Taking a break from the reviews in honor of Hallo-Week, I decided to switch off the lights, hit the couch, pop some popcorn and dive into the four vintage films that started it all. Each one set the scene and created the blueprint for our classic monsters, horror movies, books and television-shows for decades, perhaps even centuries to come.
The monster to start it all was of course none other than Count Dracula, played by Bela Lugosi. Lugosi would go on to play many more horror characters, and forever be known as Bela “Dracula” Lugosi. With no sound track and minimal special effects the question is where the film’s large budget of $355,000 all went. Nonetheless without this film it’s likely the massive explosion of spooky films would have never happened! “Frankenstein” may not have been made if not for “Dracula’s” success.
The Universal Studios production “Dracula” was not only the catalyst for Hollywood’s jump into the horror genre but also produced one of the most influential characters and stories to inspire generations to come. The movie – set up the tropes we all recognize now as synonymous with vampires, holy water, crucifixes, bats, mind control and stakes. It influenced movies and shows like “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” the entirety of the “Twilight” series,” “The Vampire Diaries,” “Nosferatu” (both the 1979 film and the character in 2024’s “SpongeBob SquarePants”), “Interview with a Vampire,” “Van Helsing,” “Dark Shadows,” “Hotel Transylvania” and countless other retellings of Dracula’s origins, most popular being the Bram Stoker’s adaptation.
Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures
Moving onto “Frankenstein” this film starred our second horror icon, Boris Karloff, as Frankenstein (the creature) and was also a Universal Studios production. Riding those coat-tails from “Dracula,” director James Whale made the creative decision to open the film with a verbal disclaimer in a very “Twilight Zone” like fashion stating, “it may shock you, it may even horrify you” gearing the audience up for a tale sure to send shivers down their spines. For a Mary Shelly diehard like myself, this film didn’t so much knock my socks off in thrills and chills, but it certainly hit a few of those tropes and themes I had hoped for. Plus the special effect makeup done on Karloff was incredible for its time, honestly, putting to shame some of the CGI and not so practical effects we see in films today.
Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures
Scares aside, I think this film was successful in setting up future Frankenstein-inspired films, laying out the groundwork for themes around life and death, God and creation and emotional intelligence to be explored. Most notable were the iconic lines of “He’s alive!” followed by “Now I know what it feels like to be God” being spoken just moments after the monster is reanimated. A few films that have taken this story and ran with it in all kinds of directions while still holding true to the themes presented are, sequel films “The Bride of Frankenstein” and “The Son of Frankenstein,” “Lisa Frankenstein,” “Edward Scissor Hands,” “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” animated film “Frankenweenie,” “Poor Things” and even “The Terminator.” The re-tellings don’t end there as there are release dates set for November for Guillermo del Toro’s genre bending horror sci-fi film adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Victor Frankenstein.
Up next we have what I’d like to call our honorable-mention, “The White Zombie.” The only one on our classics list instead coming from Halperin Productions, not Universal. However, upon doing further research it turns out they used Universal sets to film for all 11 nights of filming and star Bela Lugosi as the zombie master “Murder” Legendre. Despite it not being my favorite on the list, it does hit some incredible milestones within the horror genre. It’s considered the first feature-length zombie film making it a key part of horror cinema history. Its budget was far smaller than the Universal pictures, at just $50,000. That being said, this film did a few things the larger productions didn’t. It incorporated special effects not yet seen, floating eyes, transposing images on top of certain scenes, giving the illusions of mind control or hallucinations and it had a sound track! Something we had yet to see be done in either “Dracula” or “Frankenstein.”
Photo courtesy of Halperin Productions
Most importantly to me was what this film would later inspire, unironically giving life to the character of the Zombie. We’ve seen them depicted in so many ways since this film in shows and movies like, “The Walking Dead,” “Warm Bodies,” “Zombieland,” “28 Days Later,” “28 Years Later,” “Dawn of the Dead,” “Shaun of the Dead,” “World War Z,” “The Evil Dead” and even in video games like “The Last of Us” later receiving its own television series. Without the Halperin brothers taking on this unique and never before seen creature, it’s very likely none of these fantastic zombie flicks would have made it onto our big screens.
Finally, our fourth iconic monster “The Mummy.” My personal favourite of all the films, seemed to learn a lot from its predecessors. It balanced the plot, starred Karloff and balanced its soundtrack with its on-set mics to create a cohesive not jarring blown-out soundscape for the film. This one, I believe, did more for teaching future horror films what successful suspense and stakes feels like, versus just telling us a story. It kept me hooked and rooting for various characters for different reasons, sometimes even feeling conflicted in these feelings. The makeup, much like what we saw in “Frankenstein,” was flawless and really showcased Karloff’s ability to mold into whatever character he is given to portray.
Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures
This was a film with such a strong plot, that it set up a successful series of remakes and a few original takes, using anthropology and Egyptian histories. “Indiana Jones,” “The Mummy” (1999), “The Scorpion King” and believe it or not even “X-Men: Apocalypse” took inspiration from this 1932 movie.
So if you find yourself in a rerun rut, or curious about some of your favorite halloween monsters origin stories, maybe consider hitting your own couch at home and tune in to just over four hours of early Hollywood’s 1930s horror flicks. Get your education and your scare on all at once this Halloween, by watching these four classics; then rewatch your horror favorites with a new sense of appreciation – knowing where it all began.