HallowScream - Addams Family Values (1993)

        Hey guys, Chuck here. Addams Family Values, released in 1993 and directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, is the sequel to the 1991 film The Addams Family. 

        The movie opens when, after an average night in the Addams household, Morticia is rushed to the hospital, and soon after gives birth to a new baby boy, whom the family names Pubert. And, being an Addams, baby Pubert is born with a moustache similar to his father, Gomez. 

       However, it seems like the elder two Addams children, Wednesday and Pugsley, are jealous of the newfound attention their new baby brother is getting from the adults, and decide to have fun with multiple attempts at killing the little guy. And this includes everything from dropping him off the roof, only for Gomez to catch him, using a guillotine, which fails, and using a shotgun, which we only hear as Gomez and Morticia sit out in the cemetery. Deciding that the family needs additional help, Gomez and Morticia decide to hire a nanny, and the first three are all failures. Finally, we meet Debbie Jellinsky, who is hired almost on the spot. 

      But, it turns out that Debbie is, in fact, a deranged serial killer dubbed the "Black Widow," whose pattern is marrying a wealthy man, killing him, and gaining his fortune upon his death. She's apparently done this three times before, and now has her eyes set on Fester. But, she realizes that Wednesday and Pugsley will only be in her way, so she suggests to Gomez and Morticia to send the pair to summer camp. 

       So, it's here where the story branches off with Wednesday and Pugsley struggling to deal with the chipper and bright Camp Chippewa, with over the top counselors Gary and Becky, and preppy campers like Amanda Buckman. However, they do form a friendship with another outcast camper named Joel Glicker. And, at the same time, Debbie begins to worm her way into forming a connection with Fester, and the two end up engaged and, eventually, married. And, of course, the entire Addams clan is back, along with Margaret, who since the events of the first film has married Cousin Itt, and the two have their own little one named What. And, yes, the little one looks identical to Itt. 

     At first, Debbie makes an attempt to electrocute Fester in a bathtub, but it fails. And then, she essentially cuts Fester off from seeing his family, causing unrest in the Addams household. Baby Pubert falls ill, becoming more like a typical baby boy, which is terrifying to the Addams family, and Gomez is, himself, losing his will to live. In desperation, Wednesday and Pugsley trash an end-of-summer recital at camp, and escape with help from Joel, who has formed a romantic bond with Wednesday. 

       After blowing up her house, with Fester inside, Debbie is fed up with how many attempts to kill Fester have failed and so, with the gloves off, she pulls a gun and pretty much states the obvious: Debbie wants Fester dead so she can inherit his money, and she never loved him to begin with. Thankfully, Thing comes to Festers rescue, and returns him to the Addams house, reuniting him with his family, and setting things back to normal. However, Debbie arrives with a shotgun, and straps everyone to electric chairs. It's here where she shows a slideshow of every murder she committed: her parents, who got her a Malibu Barbie instead of the Ballerina Barbie she wanted, her first husband, who was a heart surgeon who didn't make time for her, and her second husband, who was a Senator who told her she couldn't drive a Mercedes. 

      But, just as she is about to try and fry the Addams family, we see Pubert, who went from the nursery to the main hall, up in the air, and finally where the family was, and he redirects the electricity to fry Debbie, turning her to dust. Some months later, and the Addams family is celebrating the first birthday of Pubert, with Margaret and Itt, their little one, their new nanny Dementia, and Joel all gathered for the party. And, nice touch making Joel look like a young Gomez. But, outside in the cemetery, Joel looks on at Debbie's grave, and Wednesday ends up scaring Joel when an arm pops out of Debbie's grave. 

       Addams Family Values is much heavier on humor than on heartfelt story. But, the returning cast of Angelica Huston as Morticia, Raul Julia as Gomez, Christopher Lloyd as Fester, and Christina Ricci and Jimmy Workman as Wednesday and Pugsley were all fantastic. Even Carol Kane, who takes on the role of Grandmama from Judith Malina, was hilarious. Joan Cusack as Debbie was an interesting new villain, and David Krumholtz was a neat new addition as Joel. But, the story seemed to focus itself more on Fester and Wednesday, with the rest of the family reduced to support status. While I will personally prefer the 1991 original, I will admit that Addams Family Values are a fun, but imperfect, Addams Family movie. 

      Alright guys, this is Chuck signing off, and next time for HallowScream, we're taking a look at the YouTube short The Life and Death of a Pumpkin.