The Munsters: Horror king Rob Zombie delivers a surprisingly sweet prequel to the beloved '60s sitcom

The Munsters (PG, 110 mins) Directed by Rob Zombie ***

Robert Rodriguez is the lone manager I tin deliberation of who started retired making enactment movies, but who is perchance adjacent amended astatine making blockbusters for kids and teens.

Rodriguez made his bones with hyper-violent and funny-as-hell westerns and horrors – and helium inactive makes them to this day. But helium besides parlayed the skills and verve helium brings to his R-rated worldly into the superb Spy Kids franchise – 4 films truthful far, with possibly much to travel – and besides The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lava Girl, which I reckon deserves each spot of its cult following, adjacent if it died a captious and box-office decease connected release.

But Rob Zombie is not Robert Rodriguez. Zombie is simply a instrumentalist and set person who chopped his teeth connected euphony videos. His 2nd feature, The Devil's Rejects, adjacent recovered a distributor down present astatine the past autobus halt connected Earth – and got a rave reappraisal from maine and galore others erstwhile it turned up successful 2005. Back successful the days erstwhile sneaking a hip-flask into a midnight screening was a happening (sigh), The Devil's Rejects was a high-water people of stoner-slasher heaven.

Zombie has gone connected to marque 8 diagnostic films, including a well-received brace of Halloween reboots.

But I don't cognize if anyone saw Zombie arsenic a manager of an adaptation of a beloved children's TV show. Even if that amusement was the 1960s’ The Munsters.

The Munsters reworks a mates of storylines from the TV show, portion functioning arsenic a benignant of prequel to the series. Mostly it follows what happens erstwhile Herman Munster – the Frankenstein's monster of the Munsters – is created with a encephalon from a departed comedian, and not the comedian's science-genius brother.

What follows is astir arsenic nonsensical and madcap arsenic you would expect – this is an adaptation of a 1960s children's TV amusement aft each – but besides good-natured, cartoonishly paced and – occasionally – adjacent a spot funny.

Zombie and his formed – regulars Sheri Moon Zombie, Jeff Daniel Phillips and Daniel Roebuck are each here, arsenic good arsenic Sylvester McCoy (Doctor Who, The Hobbit) and Welsh quality fable Richard Brake, who was erstwhile the feline who changeable Bruce Wayne's parents successful Batman Begins and besides played The Night King successful Game Of Thrones. (Seriously, idiosyncratic should marque a documentary connected Brake)

If you're a grown up with ridiculously fond memories of the TV show, past The Munsters mightiness conscionable get you close successful the comic bone. Or, if you person a mates of nether 12s moving astir the location with a sensation for costumes, precocious campy and the innocently macabre, past The Munsters mightiness beryllium a dainty for them too.

This has intelligibly been a labour of emotion for Zombie. And I'm gladsome that helium got to bash it. But I besides hope, present that The Munsters is made, that Zombie gets backmost to what helium is champion at. And besides that idiosyncratic successful Wellington decides to commencement moving midnight horrors again.

The Munsters is present disposable to rent connected iTunes.