Watched this last night. I'd forgotten about it premiering this month. I liked it. It is visually stunning. I was really impressed.
I liked Jeff Daniel Phillips as Herman from the get-go. I have no complaints with his portrayal. At times he even made me forget it wasn't Fred Gwynne. Well, maybe that's going too far but I can say that he made the role his own. I absolutely loved his pre-family history as written and presented.
It took a short minute to warm up to Daniel Roebuck as Grandpa. And a New York minute to accept Sheri Moon Zombie as Lily. Roebuck quickly won me over. Sheri was absolutely beautiful as Lily. My only disappointment was that she played Lily as slightly quirky in that she overused quick-jerk movements throughout. I'm guessing she was paying homage to Elsa Lanchester's bride. It was somewhat distracting. This Zombie version of Lily has special powers and it was slightly off-putting but that's on me. I don't think it was a bad thing. As an old-time fan I just wasn't ready for it.
Jorge Garcia was visually superb as Floop. His lines fell a little flat because they weren't funny (anymore). They were routine. We've heard them and that style of delivery a million times. A new generation of fans may find it as funny as we did when we were kids watching the original.
Richard Break was absolutely fantastic as Dr. Henry Augustus Wolfgang AND Orlock. I'd dare to say that he stole the picture. He's the only character that made me marvel and laugh. He played both parts to perfection.
Sylvester McCoy as Igor - Job well done, no complaints. Even Igor as a bat was excellent.
Brother Lester as played by Tomas Boykin (I think it's awesome that he is a somewhat substantial character) was pretty funny but in these times of hyper-sensitivity, I found some choices that were made regarding the character a little insensitive. So that was a distraction for me.
As I stated in a previous post, I think the prequel approach was a brilliant idea and a great way to shake off all the preconceived negativity that comes with remakes. I'm sorry to say that I didn't find the film funny. I'm blaming my age. Zombie's homage approach fell somewhat flat for me though I can understand and respect that he took that approach.
The film was more fun than funny and I can appreciate that also. There are many references (is this what is called Easter eggs these days?) to the original and picking them up (hmmm, like Easter eggs!) made me smile. Though at a certain point it seemed like Zombie had a list of quotes from the original (perhaps his favorites?) which seemed to be thrown in there for the sake of getting them in there at any cost. They fit in just fine but just seemed forced I guess. Again, it's probably just me.
One of the biggest stars of the original series, the house on 1313 Mockingbird Lane was fit into the story nicely but didn't get much screen time. And we weren't treated to as much of the interior as an old-time fan such as I would have liked or expected. He had the house built from the ground up, so I expected a lot more house.
I know I used a lot of 'buts', BUT, I did like it and I was impressed enough to want a sequel. I know it's impossible but it even left me wanting this cast to do a new television series. I haven't read any reviews of it so I don't know how the rest of the world is reacting to it or if it's getting good numbers. I'm curious but I don't really care.
Has anyone seen it yet?
