Early Universal Horror Films S/D

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I watched "The Mummy" tonight and quite enjoyed it. I put off watching any of them because I read (and heard) that they were overly cheesy and formulaic, etc. etc. Yeah, those elements are there, but they're not nearly as noticeable as I thought they would be. And Karloff must have been suffocating in all that make-up and linen.

So, besides the obvious contenders (I'm going to see "Frankenstein" and "Dracula" even if they are horrendous), what else is worth seeking out? What isn't?

― mj (robert blake), Saturday, 14 May 2005 05:29 (eighteen years ago) link

I put off watching any of them because I read (and heard) that they were overly cheesy and formulaic, etc. etc.
I'm no expert but I had though they were horror classics. A lot of the them were shot or directed (The Mummy) by famous German cameraman Karl Freund.

― Ken L (Ken L), Saturday, 14 May 2005 14:49 (eighteen years ago) link

Bride of Frankenstein is the best. Wes Craven, Clive Barker et al couldn't make something that good if their lives depended on it.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 14 May 2005 15:03 (eighteen years ago) link

I'm no expert but I had though they were horror classics

Well, critically, I guess they are. If we're talking about actual scare value, then "horror" doesn't apply to these films, I think.

But, yes, "The Mummy" is excellently shot. The lighting, in particular. The acting is a bit cartoonish, but that is part of the era it was shot in. I particularly enjoyed the flashback sequences, those were probably the best parts..

― mj (robert blake), Saturday, 14 May 2005 15:23 (eighteen years ago) link

Any film is gonna seem cheesy and formulaic when it's had to endure decades of imitation and parody. The unintended silliness of some of these films only add to their appeal, in my opinion.

Not all are great, especially when we start getting into spin-offs and crossovers. But I think these films are a genre unto themselves, a style of horror film that just doesn't (and probably couldn't) exist today.

The only ones that I'd say are absolutely essential are the films directed by James Whale, particularly his two Frankenstein movies. Those are some classics that everybody needs to see.

― Anthony (Anthony F), Saturday, 14 May 2005 16:17 (eighteen years ago) link

To solely scare people (esp teenagers) in a movie theater requires no cinematic talent whatsoever.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Monday, 16 May 2005 12:31 (eighteen years ago) link

One time I went to see a Halloween screening of Dracula and Frankenstein and they showed what looked like a beatup 16mm print and afterwards my date said "Well, I guess they didn't really have good lenses back in those days."

― Ken L (Ken L), Monday, 16 May 2005 13:38 (eighteen years ago) link

The Black Cat. Sublime, and coming to DVD this fall.

― lildaveygeffen, Tuesday, 17 May 2005 07:31 (eighteen years ago) link

Is that the one with the flaying at the end?

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 12:35 (eighteen years ago) link

Update:

Thanks everyone. Watched "Frankenstein" and "Bride" -- and they were both wonderful. I'm going to try and find some of the other Whales directed stuff, especially "The Old Dark House" and "The Invisible Man".

What's the consensus on Browning's "Freaks"?

― mj (robert blake), Monday, 23 May 2005 17:30 (eighteen years ago) link

"Invisible Man" was kind of a letdown after seeing "Bride"

― The Sensational Sulk (sexyDancer), Monday, 23 May 2005 18:33 (eighteen years ago) link

Son of Frankenstien is quite good to my knowledge.

Dracula and Frankenstien were hard to watch to my knowledge simply due to lack of sound and super sillyness. heh

― Andrzej B. (Andrzej B.), Sunday, 5 June 2005 20:44 (eighteen years ago) link

nine years pass...

Hoberman reviews the 21-DVD Universal Horror set, then demonstrates in his last paragraph why I've essentially never trusted his opinion on anything.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/26/movies/homevideo/universal-classic-monsters-puts-horror-on-parade.html

― this horrible, rotten slog to rigor mortis (Dr Morbius), Monday, 27 October 2014 12:16 (nine years ago) link

Nope, that's the cherry on top.

― Eric H., Monday, 27 October 2014 12:58 (nine years ago) link

Yeah I was gonna suggest you ghostwrote it for him. Abominable.

― this horrible, rotten slog to rigor mortis (Dr Morbius), Monday, 27 October 2014 14:50 (nine years ago) link

It is reassuring to know that for as much as you dog on me for my taste in comedy, yours is equally indefensible.

― Eric H., Monday, 27 October 2014 14:58 (nine years ago) link

have you seen A&C Meet Frankenstein? you know, the one both Tarantino and I love?

― this horrible, rotten slog to rigor mortis (Dr Morbius), Monday, 27 October 2014 15:15 (nine years ago) link

Hoberman's just lucky this was Paramount

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/95/Scarestiff.jpg/220px-Scarestiff.jpg

― this horrible, rotten slog to rigor mortis (Dr Morbius), Monday, 27 October 2014 15:26 (nine years ago) link

Look, I don't even like many of the Tashlin-directed Lewis films, so.

― Eric H., Monday, 27 October 2014 16:11 (nine years ago) link

damn, boy

― this horrible, rotten slog to rigor mortis (Dr Morbius), Monday, 27 October 2014 16:14 (nine years ago) link

one year passes...

“Johnny Depp has been set to star in The Invisible Man for Universal Pictures, part of the studio’s new production initiative to reestablish the classic movie monsters that is a cornerstone legacy for the studio.”

http://deadline.com/2016/02/johnny-depp-invisible-man-movie-universal-1201699474/

― we can be heroes just for about 3.6 seconds (Dr Morbius), Monday, 22 February 2016 16:32 (eight years ago) link

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