Our editor-in-chief Nate Yapp is proud to have contributed to the new book Hidden Horror: A Celebration of 101 Underrated and Overlooked Fright Flicks, edited by Aaron Christensen. Another contributors include Anthony Timpone, B.J. Colangelo, Dave Alexander, Classic-Horror.com's own Robert C. Ring and John W. Bowen. Pick up a copy today from Amazon.com!

Series: Universal Frankenstein

Review: Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

Bride of Frankenstein 1935 poster

The central, perhaps deliberate, irony in James Whale's masterpiece The Bride of Frankenstein is that Frankenstein's creation is called the Monster.  The Monster, unforgettably played again by the great Boris Karloff, is one of the least monstrous characters in the film.  He is surrounded by people more sinister, or at least more misguided, than he, yet everyone in the film fears and loathes him, even his prospective bride.  In addition to offering chills, humor, and satire, The Bride of Frankenstein also provides a searing indictment of man's inhumanity to man.  This is just one the factors that help it become, in this author's opinion, the best horror film of the 1930s.(read more...)

Review: House of Frankenstein (1944)

House of Frankenstein 1944

By 1944, the Universal monsters had become too familiar to be truly frightening. The Frankenstein monster alone had already appeared in five films. Universal's solution was to treat their gaggle of ghouls as old friends. The Frankenstein series evolved into an elaborate excuse to paste as many recognizable faces into a single film as possible. The trend began in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, but really blossomed into a cornucopia of creatures with House of Frankenstein.(read more...)

Review: Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943)

Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman poster

From the first bubble of the elixir that forms the credits in chemical smoke to the last crash of the final battle of titans, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man is quite a treat for the Universal fan. Not only do you get two exciting monsters for the price of one, but they're placed in a vigorous storyline that, while slight, is too much fun to dislike.(read more...)

Review: Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)

Ghost of Frankenstein poster

It's probably not a coincidence that the first Frankenstein film without Boris Karloff as the Monster marked the beginning of the series' downturn in quality. As much as James Whale (and after him Rowland V. Lee) defined and shaped the classic Frankenstein ambiance and emotional architecture, it was Karloff's gentleman heart that made the movies more than simple creature features. His films had a soul - Ghost of Frankenstein, however, does not.
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Review: Son of Frankenstein (1939)

Son of Frankenstein poster

Universal's first monster movie since Dracula's Daughter in 1936, Son of Frankenstein kicked off the studio's second horror cycle. Lavishly produced sets and a lead cast of horror luminaries marked it as an auspicious beginning. Although the wit of James Whale is sorely missed, Rowland V. Lee brings a quality of his own to the movie, making it as much a necessity to the genre as Bride of Frankenstein.(read more...)

Review: Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein Quad

Saying goodbye to old friends is one of the hardest things in life to do. Remembering old times and laughing is often the best way to do it. In 1948, Universal Studios (more precisely, Universal International) did just that with old friends Dracula, the Frankenstein Monster and the Wolf Man in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.(read more...)

Review: Frankenstein (1931)

Frankenstein 1931 poster

Few images from the last century are so universal as to be a part of the social unconscious. A flat-top head, a pair of bolts in the neck, and a skin tone ranging from gray to green - show that to anybody, and they'll say "Frankenstein." A little research will show that such a description didn't come from Mary Shelley's novel. Frankenstein (or, more accurately, Frankenstein's Monster) may have started out as a character in a book, but it was in James Whale's 1931 classic (and very loose) adaptation that he achieved cultural godhood - and it's not hard to see why.(read more...)

Review: House of Dracula (1945)

House of Dracula 1945 poster

One thing you certainly can’t complain about with House of Dracula is that it is too long. Director Erle C. Kenton’s follow-up to 1944’s House of Frankenstein clocks in at a mere 67 minutes -- take out the credits and it’s almost down to an hour. The length is probably partially due to the fact that between 1940 and 1946, Kenton directed a whopping 20 films (and that after 27 in the 1930’s and 32 in the 1920’s) -- take that Stanley Kubrick!(read more...)

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