The 1962 hit song “Monster Mash” is being turned into a feature film. Originally performed by Bobby “Boris” Pickett, who co-wrote it with Lenny Capizzi, the song remains one of the most recognizable tunes of the Halloween season. Each October, the track draws millions of streams and reportedly earns around $1 million in royalties. Its playful story centers on a mad scientist whose monster introduces a new dance that soon attracts famous creatures like the Wolf Man, the Mummy, and Dracula.
Bobby "Boris" Pickett - Monster Mash (Official Lyric Video)
According to Deadline, Miramax CEO Jonathan Glickman has secured the rights to develop an animated musical version of Monster Mash. No further details about the film have been released. “For more than 60 years, nothing has said Halloween quite like the ‘Monster Mash,’” Glickman said. “We’re thrilled to be entrusted by the Pickett and Capizzi families and to be partnering with Reservoir Media to bring this iconic song to life as an animated musical for all audiences. It’s a project that celebrates the fun and spirit of the original and should become a perennial ‘graveyard smash’ for years to come.”
The song has remained a staple of American pop culture, appearing in movies, TV shows, and commercials. It was used in Hubie Halloween on Netflix, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and memorably featured in The Simpsons episode “I Love Lisa.” Artists such as Alice Cooper and The Misfits have recorded their own versions of the song. Universal Pictures first explored a film adaptation idea back in 2020, but the project did not move forward.
Turning classic songs into movies has had mixed results. Glen Campbell’s “Rhinestone Cowboy” inspired the 1984 film Rhinestone, which starred Sylvester Stallone and Dolly Parton but failed to connect with audiences. Other movies, like Pretty Woman and My Girl, borrowed their titles from popular songs while telling unrelated stories. Avril Lavigne’s planned Sk8er Boi movie has yet to materialize, though that song, like Monster Mash, offers a built-in storyline.
Adapting Monster Mash makes commercial sense as well, as family-friendly Halloween films often become long-running seasonal favorites. Disney’s A Nightmare Before Christmas and Hocus Pocus both started with modest box office results but grew into enduring hits with extensive merchandise sales. More recent successes like Hotel Transylvania and The Addams Family have continued the trend. With its lasting appeal and lighthearted premise, Monster Mash could easily find a place among them.
In the meantime, I guess we’re stuck with 1967’s long foregotten Mad Monster Party.
Mad Monster Party? - Trailer (c. 1967)
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