Rob Zombie has made it clear throughout the years that he would like to make movies that are different from the ones he’s known for. He has developed projects like the action movie Tyrannosaurus Rex, the hockey movie Broad Street Bullies, a Groucho Marx biopic, a Fatty Arbuckle biopic – but all he has been able to get funded are horror movies like the ones he has already made. He’s pigeonholed. And sure, maybe that’s partly his fault for not switching up his style enough when he directed the Halloween remake. But we’ve been rooting for him to break out of the box – and it looks like he might have done so with his latest movie, The Munsters.
The Munsters is based on the classic sitcom of the same title, which ran for two seasons, from September 1964 to May 1966, and consisted of 70 episodes. (You can buy the complete series at THIS LINK.) Fans have been wondering if Zombie was going to alter the material to fit his established style or alter his style to match the family friendly tone of the original show. Apparently the answer is the latter. Rob Zombie’s The Munsters has officially been rated PG for “macabre and suggestive material, scary images and language”.
PG! This movie is so nice they didn’t even have to give it a PG-13! As a fan of The Munsters and as someone who has wanted to see Zombie do something different, I’m very glad to see this PG rating.
The original show
starred Fred Gwynne as Frankenstein’s monster and head-of-the-household Herman Munster; Yvonne De Carlo as his wife Lily Munster; Al Lewis as Lily’s father, Grandpa, the somewhat over-the-hill vampire Count Dracula who longs for the “good old days” in Transylvania; Beverley Owen (later replaced by Pat Priest) as their teenage niece Marilyn Munster, who was attractive by conventional standards but the “ugly duckling” of the family; and Butch Patrick as their werewolfish son Eddie Munster.
The new film stars Jeff Daniel Phillips as Herman Munster, Sheri Moon Zombie as Lily Munster, Daniel Roebuck as Grandpa (a.k.a. The Count), Sylvester McCoy as the Munsters’ loyal servant Igor, Richard Brake as mad scientist Dr. Henry Augustus Wolfgang, Catherine Schell as Zoya Krupp, and Jorge Garcia as Floop. Cassandra “Elvira” Peterson may also be in the cast, but her involvement still hasn’t been confirmed.
Zombie has been sharing pictures throughout the making of The Munsters. He has shown off his director’s chair, the blueprint for an exact replica of the Munsters’ house, given us a look at costume designs for Herman and Lily Munster’s sleepwear, confirmed that horror host character Zombo will be in the movie, showed off a piece of furniture, posted a picture of the wig Roebuck will be wearing and of Roebuck being measured for Grandpa’s coffin, given an early look at the crafting of Herman’s head, shown off some of the wardrobe, shared pictures of some creature effects, showed the houses being built on Mockingbird Lane, updated on the construction of the Munsters Mansion, showed the completed house, teased that Herman will be wearing the leather jacket he wears when racing in the Dragula roadster, revealed Sylvester McCoy‘s Igor look, given us a glimpse of Richard Brake as Dr. Wolfgang, Catherine Schell as Zoya Krupp, Jorge Garcia as Herman’s buddy Floop, a Munsters Christmas card, and more.
