Universal Monsters

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The Invisible Man

  • The Invisible Man (1933)
    • A good doctor creates a way to turn himself invisible, but it drives him mad in the process in this film that's more technical feat than solid horror thriller.
  • The Invisible Man Returns
    • Years later, the Invisible Man is back, although it's really his brother who also was forced to become invisible when he was accused of a murder her didn't commit.
  • The Invisible Woman
    • Universal further broadens out its "Monsters" genre with an Invisible movie that leans towards screwball comedy over horror.
  • Invisible Agent
    • Why make the Invisible Man into a monster when there are Nazis to fight? That's the logic behind this fourth film in the series which casts the title character against some of history's biggest monsters.
  • The Invisible Man's Revenge
    • Betrayed by his friends, we have another Invisible Man going through a quest for revenge (and the same old motions as his predecessors).
  • Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man
    • Bud and Lou help a disgraced boxer framed for murder, who then goes invisible to get justice, in this weak but tolerable comedy.
  • The Invisible Man (2020)
    • Almost 90 years after the original, Universal revisits one of thier first monsters with a new tale of a mad man gone invisible.

The Scorpion King

  • The Scorpion King
    • Spinning out Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's character from the Mummy series, giving us a new hero who, presumably at some point, will eventually become a monster... maybe.
  • The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior
    • Ater seeing Mathayus ascend the throne, we now go back to his early days when he's just a young lad starting off his (stupid, boring) journey.
  • The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption
    • After watching his kingdom fall, Mathayus works as a mercenary, brokering a peace between two kingdoms and taking down an evil tyrant, using the Book of the Dead, in the process.
  • The Scorpion King 4: Quest for Power
    • Mathayus goes on another adventure to find a mystical crown before an evil king claims in in this disappointing sequel (even by the low standards of this series).
  • The Scorpion King: Book of Souls
    • The series finishes out on a high note as Zack McGowan takes over the titular role and gives us an adventure actually worthy of the concept of the series.

Castlevania: The Inverted Dungeon Articles

Creature from the Black Lagoon

  • Creature from the Black Lagoon
    • When scientists head to a remote section of the Amazon basin, they find a creature from a different evolutionary tree... and not much action at all.
  • Revenge of the Creature
    • The creature is back when scientists capture the beast and drag him to civilizations (or as close as we can call that in Florida) in this less-than-stellar sequel
  • The Creature Walks Among Us
    • The Gill-Man can't catch a break as scientists experiement on the beast, transforming him into a more human version, to disastrous results for the sake of this film.

Dracula

  • Dracula (1931)
    • The first official film adapation of Bram Stoker's novel. Often considered a classic, it's not the best adaptation of the source material.
  • Dràcula (1931 en Español)
    • Filmed at the same time as the English version of the movie, this film is superior to it's sister production in every way.
  • Dracula's Daughter
    • The first in a series of sequels to Universal's 1931 English-language original, this film was loosely based on Stoker's short story, "Dracula's Guest", and is, by far, the best of the Universal sequels.
  • Son of Dracula
    • A weak follow up, this film supposedly follows Dracula's son (much as the previous film followed his daughter), but it's all just a ruse for a dumber, and more silly, story.
  • Dracula (1979)
    • A couple of decades later, Universal took another stab at Dracula with a new adaptation featuring Frank Langella and this film ended up being possible Universal's best version of the story to dare.
  • Dracula (2013)
    • For a few years Universal tried, and failed, to get some kind of Universal Monsters product on screens somewhere, somehow. One of the first attempts was this British co-production that was actually pretty good but, sadly, only went a single season.
  • Dracula Untold
    • And then, before the "Dark Universe", Universal attempted to relaunch the Monsters shared continuity with this original story recasting Dracula as the hero of his own tale. It was, sadly, pretty lame.
  • Renfield
    • A comedic take on the Universal Dracula mythos, told from the perspective of the vampire's perpetually put-upon assistant.

Frankenstein

  • Frankenstein (1931)
    • Considered as much a classic as Universal's Dracula, this film is honestly betterin every way, crafting a tragic tale about a creature, a doctor, and the people that fear them.
  • Bride of Frankenstein
    • The creature is back and this time he wants a mate in this film that has a lot of technical marvels but little in the way of story.
  • Son of Frankenstein
    • That creature never dies, and this time it's up to Frankenstein's son to try and find a way to cure the monster and further the cause of science.
  • The Ghost of Frankenstein
    • The creature is dying and the only thing that can save it is a healthy brain. Sadly, the brain chosen -- that of the mad hunchback Igor -- is far from the best brain to use.

The Mummy

  • The Mummy (1932)
    • When explorers head into an ancient tomb they accidentally awake a centuries-old mummy. Months later, the mummy, now looking surprisingly spry, comes back for revenge.
  • The Mummy's Hand
    • Instead of continuing the story from the 1932 film, this movie reboots the series with a new mummy, a new story, and none of the original's magic.
  • The Mummy's Tomb
    • The mummy Kharis is back, under the control of a mad acolyte out for revenge. But when he spies a pretty woman, this priest uses the mummy for his own evil gains.
  • The Mummy's Ghost
    • Kharis returns, but he has a new object of affection, a young woman who might have once been his ancient bride. While the story's twists are new, the movie itself is another tedious slog.
  • The Mummy's Curse
    • It's time for a really uncomfortable viewing experience with a Mummy movie featuring tone-deaf racial insensitivity as well as a tedious story. It's a good thing the "classic" series ends here.
  • The Mummy (1999)
    • Decades later, Universal elected to revisit this series with a rip-roaring Indiana Jones-inspired adventure. The film is silly fun, but with an emphasis on fun.
  • The Mummy Returns
    • With the smash succes of the 1999 reboot, Universal returned to the well as our heroes have to battle the mummy once more, along with a new and more powerful potential threat (the Scorpion King), in this less-than-fresh sequel.
  • The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
    • Years later Universal, for some reason, decided to dip into the well again for a three-quel featuring a new "mummy" and none of the magic of the 1999 original. This film is about as bad as all the ancient movies in the series.
  • The Mummy (2017)
    • Speaking of bad movies, Tom Cruise was enlisted to help reboot the franchise once again as well as launch the "Dark Universe". Sadly this film was a bad first step, stumbling out of the gate and taking the proposed shared universe with it.

Werewolves and Wolf-Person Films

  • Werewolf of London
    • There's a beast on the loose in London and the police are at a loss as to how to catch it. This film marked Universal's first foray into werewolf films, but the movie doesn't quite know what to do with it's titualar character.
  • The Wolf Man (1941)
    • Trying a second time, Universal brought out a new werewolf, this time giving him a better character and deeper storyline, crafting a much more interesting film in the process.
  • She-Wolf of London
    • Another beast is seemingly on the loose and the only suspect for the grisly killings is one confused woman in this honestly pretty great thriller.
  • The Wolfman (2010)
    • Universal tried to reboot the series years later, but while the film is high on production value and ambiance it lacked a compelling story.
  • Werewolf: The Beast Among Us
    • Originally planned as a spin-off of the 2010 Wolfman, this terrible movie was wisely pushed to home video when the 2010 reboot failed at the Box Office.

Universal Monster Crossover Films

  • Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
    • Universal wanted to extend the life of two franchises and accidentally stumbled upon a new way to craft these tales, the shared universe, as both the Wolf Man and Frankenstein's creature cross paths for the first time.
  • House of Frankenstein
    • What's better than just one monster? How about four of them as Dracula, Frankenstein's Creature, the Wolf Man, and the hunchback all show up in a film vastly less impressive than the sum of its parts.
  • House of Dracula
    • Already straining with the diminishing returns of the series, Universal tried again with their shared universe crossovers, but much like the previous film, this movie struggles to justify so many monsters sharing the same storyline.
  • Van Helsing
    • This creative misfire pits the famous monster hunter Van helsing against Dracula and his brides in an attempt to stop their stupid, stupid plans.

Abbott and Costello Meets... Films

  • Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
    • With the scary monsters movies dead, Universal attempted to relaunch the series with a crossover film featuring the comedic stylings of Abbott and Costello. Although popular at the time, this film isn't really all that funny in the modern era.
  • "Abbott and Costello Meet the Creature from the Black Lagoon"
    • This 15-minute short was part of the Colgate Comedy Hour and featured our two hapless heroes going to the Universal proper department and running into the Gill-Man.

Further Reading

  • Young Frankenstein: A parody of the classic Universal Monster films from comedy master Mel Brooks.
  • Dark Universe: A discussion about what might have been for Universal's failed attempt at a share cinematic universe.

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