Everybody get ready for your new horror obsession: The Munsters is coming to the big screen and we have our first teaser trailer.
Though it might be slightly too antique for Gen Z (the show aired in the Sixties initially but has been reshown in both the US and the UK several times since), the much-loved sitcom is getting a film outing.
The movie will be directed by Rob Zombie, who is best known for his ultra-gory productions with names such as House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects.
However, Munster has assured audiences that his take on the Munsters will be family-friendly – or at least more so that his previous offerings.
“It’s 100 per cent in the spirit of the show," Zombie told EW.
"I didn’t want it to be different. I wanted to totally retain the vibe that it had in the ‘60s."
First airing in 1964 to American audiences, the sitcom depicted the home life of a family of monsters, and was nominated for a Golden Globe the following year – though was cancelled in 1966 due to poor ratings.
In the original, Fred Gwynne starred as Frankenstein’s monster (going by Herman Munster), alongside Yvonne De Carlo as his wife, Lily (a vampire) and Al Lewis as her father, the aged Count Dracula.
The new version will see longtime Zombie collaborators Jeff Daniel Phillips, Sheri Moon Zombie (the director’s wife) and Daniel Roebuck slip into the main roles instead.
"I wanted to cast people that had worked together a lot," Zombie also told EW.
"I couldn’t risk getting on set in Budapest and going, my leads aren’t getting along, they have no chemistry. So that’s why I chose the cast I chose. Jeff Daniel Phillips and Sheri Moon Zombie and Daniel Roebuck, they work together a lot and I knew they would just fall right into it."
Zombie has been a fan of The Munsters for some years; in 1998, he released the single Dragula, which was based on Grandpa Munster’s car, DRAG-U-LA.
However, his film will not be in back and white like the original, with Zombie saying that he took the approach of making the colour scheme “hyper-real.”
“I noticed when the actors were in their makeup and they were just walking around, getting lunch or whatever, they looked like cartoon characters come to life. They were just so insanely colorful. I was like, I have to light the movie in the same fashion. It really seemed at all times like a live action cartoon, which was really exciting."
The Munsters will be coming out this autumn from Universal 1440 Entertainment.
