The Addams Family – Film Review

Everything about 1991’s The Addams Family screams Tim Burton despite the fact that he did not direct the film, due to him committing to Batman Returns at the time. Instead, this zany horror-comedy was directed by Barry Sonnenfeld with a script by Caroline Thompson and Larry Wilson.

Of course, it can be quite easy to wonder what kind of movie this could have been had Burton directed, but at the same time, it may not have been a bad thing that he passed on it. The Addams Family is an off-the-wall crazy screwball comedy featuring everyone’s favorite macabre family.

There are so many scenes in this film that are sure to make you laugh out loud and smile from ear-to-ear. Lots of this is due to the characters of the family themselves, such as the charming yet insanely strange Gomez. Then, there’s the calm and collected Morticia, portrayed wonderfully by Anjelica Huston.

Pugsley is sadly quite underused in this film like he always is, although he does have a few standout scenes alongside the incredibly great Wednesday, portrayed masterfully by Christina Ricci. She has always been my favorite of the family just because of how deadly she is. There’s an excellent scene in this film in which she is trying to electrocute Pugsley, and their mother doesn’t even care.

And of course, there’s Christopher Lloyd who looks like he’s having the time of his life in the role of Uncle Fester / Gordon Craven. Together, this cast works wonders off each other. To this day, it’s my favorite casting for any Addams Family project and it’s highly doubtful that it will ever be topped.

The atmosphere in this film is the cherry on top. Sonnenfeld’s direction is sublime paired with the genuinely gorgeous and eerie cinematography from director of photography Owen Roizman. There’s a good reason why you always see this movie pop up in lists detailing the most comforting Halloween season films. It’s creepy yet oh so cozy.

There are some instances in which The Addams Family overstays its welcome, though. It’s an hour and forty minutes and yet it still feels like it’s too long. Plus, the film occasionally seems to struggle to find things to do with the family every once in a while, but thankfully, that doesn’t happen too often here.

All in all, this is a hugely entertaining movie to watch this time of the year. It’s not a horror movie per se, but it’s definitely an eerie comedy that has an incredible sense of atmosphere, superb direction from Barry Sonnenfeld and a great script to go along with that.

The Addams Family is a delightfully macabre horror-comedy with excellent direction from Barry Sonnenfeld, featuring great chemistry from its lead actors.