Sony Pictures
Available to Stream on Amazon Prime
Three movies and a television series mark how long Hotel Transylvania has been in business. Drac the vampire (now voiced by Brian Hull) is immortal, and he’s been this establishment’s custodian for ages.
In the fourth film, Transformania, this overseer knows it’s time to retire and hand over the family operation. But this patriarch still dislikes the man whom his daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) fell in love with and thinks Johnny (Andy Samberg) will destroy everything he’s created. This lad feels down and thinks the only way that his father-in-law will accept him is to become a monster like them. He asks the wonderfully crazed Dr. Van Helsing (Jim Gaffigan) for help. He has a transmogrifying ray gun that’ll do the job, but its not perfect.
Johnny gets more than his inner beast released which helps give this film a conflict to resolve. Strangely, the weapon does very little to the other accidental victims. Drac turns into a human. His gang–a werewolf, invisible man and Frankenstein’s monster–are changed, and don’t know what to do next. Well, Frank does, and he believes he’s the next Fabio. Their continued presence exists for added comedy, but it’s the zombie bellhop who garners the best laugh.
“Being Human” is tough since they too have to contend with their significant others not seeing them as normal. An opportunity is missed to insert that BBC sit-com charm to that work.
As this tale shows Drac and Johnny finally getting to understand the other, there’s really no need to produce more Hotel Transylvania. In what the Mavis and Johnny have done to the place, I suspect what’s revealed leads into the animated series. The sudden switch from CGI to 2D suggests my theory may well be right.
I don’t expect more films to happen because it’d be copying from DreamWorks The Croods a lot more. Both share a similar DNA and the supernatural take is best not to involve another family squabble from another beastly family taking residence. Perhaps its time to lay this franchise to rest until some new idea rises from the grave.
3 Stars out of 5
