“Universal Classic Monsters: Icons of Horror Collection” showcases four of the most iconic monsters in motion picture history including Dracula, Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, and The Wolf Man. Starring Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr., and Claude Rains in the roles that they made famous, these original films set the standard for a new horror genre with revolutionary makeup, mood-altering cinematography, and groundbreaking special effects.
Bandages magically unravel around a man’s head. A stitched-up monster, capable of love, thrashing about in the flaming wreckage of a windmill. The unblinking gaze of something not-quite-man. A farmer carrying his drowned daughter across the town square demanding justice. These are the images that come to mind when conjuring up the infamous monster movies of yore.
Universal’s 4K remaster of such gems is a gift and I say that as someone who’d never seen the Laemmle produced classics until now. Obviously, their presence in the culture outlasted its box office gross but there’s a very important reason these movies are considered iconic and this 4K release really brings that to bear. Each of these films created the stereotypes of the horror subgenres we know and love today, but their tragic qualities tend to fall by the wayside when looking at their novelty. Every single one of these Universal Monster movies is extremely watchable, standing head and shoulders above plenty of horror movies today.
By now you’re all familiar with the legends of each monster: Frankenstein’s Creation, Count Dracula, The Invisible Man, and The Wolf Man. Even the names of actors who portrayed these characters are iconic: Bella Lugosi, Claude Rains, Boris Karloff, and Lon Chaney Jr. are immortalized through countless parodies and spinoffs. It’s worth saying that each of these characters, no matter how menacing, all garner sympathy in their silver screen versions. Often times the film sticks pretty close to the source material and incorporates the tragedy they evoked.
On a practical level, these movies are incredibly easy to digest. Each movie sits roughly at an hour and ten minutes. Each film moves along at a brisk clip, never lingering too long in any one shot. They’re all fairly gorgeous films to watch with Dracula standing above the others for its gothic architecture and moody atmosphere. The quality of the practical effects still astonishes in the case of the Invisible Man and even parts of Frankenstein.
These monster movies exist so impressively in the cultural zeitgeist people might take them for granted but I cannot stress to people enough how engaging they truly are. For them to come back in such a massive restoration is a favor to us all. I loved the films, and the actual box case special features only add to the historical importance of the films. If you’re a fan of everything from “Twilight” to “Pan’s Labyrinth,” you need to see these seminal masterpieces that set the stage for so many more things to follow.
Now available on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray™ and Digital
