen.
There is a certain kitsch value to the movie, which the colours, set dressing, and costumes lean heavily into, and this is where the movie operates best. Turn off the volume, and let the movie play in the background as moveable wallpaper and The Munsters becomes a far better picture.
In fact, I can see The Munsters gaining some kind of traction in cult film circles due to its aesthetic alone, which will probably keep it in rotation in a few years’ time. It’s just a shame then the rest of the film is so bad.
On paper, and due to the continued popularity of horror/Halloween, I can see why The Munsters was greenlit, and I expect all those who invested in the picture thought it would be a sure-fire success story; but ultimately it is a mess of a film. The Munsters arrives undercooked, and under-loved (certainly from me anyway), and is not something to view before you go back to the daily grind for another year.
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