Fans of Rob Zombie’s films may be in for a bit of a shock when they tune in to see his latest feature: The Munsters. In contrast to Zombie’s previous violent-heavy films, this reboot is rated PG. As the film is a passion project for Zombie, whose 1998 song Dragula is based on Grandpa’s drag racer, he went to great lengths to ensure that his version was as true to the original sitcom as possible. Zombie had the memorable 1313 Mockingbird Lane home constructed to look exactly the same as in the series and had the surrounding houses built from scratch.
The film does not just differ from his previous directing credits because of its family-friendly tone. Filming during the Covid-19 pandemic came with difficulties and restrictions, so the director and cast relocated to Budapest, Hungary, where they worked with a whole new crew. For actor Jeff Daniel Phillips, who previously appeared in Zombie’s Halloween II, Salem’s Lot, and 31, this change of location provided a different experience. Phillips, who plays Herman Munster in the reboot, spoke to /Film about his experience on The Munsters set:
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The actor went on to say that these odd circumstances in no way changed his dynamic with the director, adding:
“It was extremely different as far as being in a foreign country, doing it during Covid, doing comedy to a crew that’s all masked and shielded. There were all these crazy restraints seeing Rob try to work with his crew and they were great, but it was extremely different because he usually has his group that he’s worked with before. And this, he was kind of thrown in. There was just a handful of us put into the hands of this great Hungarian team of people.”
The Munsters Cast of Misfits
Universal Pictures
The Munsters, which premiered on Netflix today, serves as an origin story for the series, where viewers see Herman’s creation and how Herman and Lily fell in love.
“[W]e were all in. We had a lot of laughs. Dan Roebuck’s just a cut up period, and Sheri [Moon Zombie] and I were always in some crazy awkward situation, and there were costumes falling or this or that, or trying to hold us together. The Hungarian team, the makeup team, they were fantastic. So everybody was just trying to keep it together and laugh and make everybody laugh too at the same time.”
The film stars Phillips, Sheri Moon Zombie as Lily Munster, and Dan Roebuck as Grandpa/The Count. While the characters of Eddie and Marilyn aren’t in this film, original stars Butch Patrick and Pat Priest appear in different roles in the reboot. The supporting cast includes Richard Brake as mad scientist Dr. Henry Augustus Wolfgang; Jorge Garcia as Floop, his assistant; Cassandra “Elvira” Peterson as realtor Barbara Carr; Catherine Schell as gypsy Zoya Krupp; and Dee Wallace voices Good Morning Transylvania.
The Munsters is written and directed by Zombie.
