The Munsters (2022) Review

 "I'm just a regular gal living a boring, normal life."
-Lily Munster



Lily (Sheri Moon Zombie) falls in love with stand-up comedian and singer, Herman Munster (Jeff Daniel Phillips), and the two lovebirds quickly get married, much to the displeasure of Lily's father, the Count (Daniel Roebuck).  After losing their castle, the family decides to leave Transylvania and move to Los Angeles, but discover they may have trouble fitting in.


What Works:

The thing I admire most about this movie is director Rob Zombie's passion for the material.  It's well known that he's a super-fan of the original show and that love and care definitely show.  I may not have really liked the movie, but I'm glad Zombie got to make it and it makes me respect the movie a lot more.

The one thing I absolutely loved is the atmosphere.  The movie does a great job of making spooky vibes.  Sure, it feels like a Halloween special, but I'm okay with that.  Spooky vibes are my thing.  I wished I lived in their castle.  I just loved the look of this movie and all of the production design.

Finally, I laughed more than I was expecting.  I went into this movie with very low expectations, but I laughed more often than not.  I especially liked the darker jokes and Richard Brake's performance.


What Sucks:

There are two major problems with this movie, which prevent me from giving it a recommendation.  First is that there is virtually no conflict.  Nothing is ever at stake in this movie.  It just feels like we're just watching these characters trot along through life.  They never give us a reason to care.

Finally, a lot of the time this movie is simply obnoxious.  I've said this about all of Zombie's movie.  Sometimes it feels like he is making a music video rather than a narrative film.  It's in-your-face to the point of nausea.  It works better here than in some of his other films, but it doesn't make me enjoy the movie.


Verdict:

The Munsters is not nearly as bad as I was expecting.  I respect the passion, love the atmosphere, and laughed a decent amount.  It's just that the lack of conflict and obnoxious tone make it a bit of a slog to sit through.  It's not a bad movie, but it's not good either.

 5/10: Meh 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Argylle (2024) Review

Image
 "The human skull is shockingly brittle." -Aidan Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard) is a very successful spy novelist.  She draws attention from the espionage community when plot points in her books come true.  When Elly is attacked on a train by a group of spies, she is rescued by another spy, Aidan (Sam Rockwell), who needs her help with his mission and to do that, she needs to write another chapter of her latest book. Spoilers Below.  Go ahead and read on because I don't recommend this movie, but either way, you've been warned. What Works: Argylle has a really fun premise that really works in the first half of the movie.  It's a fish-out-of-water, buddy-cop, spy movie, and it's a blast.  Watching Ellie predict where to go based on what the characters in her books would do is a lot of fun.  It's what the whole movie should have been. The opening sequence follows Agent Argylle (Henry Cavill) on another dangerous mission as he pursues the villainous LaGrang
Read more

Top 10 Movies of 2023

Image
2023 is finally over and it's time for me to put my Top 10 list together.  2023 was definitely a weaker year for movies.  There were definitely some great movies, but there were also plenty of disappointing and bad movies as well.  I still managed to put together a great Top 10 with a couple of worthy contenders that just missed the cut.  Let's take a look! #10. They Cloned Tyrone They Cloned Tyrone is a wild and fun sci-fi tale that takes place in the hood.  A drug dealer, a pimp, and a prostitute discover a cloning conspiracy and the results are intelligent and hilarious.  This is a really smart and funny movie with some amazing performances across the board.  This was a movie that kept me guessing the whole way through.  What an absolute blast. #9. Renfield I'm guessing Renfield will be the most controversial entry on my list as I feel like I'm the only person who liked this movie.  I love the old Universal monster movies and the fact that we get a direct sequel, whi
Read more

Madame Web (2024) Review

Image
 "When you take on the responsibility, great power will come." -Santiago Cassie Webb (Dakota Johnson), a New York paramedic, hits her head in an accident, which unlocks the ability to see glimpses of the future.  When she sees Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim) attempting to murder three teenage girls, Cassie intervenes to save them.  As Cassie learns to understand her power, she also discovers the connection between her, the girls, and Ezekiel. What Works: I think the core idea at the center of this movie is a good one and has the potential to be interesting.  Cassie's superpowers are kinda lame.  It's not like they're going to help in a combat situation.  Ezekiel is basically evil Spider-Man.  He has legitimate powers and is a massive threat.  That's an interesting conflict.  How does someone with lackluster superpowers take on a supervillain.  It's a fun idea that I would like to see tried again with greater success.  What Sucks: This movie was embarrassing to
Read more