I want to say I went into The Munsters movie with low expectations. I’d heard the reviews panning it, though mostly nebulously and nothing exact. And while I do understand why folks may not like it….

I loved it? It was bright and colorful in a way that it absolutely would have been back in the day if that tech were commonly available. It was pun-filled and corny and a little cringe. Richard Brake will have the scenery he chewed as Dr. Wolfgang in his teeth for years regardless of whether he flosses regularly! And, to me, that’s precisely what a Munsters movie should be.

If you don’t like cringe humor, maybe? I can understand disliking this. But it’s such honest and earnest cute lil cheese based humor that generally might get a normal and not over-the-top second-hand embarrassment reaction that I wasn’t bothered by that one bit, and I can’t even make it through The Office due to cringe pain. So while cringe existed, it was earnest and not done to hurt anyone, which is what hurts me as a neurodivergent viewer.

The story follows the romance of Herman and Lily, as she looks for love in the wrong places as meets a hip young comedian and musician Herman who just came off the slab. Whirlwind romance and wacky hijinks ensue as one might expect from a Munsters story, and it all ends up with the young family moving to the iconic house on Mockingbird Lane. While the ending is slightly abrupt for a movie that admittedly drags slightly in a few places, it’s a sweet story that matches the spirit of the original TV show in my estimation.

Everything was so delightfully over the top! The romance was sugar coated, the costumes were out-there, and everything was referential in Zombie’s quintessential style, but made for a family audience–which is another aspect I thought it did well! While there were a few minor bits of adult-oriented humor, it wasn’t too edgy and I enjoyed that. Controversially perhaps, I really thought Sherri Moon Zombie was a delightful Lily!

Ultimately as someone who watched the original show, I think this definitely had the heart and spirit that it should as a remake. Do I think this movie was made for fans of Rob’s edgier work? No, probably not! But I think it was a fun all ages movie that gave a lot of cute nods to the original show, which is precisely what I was hoping for from it.