Rob Zombie’s The Munsters trailer promises “the greatest love story ever told”

Rob Zombie’s take on The Munsters may not be “dirty, violent, and nasty,” but it is, apparently, romantic. So proclaims the new trailer for the theatrical reboot of the classic sitcom, which promises to be “the greatest love story ever told.”

The trailer is charmingly old-fashioned, alternating between a classic black-and-white aesthetic reminiscent of the ’60s show and saturated technicolor. It feels like something you’d see on an old VHS, complete with slightly-fuzzy audio, dripping transitions, and multi-font title cards. As far as the content is concerned, Zombie has definitely dialed all the way into that nostalgic sitcom cheesiness.

The film serves as an origin story for the off-kilter all-American family from the show. Lily (Sheri Moon Zombie) is looking for love, and not the kind her dad (Daniel Roebuck) can whip up down in the lab. Herman Munster (Jeff Daniel Phillips), who was crafted to have “the brain of a supergenius in the body of a perfect physical specimen,” has similar dreams: “I’m looking for a vision. A queen. True love!” Much to the Count’s dismay, these two find each other and embark on a campy, colorful romantic montage that appears to take them from Transylvania to beyond (presumably, to settle down and start their suburban lives, in keeping with the series).

To the surprise of fans of Zombie’s more gruesome work, this romance does appear to be earning a totally family-friendly PG rating. While some may have liked to see the director take these classic characters in a gory direction, he also seems like the best candidate to take a turn with these satirical monster-movie archetypes.

The Munsters also features original series’ stars Butch Patrick and Pat Priest, as well as Jorge Garcia, Sylvester McCoy, Tomas Boykin, and Cassandra Peterson (a.k.a. Elvira). The film premieres in September 2022.