Anyone who has known me for any length of time can attest to my lifelong love affair with classic monsters. Before George Lucas introduced audiences to his little science fiction franchise in 1977, the walls of my childhood room boasted posters featuring the likes of King Kong, Bela Lugosi’s Dracula, and Lon Chaney’s Wolf Man. The first comic book I read? Not “Batman.” Not “Spider-Man.” It was “Monsters on the Prowl,” issue 29, which featured the story “A Monster at My Window” and cover art by Jack Kirby and John Romita that remains vividly emblazoned in my mind nearly 50 years later.
I watched all the classic Universal monster movies on WTOG’s “Creature Feature” — and its “ghost,” Dr. Paul Bearer, injected plenty of schlock into his Saturday afternoon presentations. He served up cheesy, low-budget skits that blended humor and the macabre. “The Hilarious House of Frightenstein,” a Canadian children’s program, followed a similar path, built around a quirky sketch format that mirrored “Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In” with classic monsters performing all the parodies.
There is no better example of combining humor and horror than “The Addams Family.” The fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams debuted in single-panel cartoons in 1938 and have become an integral part of American culture. My generation first encountered Gomez and Morticia on TV screens in the 1970s. “The Addams Family” television show originally ran from 1964-1966. Fortunately, it was resurrected through syndication, so reruns ran for decades.
“The Munsters,” which also ran 1964-1966, was a more direct satire of classic horror movie icons as well as a spoof of the wholesome suburban nuclear family that was prevalent in sitcoms of the era.
Somehow, this legacy leads us to the Hotel Transylvania franchise and, most recently, to “Hotel Transylvania: Transformania,” the fourth and final film in the series. Another victim of the pandemic, Sony Pictures Releasing canceled the film’s 2021 theatrical release and sold distribution rights to Amazon. “Hotel Transylvania: Transformania” was released exclusively on Amazon Prime Video on Jan. 14.
The computer-animated adventure comedy film was directed by Derek Drymon and Jennifer Kluska and features the voice talents of Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kathryn Hahn, Jim Gaffigan, Steve Buscemi, Molly Shannon, David Spade, Keegan-Michael Key, Brian Hull, Fran Drescher, and many others. It is a sequel to “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation,” released in 2018.
As the film opens, Drac (Hull) is planning on announcing his retirement. He intends to leave his daughter Mavis (Gomez) and her husband Johnny (Samberg) in charge of the hotel. At the last minute, Johnny learns of Drac’s plans and — because he is a blathering idiot — lists all the things he wants to change when he and Mavis take control.
The thought of Johnny altering his undead life’s work pushes Drac over the edge and he tells Johnny he can’t leave the hotel to them because of a legal technicality: The new owners must be monsters — and Johnny isn’t a monster. This is a lie, of course, but Drac thinks it will buy him some time.
Unfortunately, Johnny almost immediately finds his own solution: Professor Abraham Van Helsing (Gaffigan), a former monster hunter living in the cellar, uses his Monsterification Ray to convert Johnny into a monster. In the ensuing chaos, however, Drac and his monster pals are accidentally transformed into humans, and the crystal powering the Monsterification Ray is destroyed. The only way to get things back to normal is to replace the crystal — which involves a dangerous race across the globe.
If the premise sounds a little weak, don’t worry: It’s not even as good as it sounds.
“Hotel Transylvania: Transformania” reeks of contractual obligations and greedy moguls hoping one more trip back to the well will generate a few more dollars. The franchise is well past its sell-by date. It has become redundant and unimaginative. The script is a convoluted mess that attempts to tie up loose ends, but ultimately gets lost in a series of mind-numbing action sequences and a handful of maudlin speeches about roasted marshmallows. The end result feels a little too familiar, a little tired, and wholly uninspiring.
Part of this film’s problem is its focus on the relationship between Johnny and Drac. Whatever endearing qualities Johnny may possess are buried under layers of unpleasant, repellent character traits. His reckless fervor and incessant frenzy nullify his good intentions. The manic nature of the character makes it difficult for viewers to empathize with the feelings of self-doubt and insecurity that motivate him.
Johnny’s hyper-frantic personality seems to infect the entire film, making it difficult to latch onto to specific plot points or savor any moments of genuine sentiment or humor. What remains is scattershot one-liners, over-used clichés, and clumsy messaging. It’s a feeble finale that may not even be entertaining enough to hold the attention of diehard franchise fans.
