FILM · 2022 · USA
The Munsters
28 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (28)
- #001
Rob Zombie shot the film with an elevated color scheme: "When the actors were in makeup and walking around, eating lunch and so on, I noticed they looked like cartoon characters come to life. They were that insanely colorful. I had to light the film the same way. It really always looked like a live-action cartoon, which was really exciting."
- #002
The Munsters (1964) cast members Butch Patrick (Eddie) and Pat Priest (Marilyn) have voice roles in the film, as the Tin Can Man and the Transylvania Airlines announcer, respectively.
- #003
Real estate agent Barbara Carr is played by Cassandra Peterson, known for portraying the horror hostess Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Peterson said she took on a rare kind of role in this film.
- #004
It is the first Rob Zombie film not to be rated R by the MPAA.
- #005
Daniel Roebuck is a longtime fan of The Munsters (1964) and owns a Herman Munster doll signed by Fred Gwynne when the two worked together on Disorganized Crime (1989). He also met Al Lewis through a friend.
- #006
As Lily and Orlock walk through town, a sign reading "Living Dead Girls" is visible behind them. Sheri Moon Zombie played the Living Dead Girl in the music video of the same name by her husband, Rob Zombie.
- #007
The character Zombo appeared in the original series, in the television program Herman watches. Eddie idolized Zombo and won a contest that allowed him to visit the series set. He was very upset when he learned that Zombo was just an actor in makeup. Later, in the style of 1950s and '60s TV, Eddie realized that the person he should idolize was not Zombo but his father.
- #008
Rob Zombie and Sheri Moon Zombie are huge fans of The Munsters (1964). Zombie recorded a commentary for the Blu-ray release of Munster, Go Home! (1966), and he named one of his songs, Rob Zombie: Dragula (1998), after Grandpa Munster's race car.
- #009
The film is a prequel to the TV series.
- #010
In addition to his known roles, Daniel Roebuck appears as one of the Parisians dining in the café that Herman and Lily visit.
- #011
Herman's outfit for his first date with Lily (a loose-sleeved shirt, a fur vest with visible stitching, and dark, tight trousers) imitates the drawings in the "seven-foot monster" advertisements of the 1960s that promoted a poster of Frankenstein's monster, ubiquitous in comic books and drawn by MAD magazine and Topps trading card artist Jack Davis.
- #012
Rob Zombie used the Munster Koach in the "Dragula" music video because the real Drag-u-la was out on tour.
- #013
The Wayans brothers held the rights to "The Munsters" for a time, but nothing came of it, and in 2017 it was announced that Seth Meyers was developing a new version for NBC, reportedly about moving the family to Brooklyn.
- #014
Dee Wallace had previously appeared in the made-for-television film Here Come the Munsters (1995).
- #015
Rob Zombie's first encounter with The Munsters came through the model set of the living room, and later, as an adult, he visited Al Lewis's restaurant.
- #016
While Herman tries out ideas backstage for a stage show, he pays tribute to both Groucho Marx (mustache, glasses and eyebrows) and Steve Martin (bunny ears, arrow, fake nose and long balloon) as seen on the cover of the 1977 Let's Get Small LP.
- #017
The Count's wearing of a mustache may be a nod to Count Dracula's mustache in the original Dracula novel.
- #018
Grandpa's early attempt to create a mate for Lily resembles Graf Orlok's appearance in F. W. Murnau's "Nosferatu" (1922), the first vampire on the screen.
- #019
The outfit Sheri Moon Zombie wears as Lily walks through town with Orlock is the same one she wore in Rob Zombie's "Never Gonna Stop" video.
- #020
The character name Ezra Mosher is a nod to Bob Mosher, writer-producer of the original series.
- #021
Principal photography on The Munsters officially wrapped on July 7, 2022.
- #022
Jorge Garcia completed filming all of his scenes on location on May 23, 2022.
- #023
The character Shelly von Rathbone is a combination of Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, and Basil Rathbone, who played Baron Wolf von Frankenstein in Son of Frankenstein. Herman Munster is a copy of Frankenstein.
- #024
Richard Brake completed filming all of his scenes on May 18, 2022.
- #025
Sylvester McCoy completed filming all of his scenes on location on April 26, 2022.
- #026
Catherine Schell completed filming all of her scenes on location on May 11, 2022.
- #027
Rob Zombie had a miserable time directing The Munsters because of tight budget restrictions, studio interference, being forced to shoot in color instead of black and white, and having to film in compliance with COVID-19 health protocols. Because of the low budget, Zombie was not allowed to shoot on the iconic Universal Studios backlot in California as the original 1960s show had. Instead, the entire production had to move to Budapest, Hungary, to take advantage of foreign tax incentives. Production designers had to build a replica of Mockingbird Lane from scratch on an empty plot of land in a foreign country. Because of this exhaustion, Zombie stated he was not interested in a sequel and moved on to other projects.
- #028
The film's low budget was a result of its distribution by Universal 1440 Entertainment, Universal's home entertainment division. They released the film directly on Netflix and Blu-ray Disc. After its release it failed, earning less than $1.5 million in physical disc sales, generating weak streaming numbers and receiving a low 52% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, drawing widespread criticism from both critics and audiences. All of this, combined with Rob Zombie's unwillingness to make a sequel, led to all sequel plans being abandoned.
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