The Munsters: Movie Review

Sheri Moon Zombie and Jeff Daniel Phillips in The Munsters (2022)

Superfan Rob Zombie directs this prequel of sorts to the 1964 tv show of the same name. In Zombie's movie, Lily and Herman fall in love and get married but when they lose their castle in Transylvania they must decide where to move next.

Getting a peek into how Lily and Herman met is an interesting take on the story. It's something that we haven't seen with The Munsters before but we've heard bits of it in the tv show. And while the circumstances are a little weird, Lily sees Herman on tv and shows up at his concert to meet him, it's different and a little kooky which is the heart of what made The Munsters good.

While getting that glimpse into their love affair is interesting, the rest is just okay. While some of the actors are good at mimicking the characters and giving them their own twist, Shari Moon Zombie is very bland as Lily. In fact, the movie might have been more enjoyable without her.

Rob Zombie tried his best with The Munsters. It was shot beautifully and almost as if Tim Burton would have shot it but there are moments that are too far out there. It's like a cartoon but live-action and that doesn't do very well with what we know and love about The Munsters. Maybe Zombie needs to stick to horror movies.

The choice to leave the movie in the bright, psychedelic colors wasn't Rob's choice, he wanted to keep it black and white, and that was a major downfall of this movie. It was too busy and hard to focus on. Had it been left black and white it might have had that nostalgia feel to it.

While The Munsters might not be the worst movie Rob Zombie has made, it is definitely not true to The Munsters. The cartoon during the credits would have made a better movie than this.