If you are of a certain age (read: old as all fuckity-fuck), then you doubtless grew-up with the fabulous freaky Munster family courtesy of mid-morning re-runs on TV. As a kid I loved every hauntingly hilarious minute of their sensational show… but said show wasn’t enough to contain the ghoulish goings-on, so in 1966 a fearsome feature film was created… and this time the Munsters came at ya in creepy color for the first time!
Munster, Go Home! (the film in question, ‘natch) sees the family’s patriarch, the Frankenstein monster surrogate Herman (Fred Gwynne), inheriting an ancestral family home down jolly ol’ England way! So the whole grizzly gang: the aforementioned Herman, his vamp wife Lily (Yvonne De Carlo), her father/Dracula stand-in Grandpa (Al Lewis), and his werewolf son Eddie (Butch Patrick)… along with their perefctly normal niece (who’s appearance is monstrous to them) hope on a boat and set sail across the putrid pond!
But things aren’t going to go smoothly for our monstrous heroes, as when they arrive they find themselves wrapped up in a counterfeiting scheme, a feud with a rival family, and an auto race. Hilarity and unnaturally sped up sequences ensue.
Playing out like an extended episode of the ongoing series, Munster, Go Home! is filled with what made the series so great. You get your pitch-perfect ensemble cast that truly do feel like a loving family of preternatural creatures, the zany, over-the-top situations that surround our hapless heroes, and a satisfying dose of the ol’ “monsters can be more human than humans” bag.
But for me the real stand-out will forever be that auto race I mentioned up yonder. This contest features scads of ludicrous auto antics, laugh-out-loud sight gags, and one of the best screen cars ever created; the Dragula… a tricked out coffin on four wheels that’s built for supernatural speed!
And all of that goodness comes on a Blu-ray packed with plenty of eerie extras, first of which is a full length additional Munsters film; the 1981 made-for-TV fracas The Munsters’ Revenge!
In a story seemingly ripped from today’s headlines… or the screenplay to KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park… either/or… our creepy clan find themselves framed for a jewelry heist thanks to a wax museums robotic replicas (who’s ranks include the Munsters in a meta-event so catastrophic the entire world may split asunder from it’s mere existence).
Before you can say “This is fuckin’ ridiculous”, Herman and Grandpa are on the lam from the hoosegow, and out to prove their innocence… and if you ever had an itch to see Dracula and Frankenstein’s Monster in Bugs Bunny-level drag, than this film will well and truly scratch that for you. There’s also some business involving a mummy, and an annoying as all shit Phantom of the Opera, which is like a Tuesday in my life, let me tell ya!
Following The Munsters’ Revenge, we get archival radio interviews with the cast of Munster, Go Home!, followed by radio spots, a trailer and three still galleries for the film, as well as a gallery for The Munsters’ Revenge.
Bringing up the rear is an audio commentary featuring Butch Patrick (who played Herman’s son Eddie in both the series and Munster, Go Home!) and Rob Zombie… this is a fun and upbeat conversation that imparts a ton of anecdotes!
Bottom line: if you’re in the mood for some laughs and nonsense along with your monsters then Munster, Go Home! will be just what Dr. Acula ordered!
