Munsters, The (2022)

"I knew from the moment I saw your flat head and that cute little scar that I wanted to spend every moment tightening those neck bolts. All I ask is that we spend the rest of my lives growing disgracefully old together."

―Lily

The Munsters

Credits
Title:	The Munsters
Directed by:	Rob Zombie
Written by:	Rob Zombie
Produced by:	Rob Zombie; Jonathan Halperyn; Daniel Kresmery; Abbey Lessanu; Mike Elliott
Based on:	The Munsters
Music by:	Zeuss
Cinematography:	Zoran Popovic
Edited by:	Vanick Moradian
Production
Production:	Universal 1440 Entertainment Spookshow International Capital Arts Entertainment Hero Squared
Distributors:	Netflix
Released:	September 27th, 2022
Rating:	PG
Running time:	109 min.
Country:	USA
Language:	English
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The Munsters is an American feature length film of the comedy genre, poking run at classic horror movie tropes. It is a remake of The Munsters, which was a black and white situation comedy series that aired on CBS from 1964 to 1966. The movie was written and directed by Rob Zombie. It was produced by Universal 1440 Entertainment, Capital Arts Entertainment, Spookshow International and Hero Squared. It premiered on Netflix on September 27th, 2022. The film stars Sheri Moon Zombie as Lily, Jeff Daniel Phillips as Herman Munster, Daniel Roebuck as The Count, and Richard Brake as Doctor Wolfgang as well as vampire suitor, Orlock.

Wikipedia Synopsis[]

Rob and the Munsters — Actors Jeff Daniel Phillips, Sheri Moon Zombie & Daniel Roebuck pose with director Rob Zombie.

Mad scientist Dr. Henry Augustus Wolfgang and his hunchbacked assistant Floop rob graves for body parts to build an experimental creation. Floop accidentally steals the head of hacky comedian Shecky Von Rathbone, instead of Shecky's astrophysicist brother, Shelly, whom Wolfgang wanted because he was considered the smartest man in the world. Wolfgang uses electricity to give life to his Frankenstein creation, which Floop names "Herman Munster".

Seeking revenge on her ex-husband, The Count, Romani Zoya Krupp entrances The Count's werewolf son, Lester, who is deeply in debt to Zoya, to come to her tent. Under threat of losing his head, Lester agrees to Zoya's plan to have The Count sell her his Transylvanian castle so she can turn it into a casino and theme park. Lester calls his father with the proposal, but The Count immediately dismisses his deadbeat son's latest scheme. Over breakfast served by his faithful servant, Igor, The Count talks with his 150-year-old vampire daughter, Lily, about her unsatisfying love life and disappointing recent date with Count Orlock. Lily and The Count then watch the TV show Good Morning Transylvania with host Ezra Mosher. Ezra's guest, Dr. Wolfgang, unveils Herman Munster live on the air. Wolfgang is disgusted to discover Herman is a bumbling brute with a goofy sense of humor when he begins performing a stand-up comedy routine. However, Lily falls in love with Herman's unusual personality.

Rob and Lily — Director Rob Zombie with wife Sheri Moon Zombie as Lily Munster.

As Herman becomes a celebrity with Floop acting as his manager, Lily goes to see him perform with his band "The Punk Rods" at Zoya's nightclub, Zombie-a-Go-Go. Herman immediately falls for Lily when they meet backstage. The two of them agree to a dinner date the following night at The Count's castle. The Count takes an instant disliking to Herman due to his dimwittedness. After Herman and Lily take their date to the cemetery outside, The Count begins scheming with Igor to use a magic spell to get rid of Herman. The Count later tries to conjure a new mate for Lily, but his potion inadvertently summons a semi-sentient chimp instead. A week of dating culminates in Herman and Lily vacationing at Devil's Island Penal Colony. Herman proposes marriage and Lily accepts, which greatly frustrates her disapproving father.

Rob and Grandpa — Daniel Roebuck as The Count with director Rob Zombie.

Herman meets Lester for the first time at his wedding. With Herman as the new head of the household, Lester manipulates him into signing over the castle's deed to Zoya by promising a lucrative business venture. Following their marriage ceremony, Herman and Lily honeymoon in Paris. On the trip, Herman captures a creature that had been haunting the city's sewers. Herman and Lily adopt the monster as a pet who they name Spot. After Zoya serves him with an eviction notice, The Count angrily confronts Herman. Lily rolls her eyes when she learns Herman fell for one of Lester's schemes, leaving all of them without a home. By watching TV personality Zombo, Herman gets the idea that they can get a fresh start by moving to Hollywood where Herman can become a famous star. The Count transforms Igor into a bat so he can join them on the trip to California. Realtor Barbara Carr takes Herman, Lily, and The Count on a brief tour of Hollywood before taking them to Mockingbird Heights. Barbara shows The Munsters a model home, but the trio insists on buying a dilapidated old house at the 1313 address.

Herman, Lily, and The Count join their neighbors for a Halloween block party. Unaware of the holiday's customs, The Munsters assume they are partying with other freaks and weirdos. The residents assume The Munsters are wearing costumes, and award them a $1,500 contest prize. Herman leaves the house for his first day of work carrying corpses at the Gateman, Goodbury, and Graves funeral parlor. Getting his first look at Mockingbird Heights outside of Halloween, Herman retreats in shock when he sees that they live among normal people in an idyllic suburb. Lily and The Count are equally horrified. Lester arrives at the house unexpectedly. Although The Munsters are initially unhappy to see him, Lester presents Herman with a check for his portion of gambling money that Lester won in Vegas using Zoya's payment for The Count's castle. Herman and The Munsters excitedly realize they are now rich.

Cast[]

Actor

Role

Sheri Moon Zombie

Lily Gruesella/Donna Doomley

Jeff Daniel Phillips

Herman/Zombo/Shecky von Rathbone

Daniel Roebuck

The Count/Ezra Mosher

Richard Brake

Doctor Wolfgang/Orlock

Floop

Igor

Zoya Krupp

Barbara Carr

Lester

Bela Krupp

Mister Gateman

Mister Goodbury

Mister Graves

Tin Can Man

Tin Can Man voice

Burt

Jerry

Shelly von Rathbone

Marcel Escargot

Pennywhacker

Pennywhacker/Raven

Uncle Gilbert

Transylvania Airlines flight attendant

Pat Priest

Transylvania Airlines announcer

Dee Wallace

Good Morning Transylvania announcer

Val McDaniel

Mister Gloombottom

Adrian Neven Du Mont

Mister Gigglesworth

Marika Farkasinzki

Mrs. Gigglesworth

Zoltán Koppány

Lord Butt

Judit Dobos

Lady Fingers

Dusán Vitanovics

Toby Mizzy

Maomi Neven Du Mont

Candy Poops

Jonny Dawson

Creepy Joe

György Hermann

Creepy Jack

Ádám Zambrzycki

Ape-Man

Orsolya Gazdag-Kötél

Woman

László Nádassy

Mummy waiter

Imre Ponikló

Devil bat 1

Zalán Póka

Devil bat 2

Zsigmond Nenyei

Disc jockey

Bence Balogh

Mummified waiter

Dóra Köves

Bloody lady

Miklós Kapácsy

Shady magoon

Notes & Trivia[]

The Munsters were created by Norm Liebmann and Ed Haas from a format by Al Burns and Chris Hayward.
Rob Zombie's The Munsters redirects to this page.
There are a total of forty-three credited cast members in this film.
Principal filming on The Munsters began on November 10th, 2021. Shooting concluded on July 7th, 2022. The movie was filmed in Budapest, Hungary.
In addition to its Netflix premiere, the collector's edition of The Munsters was also released on Blu-ray by Universal Studios.
Actor Dave Thompson is credited as Dave Thomson in this film.
Actress Renáta Krisztina Kiss is credited as Renáta Kiss in this film.
It could be argued that this film is something of a "premake", which is to say, it is a prequel to a remake that, per the time of this film's release, has not yet been produced. In terms of continuity, it cannot be construed as a prequel to the original series as the apparent timelines do not exactly match up. The most telling example of this is when Lily and Herman are singing "I Got You Babe" at karaoke. The song was released in 1965. Assuming that the original series takes place in the same year in which it was released, Eddie Munster would have been born by now.
This movie features a clip from Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde from 1953. The Count is watching the movie in his castle in Transylvania.
This movie features a clip from The Creature from the Black Lagoon from 1954. Lily and Herman are watching it with their Uncle Gilbert, who is a pastiche of the Gill Man.
This movie features a clip from the original 1932 classic, The Mummy.
Director Rob Zombie likes to recycle favored actors from film to film. Actors Jeff Daniel Phillips, Daniel Roebuck, Sheri Moon Zombie, Richard Brake and Dee Wallace have all appeared in multiple Rob Zombie films.
Actress Cassandra Peterson appears in this film as realtor Barbara Carr. Peterson is best known for the persona of horror movie film hostess Elvira, though she may look different in this film without her wig and signature low-cut dress.
Actress Katia Bokor is also known for playing a character named Ginger in Don't Breathe in 2016.
Actor Butch Patrick, who is the original series cast member who played Eddie Munster, makes a cameo behind-the-scenes appearance in this film as the voice of the Tin Can Man.
As this film serves as a prequel to the concepts introduced in the original series, the character of Eddie Munster has yet to be born, and as such, does not make an appearance in this film.
The character of Marilyn Munster, who was one of the mainstay characters from the original series, does not make an appearance in this film. No reference is made to this character either.
Actress Pat Priest, who is an original series cast member and the second actress to play the role of Marilyn Munster, makes a cameo behind-the-scenes appearance in this film as the voice of the Transylvania Airlines announcer.
Herman's full name is Herman Dillon Munster.
Lily's surname is Gruesella. This is unique to the continuity of this film. In the original series, her maiden name was never revealed, though presumably it would be Dracula, after her father.
The song that Lily and Herman perform at karaoke is "I Got You Babe". The son was written and performed by Sonny Bono and his then-wife Cher. It appeared as the first single on their debut studio album Look at Us released in July, 1965.
This film shows Lily and Herman spending part of their honeymoon on Devil's Island. This is a call back to the TV series episode "Rock-a-Bye Munster", where this information is first revealed.
This is the second time that actor Daniel Roebuck has played some form of a pastiche of a classic Universal Monsters monster. In Rob Zombie's Halloween II, Daniel's character, Lou Martini dressed up as the Frankenstein Monster as part of a special Halloween function at a park in order to drum business.
Uncle Gilbert is a call-back to Gilbert Munster, who is an established member of the original family as indicated in the episode "Love Comes to Mockingbird Heights".
Zombo is a character who appeared in the original series. As with this movie, he is a television personality who becomes a favorite of Eddie Munster. He appeared in the season two episode "Zombo". In the episode, Herman is jealous of his son's adoration of the personality, and so he attempts to imitate Zombo's behavior. In Rob Zombie's film, both Herman and Zombo are played by Jeff Daniel Phillips.

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