The Munsters' Revenge (1981)

By Wuchak

**_The second Munsters movie, fifteen years after the first_** Herman and Grandpa are taken into custody in Los Angeles with the crimes they’re accused of verified by several eyewitnesses. They trace their troubles to the owner of a wax museum (Sid Caesar). “The Munsters’ Revenge” (1981) is the second and final Munsters movie to feature the three key cast members, Fred Gwynne, Al Lewis and Yvonne De Carlo. Eddie is played by a lookalike actor since the original actor was obviously too old by this point. Meanwhile Marilyn is replaced for the third time by blonde Jo McDonnell, who happens to be the best actress in the role, at least up to this point (I haven’t seen the two Munsters movies from 1995 and 1996). Marilyn’s role here is bigger than usual and Jo is a highlight. At one point, she even disguises herself as the wax museum’s resident cave girl (played by Rachel Sorteberg). Other highlights include Herman’s inadvertent destruction of a police precinct and what happens to Igor when he & Grandpa visit the latter’s old haunts in Transylvania, not to mention what happens to the Pharaoh’s mummy at the end. Then there’s newbie Cousin Phantom (of the Opera). As with the TV series and first movie, “Munster, Go Home!,” it's the charm of Gwynne & Lewis and their camaraderie that makes anything with them in it amusing and endearing. I favor this flick over the first one simply because there seems to be more entertaining highpoints. Speaking of which, don’t miss out on Rob Zombie’s underrated origin movie from 2022, which I loved. It runs 1 hour, 36 minutes, and was shot at Universal Studios in the Los Angeles area. GRADE: B