Film Talk: Looking Back – Macabre magic with The Addams Family

Based on the characters from the cartoon created by Charles Addams, 1991’s The Addams Family is a delicious gothic comedy yarn featuring iconic performances by Raul Julia, Anjelica Huston and Christopher Lloyd.

Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld in his screen directing debut, is also stars Christina Ricci and Jimmy Workman as the children at the centre of this bizarre and macabre family unit, whose alleged wealth is coveted by outsiders.

The film was noted for its troubled production, going $5 million over budget due to re-writes throughout shooting, and a number of people involved in filming experienced health problems, causing multiple delays.

But in the end, Sonnenfeld and the team pulled it off, and the result was a scream...

When a man claiming to be Fester (Lloyd) – the long-lost brother of Gomez Addams (Julia) – arrives at the Addams’ family home, Gomez, his wife Morticia (Huston), and children Wednesday (Ricci) and Pugsley (Workman) are overjoyed.

Morticia however quickly suspects the man is a fraud because he can’t recall certain details of Fester’s life.

Little do the family know know that ‘Fester’s’ return is part of a cunning plot between lawyer Tully Alford (Dan Hedaya) and con artist Abigail Craven (Elizabeth Wilson) to hoodwink the Addams family out of their home and fortune using a Fester lookalike.

Will Gomez and the rest of the weird and wonderful Addams clan be duped by the plot, or have its perpetrators bitten off more than they can chew?..

Commercially successful, The Addams Family grossed over $113,500,000 in the US and over $191,500,000 worldwide, making back several times its production costs. A well-loved hit, it was followed by a sequel, Addams Family Values, two years later.

The strength of The Addams Family was unquestionably in its cast, who threw themselves into their roles with the utmost gusto. Julia and Lloyd have come to be entirely synonymous with the characters of the Addams brothers, each giving sublime performances that are still considered as some of Hollywood’s most treasured turns.

As the driving force and ethereal matriarch of the family, Huston is simply exquisite, and her performance as Morticia is one of the finest of her career.

At the tender age of 11, the burgeoning talent of Christina Ricci also shone in this film, paving her way to become one of the iconic young stars of the 90s.

The Addams Family was awarded Best Horror Film of the Year in 1991 by the Horror Hall of Fame, with Huston nominated for the 1992 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. The flick was also nominated for an Academy Award for achievement in costume design.

As a gothic family-friendly hit absent the touch of Tim Burton, The Addams Family has no equal. As a kid who grew up in the 90s it will always retain a special place in my heart, and this Halloween weekend – while avoiding the abundance of slashers and bloodcurdlers the web has been pointing me towards for days – I will settle in with this nugget of macabre gold.