Despite criticism, The Munsters’ garish color scheme actually makes perfect sense, both because of the nature of the project and the stylistic inclinations of director Rob Zombie. Horror is usually associated with a dark palette, although bright neon colors are nothing new for the genre nor out of place for The Munsters’ director, Rob Zombie. Having spearheaded several creative efforts in the past, Zombie’s love for The Munsters is undeniable but still has audiences questioning the musician’s artistic choices for the formerly monochrome family. Although, there is context, precedent, and a reason why The Munsters have taken on a curiously colorful aesthetic.
Almost as iconic as the Munster family was the DRAG-U-LA, their stylized racer featured in the show, and in 1998, future director Rob Zombie released a single paying tribute to the classic car. Aptly entitled “Dragula,” it was a best-selling song and not only helped define his career as a musician but also foreshadowed Rob Zombie’s The Munsters reboot. With Rob Zombie’s song and the accompanying music video featured in countless video games, movies, and television shows such as The Flash, The Matrix, and Twisted Metal, “Dragula” was almost as recognizable as The Munsters.
When the first trailers for Rob Zombie’s The Munsters premiered in 2022, many criticized Zombie’s choice of bright colors, campy humor, and seemingly low-budget tone for a big-budget modern remake. However, Zombie previously had used bright colors and campy aesthetics for “Dragula’s” music video. Although not unlike “Dragula,” the use of the neon tones in The Munsters was more than a creative choice for Zombie’s work; they were an allusion to a different time, place, and corner of horror culture. As such, not only has Zombie already set a precedent for this stylistic approach, but he has also – to some extent – proved that it can work with the kind of OTT gentle 60s horror embodied by The Munsters.
Other Munsters Easter Eggs In Rob Zombie's "Dragula" Video
“Dragula” is more than a tribute to The Munsters; it’s a love letter to vintage horror and the kind of midnight matinées that once populated drive-ins, as well as picture shows. Although named for Herman Munster’s hot rod, the music video featured Zombie driving The Munsters’ other vehicle, the Munster Koach, as well as allusions to famed horror actor Christopher Lee and various horror movies such as The Phantom Creeps. Full of bright reds, greens, and yellows, Zombie seems to be referencing vibrant technicolor movies, which at one time were a crowd-pleasing feature of horror flicks such as those put out by Hammer Film Productions starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.
Additionally, while most modern horror favors darker aesthetics, during the “swingin’ ‘60s,” when The Munsters aired, it wasn’t uncommon for the use of glow-in-the-dark and brighter colors, especially in horror, where model kits, posters, toys, and the like found their way into hands of children. The use of neon is a hallmark in Rob Zombie’s career and a deliberate choice on his part in his other works, such as the music video “The Life And Times Of A Teenage Rock God.” Zombie’s style is a look at the colorful ‘60s through the lens of the grungy ‘90s to create a unique visual art style meant to channel both in a distinguished, albeit bizarre way.
The colors and vintage horror allusions have become part of Zombie’s signature directing style and make sense for a movie set in the surreal and campy world of The Munsters. While Zombie’s use of color and enjoyably cheesy allusions is something that may not always be understood or appreciated by modern audiences, it helped the director and musician stand out as an auteur. Horror is a film genre that comes in many palettes and flavors and is rarely defined by a single vision or concept. Sometimes people like Rob Zombie stand out the most because they draw inspiration from horror movies that came before while putting their unique lens on them.