When Rob Zombie’sThe Munstersreboot was announced, it was reported that the film would likely arrive both in theaters and on the Peacock streaming service. Now, Zombie has announced that his adaptation ofThe Munsterswill hitNetflixthis September.
Zombie’s new take on the classic 1960s sitcom was first officially announced in June 2021. In the past month, there have been several major announcements, including the poster reveal andthe officialMunstersteaser trailer. Now, fans have a release window as well.
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Zombie posted the news on Instagram yesterday, noting that the film will air at the same time asNetflix’sAddams Familyreboot seriesWednesday. The originalTheMunstersandTheAddams Familysitcoms have long been rivals. The shows, which share a similar horror-comedy and family-sitcom premise, aired at the same time on different networks during the 1964 TV season. Because of this, viewers tended to be loyal to only one of the two shows, similar to theFriendsandSeinfeldrivalryof the 1990s. This monster-family feud will return once again, with both series airing reboots on Netflix simultaneously.
The audience’s feelings towardThe Munsters' upcoming reboothas been a roller coaster ride. Anticipation was initially high based on the beloved sitcom’s still strong reputation, but news that the new movie would be in color rather than black and white caused concern among many fans that the film might miss the mark on the original series’ classic Universal horror film aesthetic. The reveal of the official poster, which seemed to capture the show’s look quite accurately, put some of these concerns to rest.
However,the fullMunsterstrailerraised these concerns all over again, and fan reactions were very mixed. Although some loved the campy vibe, many criticized its extremely low-budget look. Even in the short two-minute trailer, at several points, one can hear the audio blow out from someone breathing directly into the microphone, a basic amateur-level mistake.
Although it does seem that the low-budget aesthetic (including the poor audio) is most likely done intentionally to emulate independent horror films of the 1960s, many fans have reacted poorly. Some commenters on YouTube even derisively wrote that the film looks more like a parody than a reboot. However, for those who can embrace the film’s campy horror vibe, the trailer looks quite fun and captures the ridiculousness of the original show.
