Everyone who is anyone who likes
horror films will know that 2012 marks Universal Studios’ 100 year
celebration. For the past year the
studio has been re-releasing some its most classic films both to DVD and BD and
some for the very first time on either or both.
It has been a banner year for the studio and for horror fans in general
as Universal Studios has been responsible for some of the most influential and
classic horror films of any other studio in history. They got their first renaissance in the ‘20s
and ‘30s with the original Classic Monster films (i.e. their version of
Dracula, the mummy, invisible man, Frankenstein’s monster, etc.) and moved into
more mainstream films such as Jaws, the Child’s Play franchise, Jurassic Park,
An American Werewolf in London, and many many more. With their recent remake of the classic Wolf
Man (2010) and the prequel to John Carpenter’s The Thing (2011) and an all new
version of The Mummy on the horizon there does not seem to be any plans of the
studio not continuing to bring audiences more horror films for years to
come.
I’ve decided to stop and take a
look at some of my favorite Universal Studios horror films. Now this list will in no way touch upon all
of the contributions that the studio has made to the genre but I wanted to pick
a few from each decade to show you how far the studio has come and where it
might go in the future.
The ‘20s & ‘30s.
The ‘20s and the ‘30s were the
decades in which the studio excelled at producing horror films. Many of the films from this decade are now
classics and continue to entertain audiences even to this day. Some of my favorites are The Hunchback of
Notre Dame (1923) and The Phantom of the Opera (1925) both of which have been
remade countless times but these two continue to be the quintessential example
of the classic Universal Studio horror film.
Also included in this bunch are Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), The
Bride of Frankenstein (1935), The Mummy (1932), and The Old Dark House (1932)
all of which are at the top of my list for best Universal horror film. The ‘20s and ‘30s were a time when the horror
film was first being discovered and Universal was throwing everything at
audiences to see what worked so these two decades marked a growth in the
genre. There are tons more films the
studio produced during these two decades but these are my favorites that I
continue to go back to time and time again.
The ‘40s & ‘50s.
The ‘40s was a decade that was
filled with sequels to past successes as well as remakes such as The Wolf Man
(1941) and The Phantom of the Opera (1943), which are among my favorites. I’m a huge fan of the Phantom of the Opera
story so I always look forward to another adaptation of the classic novel.
The ‘50s brought to audiences The
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) and the science fiction horrors of
Tarantula (1955) and The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957). In this decade what terrified audiences
wasn’t storybook monsters but science and the unknown and so Universal’s horror film output shifted to science fiction
horror and fears of the atom bomb made most famous from the Japanese import
Gojira (aka Godzilla 1954). This would
shift the focus of Universal’s “need” and “want” for horror over the next
couple decades.
The ‘60s & ‘70s.
I must say that these decades
represent the decline of horror at Universal Studios as the company shifted its
focus to more real life horror or films that few would even consider true
horror films. The most notable exception
would be the summer blockbuster that is Jaws (1975) which was a huge cash cow
for the studio (and for which generated 3 subsequent sequels). Some people who don’t like horror films deny
that this is one (simply so they don’t have to admit they like a horror film)
and thus horror films became taboo during this period in the studio’s
history. The studio did continue to
delve into fantasy films in a big way such as Battlestar Galactica (1978)
(because of the success of Star Wars) but that’s for another article at another
time.
The ‘80s & ‘90s.
Universal would step back into
the horror genre full force not only because horror films began to be popular
with mainstream audiences but also because of home video and the straight to
video boom on the ‘90s. Universal would
produce and distribute tons of horror films original, sequels, or simple
acquisitions. The success of An American
Werewolf in London (1981) helped change the face of the modern horror film by
putting humor in it (which is not to be confused with making funny horror films
like the Albert & Costello Meet franchise of films) while still taking the
film seriously. They also perfected the
nihilistic horror film with John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982) and the dark
fantasy film with Legend (1985). Universal
was at the top of its game once again.
The ‘90s brought action to the Universal horror film with Darkman
(1990), Army of Darkness (1992), Jurassic Park (1993), and The Mummy (1999) and
led the studio to one of its most profitable decades (when you add in all the
revenue from the straight to video films where many of their films grew bigger
audiences).
The ‘00s & ‘10s.
Let’s just say that the 21st
century of horror has been dominated by the gore film and the funny horror film
of which the later is where the Universal films lay the most. With Shaun of the Dead (2004), Drag Me To
Hell (2009), and Wolf Man (2010) the studio relies on some biting humor in
their films with a mean streak of gore.
Horror films have also been dominated by a younger audience which
strives for these conventions which is why tastes have shifted so often and so
fast.
The Wrap-up.
Universal Studios has had a
varied and wonderful 100 years and brought audiences all types of films to both
enjoy and cherish. Some of these films
have transcended generations and newer generations discover the older films
every day. This is a testament to the
growing influence that their films have had and will continue to have for
generations to come. I suggest that if
you’ve never heard of or seen some of the films mentioned in this article that
you try and seek them out. These are
some of my all time favorites that should be added to any horror fans
collection.
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