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The entire exhibit was fascinating, but it made me especially reflect on the influence of the Universal monster films; our images of Dracula, the Wolf Man, and Frankenstein's creature are all so thoroughly shaped by these movies.
Universal was also one of the first companies to create a "shared universe." As the science-fiction site io9 reflects: "The original Universal Monsters series (1931-1945) featured the first crossover between established characters in movie history with Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man (1943), and eventually threw Dracula into the mix in House of Frankenstein (1944) and House of Dracula (1945)."
Now, 83 years later, Universal is trying to make a new monster movie shared universe, and they're bringing back all of their classics... but for a new audience. One that is used to superheroes and vampires that sparkle. Out of morbid curiosity, I pulled out my anniversary copy of Universal's 1931 Dracula and decided to compare it to my screening of Universal's recent attempt to launch a new monster movie series, Dracula Untold.
So, is the original classic as good as we remember? And is the new Dracula the start of Unversal's return to monster movie greatness... or just horrifying?
