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Franchise / Universal Horror

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https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/classic_universal_monsters.png
The original Monster Mash.

Back in the day, Universal Pictures was a minor film studio of modest means, looking to stand out from its competition. Their solution? Create some of the most classic and enduring horror movie icons in history.

Universal first dabbled in the horror genre with two very little known films, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (starring King Baggot) and The Werewolf, both made in 1913, the latter of which is a lost film. The next year it made The White Wolf (both another lost film and another werewolf film). But its first two hit horror films were the 1923 adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame and its 1925 adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera, both starring Lon Chaney. It then had a string of successful silent films with German expressionist director Paul Leni and actor Conrad Veidt before it came roaring into the "talkie" era in 1931 with two movies: Frankenstein and Dracula. These two films were smash hits that laid the foundation for the modern horror genre, helped to establish Universal as a studio to be respected, and made leading men out of their respective stars, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. Universal followed this up with The Mummy in 1932, The Invisible Man in 1933, and a trilogy of movies based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe (Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Black Cat and The Raven), as well as sequels to Dracula and Frankenstein.

Although Universal took time off from making horror movies in the late 1930s due to financial difficulties, it returned in 1939 with Son of Frankenstein before introducing in 1941 one of its most enduring films: The Wolf Man, starring their new leading man, Lon Chaney Jr.. He also starred in a series of "Inner Sanctum Mysteries" films, named after the popular radio anthology, never as the same character but typically with an introduction by a disembodied head (played by David Hoffman) in fish bowl. They remade Phantom of the Opera in 1943 and continued making sequels to their now-classic properties. Eventually, these sequels would start giving way to crossovers featuring all of Universal's monsters, culminating in the 1948 hit Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, an Affectionate Parody of the early horror genre. From here, Universal horror entered a period of dormancy, as the trend in horror movies began to shift toward science gone wrong and alien invaders in the Atomic Age — the only original horror films (not based on existing properties) that Universal made after this point that are still unanimously considered to be "Universal horror" were Creature from the Black Lagoon in 1954 and The Mole People in 1956. One film from this later era which was successful enough to spawn sequels was Captive Wild Woman featuring "Paula, the Ape Woman" aka "Gorilla Girl", and itself structured around existing footage repurposed from The Big Cage.

However, while production of new horror movies out of Universal came to an end, the monsters were by no means forgotten. Starting in the late 1950s, a British film studio called Hammer Film Productions began making their own movies based on the same material, in color (often very lurid color). These portrayals of the classic monsters would be distributed by Universal within America, and left their own mark on the popular image of the characters. Decades later, The Monster Squad introduced Universal horror to a new generation of young people, becoming a cult classic in its own right. While it wasn't actually made by Universal (the monster designs were all changed slightly so as not to infringe upon trademarks), it was filmed on their backlots.

Universal itself has also mined its past for ideas. They did a remake of Dracula in 1979 starring Frank Langella and Sir Laurence Olivier, and at the Turn of the Millennium, they remade The Mummy (1932) as a series of pulpy, two-fisted Action-Adventure movies, known as The Mummy Trilogy. They reunited the Wolf Man, Dracula, and Frankenstein's monster for the cheesily good Summer Blockbuster Van Helsing in 2004, and did a remake of The Wolf Man in 2010 starring Benicio del Toro and Sir Anthony Hopkins. Finally, it's perhaps not a coincidence that Universal's theme parks in Orlando and Hollywood are known across America for having some of the biggest Halloween celebrations around, collectively known as Halloween Horror Nights.

An interesting aspect of Universal Horror for film geeks is that it represents one of the earliest attempts at a shared movie universe. Through sequels, its Dracula, Frankenstein, and Wolf Man movies were established as sharing a (somewhat loose) continuity, effectively creating the Überwald trope. Via movies by Abbott and Costello, the Invisible Mannote  and the Mummynote  were also added to this shared universe. In later uses for homage and satire, these five "classic" Universal Monsters became somewhat inseparable, and were also frequently featured with the Creature from the Black Lagoon; while "Gill Man" was never established as having any canonical ties to the othersnote , his popularity appears to have gotten him into the club. Eventually, as a way of promoting Van Helsing, Universal gave its official stamp of approval to these six "classic" monsters — Count Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, the Mummy, the Invisible Man, the Wolf Man, and Gill Man — by releasing six "Legacy" collections, one for each, officially setting them apart from the remainder of Universal Horror (although the Wolf Man collection featured two unrelated films, one of which did not even feature an actual werewolf, to fill space).

More recently, there were plans to create a new, rebooted Universal Horror universe, known as the Dark Universe. Dracula Untold was intended to be the first film in this shared setting, but its underperformance caused it to be scrapped from continuity and The Mummy (2017) used as the new first film, similar to what happened with Green Lantern in the DC Extended Universe. The new Mummy also features Dr. Jekyll in a supporting role, and movies featuring other characters are in development, with Johnny Depp signed up for the Invisible Man and Javier Bardem playing Frankenstein's Monster. Revamps for Van Helsing and Gill Man were also planned. However, after The Mummy bombed quite spectacularly, the plans for the Dark Universe were shelved, though a rather unconventional Gill Man movie did come with the unrelated The Shape of Water.

It goes without saying that any horror fan is expected to have at least a passing familiarity with Universal's classic horror films. Until The '70s, the Universal monster movie was what most people thought of when they heard the phrase "horror movie". A large number of Horror Tropes were made, codified, and employed by these movies, particularly those pertaining to the so-called "classic movie monsters" — vampires, werewolves, mummies, etc. The modern images of said monsters were more or less created by Universal, to the point where deviations from their classic blueprints are still regarded as subversions of the "traditional" rules surrounding them. Also, since the limitations of The Hays Code meant that Universal couldn't rely on graphic violence and sex to frighten and titillate viewers, they remain a great way to introduce younger or more squeamish viewers to horror — which is exactly what they did once TV stations started using them as late-night movies.

Films:

Expanded Universe:

  • Original novels expanding on the stories of the film series occasionally pop up, including:
    • Jeff Rovin's 1998 book Return Of The Wolfman, which continued the adventures of Larry Talbot, and itself received two sequels (The Devil's Brood and The Devil's Night) by David Jacobs.
    • Universal Monsters - a six-part series by Larry Mike Garmon, released by Scholastic for younger readers in 2001-2002. The series begins when an accident with a prototype of an experimental holographic movie projector (borrowed from the Universal Studios theme park) and a lightning storm releases the monsters and other antagonistic characters from the films Dracula (1931), The Wolf Man (1941), Frankenstein (1931), The Mummy (1932), The Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954) and The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) into the real world. Consequently, the escapees have to be hunted down and returned to the films by a trio of 21st century teenagers.
    • DH Press's 2006-2007 series, each by a different author and set in independent continuities:
    • Allan Rune Pettersson's novel Frankenstein's Aunt is a young adult parody of, very specifically, the Universal Horror universe.

Pinball:

  • Bally's Creature from the Black Lagoon is a game based on both the movie itself (in 3D!) and attending a drive-in to see the movie.
  • Monster Bash is an ensemble game, with the player collecting six of the Universal Monsters to form a rock band.

Theme Parks:

  • Halloween Horror Nights, an annual event at Universal Studios Orlando and Hollywood, has featured haunted houses and scarezones based on the classic Universal Horror properties and has been used to promote properties like The Mummy, Van Helsing and The Wolfman (2010) remake as well as properties from other studios. Also notable that the Orlando incarnation of the event has invented original horror icons with detailed backstories that feature heavily in the events and their marketing.
  • Universal's Horror Make-Up Show, a behind-the-scenes presentation at Universal Studios Florida that focuses on how makeup has been used throughout Universal's horror film legacy, including the Classic Monsters films.

Trading Cards:

  • The Universal Monsters brand has provided fertile ground for trading card manufacturers. Perhaps the most remarkable is the series put out by Kitchen Sink in 1996, which incorporated just about anything remotely horrific that was made by Universal up until 1960. Anyone remember The Man Who Reclaimed His Head?

Video Games:

Western Animation:

Other:

  • Monster Old Maid, a deck for playing Old Maid featuring Universal monsters (and a few Hammer Horror monsters that snuck in). Dracula's Daughter is the eponymous Old Maid.

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