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Here Come the Munsters
USA 1995
produced by Michael S. Murphey, Leslie Belzberg (executive), John Landis (executive) for Bodega Bay Productions, Universal (MCA Television)
directed by Robert Ginty
starring Edward Herrmann, Veronica Hamel, Robert Morse, Christine Taylor, Mathew Botuchis, Troy Evans, Joel Brooks, Sean O'Bryan, Mary Woronov, Jeff Trachta, Max Grodénchik, Judy Gold, Amanda Bearse, Irwin Keyes, Jim Fisher, Scotch Ellis Loring, Brian George, Robertson Dean, Jim Staahl, Keone Young, Kellen Hathaway, Bill Prady, T.J. McInturff, Francesca Marie Smith, Jane Carr, James Keane, James Basile, Lynne Marie Stewart, Judy Kain, Tommy Bertelsen, Dee Wallace, Ralph P. Martin, Jim Jackman, Christina Venuti, Aaron Paris, Yvonne De Carlo, Al Lewis, Butch Patrick, Pat Priest, Carlease Burke
screenplay by Bill Prady, Jim Fisher, Jim Staahl, from a format created by Allan Burns, Chris Hayward and characters created by Norm Liebmann, Ed Haas, music by Michael Skloff, special makeup effects by Steve Johnson
The Munsters, Jekyll and Hyde
review by Mike Haberfelner
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The Munsters - Herman (Edward Herrmann), Lily (Veronica Hamel), their
son Eddie (Mathew Botuchis) and Grandpa (Robert Morse) - don't find it
safe anymore in their native Transylvania, what with the locals arming
themselves against the monstrous family, so they decide to move to the US
after being invited by cousin Marilyn (Christine Taylor), whose pretty
looks have made her the black (but still beloved) sheep of the family. But
once over in the US, the Munsters find out Marilyn is doing anything but
fine since her father Norman Hyde (Max Grodénchik) has disappeared and
her mother Elsa's (Judy Gold) has thus stopped working. So the Munsters
start looking for Hyde and eventually find out he has turned into
immigrant-hating populist politician Jekyll (Jeff Trachta), who's pretty
much a creature of his campaign manager Larry Walker (Joel Brooks), who
thinks a man with no past and no recollections is the perfect vessel to
fill with his own agenda. Grandpa figures he can create an antidote but
needs a small dose of Jekyll's blood - which he gets when he and Herman
break into Walker's house ... but that unfortunately lands Herman in jail,
and now Grandpa needs to spring Herman first (by using a duplicate Herman
with a dog's brain to throw the police off scent) so they can sabotage
Jekyll's next rally to get close enough to him to inject him with the
antidote. All ends happily of course. Now what's actually good
about this movie - that was originally shot for the big screen but
ultimately landed on TV - is that it not only tries to get the look and
feel of the original
series right, it also shows some vision with casting genre
faves Mary Woronov and Dee Wallace in supporting roles, with the classic
series' (surviving) lead actors Al Lewis, Yvonne De Carlo,
Butch Patrick and Pat Priest making a cameo appearance in a restaurant gag
where they meet the new Herman. Unfortunately, that, and a few sight gags,
is already how far Here Come the Munsters goes in terms of quality
as gagwise the film has not really all that much to offer and redoes many
of the original's
gags pretty much one to one - if not too badly at that. Now a great cast
could have saved that, unfortunately though Edward Herrmann, Veronica
Hamel and Robert Morse are no Fred Gwynne, Yvonne De Carlo and Al Lewis,
and don't have their chemistry either. The other thing that's wrong with
the movie though is that it tries to pack too much story into its 96
minutes and thus meanders quite a bit, often losing complete sight of the
main story. That all said, I wouldn't call the movie as a whole terrible,
it sure blows The
Munsters Today out of the water, it's just not terribly good
either.
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review © by Mike Haberfelner
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Robots and rats,
demons and potholes, cuddly toys and shopping mall Santas,
love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill Your Bones to is all of that.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to -
a collection of short stories and mini-plays ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle,
all thought up by the twisted mind of screenwriter and film reviewer Michael Haberfelner.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to
the new anthology by Michael Haberfelner
Out now from Amazon!!! |
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