"Rants & Ravings About Horror: - Week 35: “Universal’s DRACULA (1931) Returns to the Big Screen in a Big Way!”

Week 35: “Universal’s DRACULA (1931) Returns to the Big Screen in a Big Way!”

I’ve never been much of a fan of the original 1931 Universal Picture’s Dracula.  I’m not a fan of vampire films and I’ve never really been a big fan of Bela Lugosi, so, this has never been one of my favorites of the Universal Monsters or films.  The one thing going for the film is that it was directed by Tod Browning whom I’m a huge fan of due to his film Freaks (1932), which is one of my favorite films of all-time.  This being sad, Dracula is a film I appreciate but don’t really watch as often as say Frankenstein (1931) or The Mummy (1932) or Bride of Frankenstein (1935).  I was excited to hear that on October 28^th Fathom Events was going to honor this film with a return to the big screen.  Point of fact is that I wasn’t born when any of these films were originally released so being able to see one of the big screen has been a dream come true whether it be the Mummy, Frankenstein’s Monster, the Creature from the Black Lagoon or Dracula himself.

An added bonus is the fact that this was a double feature presentation of the original Browning film as well as the Spanish language version.  I had never seen the Spanish version so that alone was a great selling point for me.  This was also the first time I was going to be able to see a Browning film on the big screen so I was really excited!

It should be noted that I love and appreciate classic cinema.  I was never able to watch these films growing up but I studied classic horror and noir films in college (despite my focus being on horror and animation) and I have a very deep love of these “old black & white” films.  Being able to see one of these films back on the big screen is a rare occasion especially with an audience who can also appreciate the film.

Getting back to Dracula, the night was presented by Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and as such had a wonderful introduction to both films especially right before the Spanish version in which the narrator discussed the advantages of director George Melford (the Spanish version) over Browning since both films were shot simultaneously and Melford was able to see what Browning was doing and improve upon his filming techniques.  By comparison, it does show as the Spanish version is not only longer but also contains some vastly different cinematography choices that enhance the film.  If nothing else, it was great watching the two films back to back in order to see the differences between them.

I have a newfound love for Browning’s Dracula.  There are details that I never saw before and the image was sharp and crystal clear like I had never seen.  This film truly was meant for the big screen.  I may not be a Lugosi fan but this is by far my favorite film of his and I can now see why he was obsessed with the image and personae.  I can honestly say that both the Browning version and the Melford version are magnificent films and that if you are a fan of the films and never watched them back to back I do suggest it.

I do have to say that Fathom Events has spoiled me a little as I now want the opportunity to watch some of the other Universal Monster films on the big screen.  If you get the opportunity to see any of these films on the big screen you should take it as there is no telling when (or if) it will ever happen again.

“Rants & Ravings About Horror” - Week 2

 “Universal Horror”

By the time you read this you should already be aware that Universal studios has decided to reboot all their classic Universal Horror films and characters (i.e. Dracula, the Mummy, the Creature, Van Helsing, etc,) into an inter-connected universe and franchise (ala the Marvel Universe and X-Men Universe films).  With the crazy success that Marvel Studios has had with their inter-connected franchise of films (i.e. Iron Man, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Marvel’s The Avengers, etc.) every Hollywood studio has decided it’s a good idea to think bigger with their franchises to maximize profits.  Warner Bros. has started their offensive with DC characters after the success of Man of Steel (2013) and have released a huge slate of films forthcoming until 2018 (for the moment) and Sony has The Amazing Spider-Man (and its sequels and spin-offs) and 20^th Century Fox has the X-Men franchise, not to mention the Disney with their Star Wars films.  Universal has decided to jump on the band wagon by rebooting all their iconic horror monsters.  

Now there has already been a franchise with The Mummy (with 2 sequels and The Scorpion King spin-off films).  The Wolfman (2010) remake was less successful but still an update on their character.  The Wolfman focused more on horror whereas The Mummy (and Scorpion King) franchises focused more on action and adventure and because of the success of the latter films the new Universal horror films are focusing more on action and adventure and less on horror.    I’m not exactly sure how I feel about this…yet.

I remember before director Stephen Sommers’ The Mummy (1999), director George A. Romero was developing a horror version of the iconic monster.  There are concept drawings and artwork for what could have been an excellent horror film version of The Mummy but all that was dropped in Sommers’ fast paced, CGI-filled film which went more for the Indiana Jones vibe (and for the most part achieved it extremely well).  Sommers’ The Mummy was a film safe for the whole family that had action, adventure, comedy, and even a few horrifying moments (mostly before the Mummy is restored to human form).  It was a film that became a huge success for Universal who then immediately expanded on the universe with the sequels and spin-off films and even an animated series.

I enjoyed the first film and there are some great moments in the sequel The Mummy Returns (2001).  I kind of ignore The Scorpion King franchise but they are more of the same on a smaller budget (of which Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock is only in the first film).  After the lukewarm reception of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008) the franchise was more or less declared dead.   Sommers even tried his hand at resurrecting Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, the Wolf Man and Van Helsing in the ill-fated film Van Helsing (2004), which suffered from a poor script in addition to mediocre CGI FX and poorly executed comedy.  There are some great action sequences in the film and the Brides of Dracula steal every scene they are in but it’s a film over-stuffed with too many chaotic and unrealized ideas.

The Wolfman was resurrected under the guidance of Benicio del Toro, who has claimed that this was his favorite of the Universal monsters, but this new version didn’t sit well with audiences or critics and died a quick death at the Box Office.  For the most part, I enjoyed this film until it relies too much on the CGI werewolves in the third act.  The Wolfman contains a lot of action adventure but more importantly plays up the horror more than all The Mummy films combined.  I believe this is one of the reasons why there was such a lukewarm reception to the film.  I’m sure most audiences were expecting more of The Mummy’s action, adventure and comedy rather than the gothic horror film that was on display.

After The Wolfman failed to jumpstart a new franchise the Universal monsters more or less went back into hiding, again.

Most recently Universal and Legendary Pictures produced Dracula Untold (2014), which takes the Dracula story back to his origins.  This was an exciting action-war film that just so happened to have horror overtones in it but little to no humor as it takes the story very seriously.  This film was released before Universal released its plans to create an inter-connected universe for their monsters, so, it is really anyone’s guess if this film will actually be interconnected with the upcoming films.  Dracula Untold was a financial success and a sequel is in the works so at least for the moment this Dracula is here to stay.

Now why have I delved so deeply into all this background info?  Because in order to have a sense of where Universal plans to take their monster universe I have to first take a look back at what they’ve tried to accomplish thus far.

Frankly, I don’t really think there needs to be another Mummy movie at this time but that seems to be the first film they plan on rebooting.  The Wolfman just had a film and Dracula (or vampires in general) are all over the place.  Personally, I’d rather see them develop a new Creature From the Black Lagoon or Invisible Man or even Frankenstein film since they are characters and monsters that haven’t been revisited to death.  I have to commend the studio for trying to do an inter-connected world as it would actually allow audiences to finally see new interpretations of some of their most iconic characters (and thus explore their universe more) but is the world (and more importantly audiences) ready for another universe of characters and films that they need to follow beyond The X-Men, Marvel’s Avengers, Warner Bros. DC, Disney’s Star Wars, and the countless others being developed?

Only time will tell…

UNIVERSAL HORROR AT 100 YEARS!

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 21^st 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.