Monster Mash (1995 film)

Synopsis

A teenage couple, Mary and Scott, are on their way home from a Halloween party when car trouble prompts them to seek help at the old mansion of Dr. Frankenstein. Once inside, they meet a host of strange characters, at whose mercy Scott and Mary suddenly find themselves when Frankenstein informs them, "I'm sorry the bridge is out, you'll have to spend the night!"

Each character has his or her own secret designs on Mary and Scott. Frankenstein wants to take Scott's brain and put it in his latest creation. Meanwhile, Frankenstein's assistant, Igor, develops feelings for Mary, especially after she encourages him to be confident and "play your hunch," thinking that, once Scott's brain has been removed, Igor's own brain can replace it. Count Dracula and his wife, Countess Natasha, a pair of vampires, decide to spice up their lifeless marriage ("All Eternity Blues") by feasting on Mary and Scott respectively. Wolfie, who is constantly struggling with his lycanthropy and worrying his mother ("Things a Mother Goes Through"), has to go into hiding to keep from devouring the newcomers. Finally, Elvis Presley, now a bandaged mummy, is planning a comeback (to show business and from the dead) with the help of his manager, Hathaway, but in order to fully restore the king to life, they need the blood of a virgin, and Mary just so happens to be one.

Cast

Musical Numbers

1. "I'm Sorry the Bridge is Out, You'll Have to Spend the Night" - Dr. Frankenstein, Igor, Dracula, Natasha, Wolfie's mother, Wolfie, and Dancers
2. "Play Your Hunch" - Mary, Igor, and Dancers
3. "On a Night Like This" - Scott and Mary
4. "Eternity Blues" - Dracula, Natasha, and Dancers
5. "Monster Mash" - Dr. Frankenstein and Company
6. "Things a Mother Goes Through" - Wolfie's mother
7. "You're About to Lose Your Mind"^† - Linda Cevallos, Carrie Ann Inaba, and Daryl Richardson

^† This song is heard during the film's closing credits.

Departures from the Stage Musical

Monster Mash is decidedly very different from I'm Sorry the Bridge is Out, You'll Have to Spend the Night. While the premise and basic plot are the same, much of the music and certain characters were reworked for the film version.

Characters

Bohen's character, "Scott," is named "John" in the stage show and Stole's "Wolfie's mother" is named "Mom Talbot." "The Mummy" was rewritten as Elvis Presley, who was still alive when the original show was conceived, and "The Mummy's" factotum, "Dr. Abdul Nasser," became Elvis' manager, Hathaway. The ever-present dancers in the film are based on Count Dracula's onstage harem of "Draculettes." Dracula's motivations are also slightly different: onstage, he seeks to turn Mary into a Draculette while feasting on her boyfriend, whereas in the film Dracula and his wife decide to share the teenagers from the outset. In addition, the stage production includes several characters who do not appear in the film, including Renfield (from Bram Stoker's Dracula), two graverobbers named Montclair and Clairmont, and a not-quite-dead body.

Music

The music also underwent some significant changes. Only four of the twelve songs from the original show appear in the film in some form: "I'm Sorry the Bridge Is Out, You'll Have to Spend the Night," "Play Your Hunch," "Eternity Blues," and "Things a Mother Goes Through" The songs "On a Night Like This" and "You're About to Lose Your Mind" were written and recorded specifically for the film. A new version of "Monster Mash" was also recorded and used, even though the song does not appear in the original stage play.