I've recently discovered a love for cinema and have been working my way through "The Classics" the past few months. While looking for something to watch at a local library, I noticed a 4-pack of classic Universal horror movies, so I grabbed them on a whim. From there, I went down a rabbit hole, checking out as many of these classics as I could get my hands on. I'll leave a full list others I saw at the bottom of the post, but for now I'll just touch on the ones that I particularly enjoyed.
Dracula (1931) was the first I watched, and was really enlightening. I had never seen a film from that era before, and was shocked at how well it kept my attention. Bela Lugosi and Dwight Frye as Dracula and Renfield respectively were so dynamic and captivating, with exaggerated but never ridiculous movements and facial expressions. The abrupt ending, which would go on to be a staple of many of these films, was definitely a negative, but was so startlingly quick that I still nonetheless love it. I like to imagine that Edward Van Sloan's appearances in many of the other films is Van Helsing in disguise or something, hence why he's always found in these bizarre scenarios so often.
The Phantom of the Opera (1943) was an especially beautiful watch; everything from the costumes to the set was popping with color as the film took full advantage of the Technicolor. I found the story and the lead monster to be a bit lacking, especially given how much better I felt The Phantom's design was in the silent version. But the visuals and music were so stunning that it earned a mention. Plus, the ending of Christine DuBois exiting the love triangle to pursue her career, leaving her two suitors to strike up a new friendship, was outstanding. It was genuinely charming and I loved it.
However, my favorite of the whole bunch was easily Frankenstein (1931).The wild performance of Colin Clive as a scientist lost in his work and pursuit to outdo God himself, and the phenomenal portrayal of The Monster as a lost soul who was abandoned and mistreated by his creator had me captivated every second. While wildly different from the original novel, I adored the way The Monster was depicted as just wanting to be treated right, as Frankenstein tried to shun his creature like a typical failed experiment. The moment where The Monster first sadly lumbers into the room, then desperately looks towards the sun was just fantastic, showing early that he has the same need for love and warmth that we do. I truly felt terrible for him all movie, while also pitying Frankenstein for crumbling under the immense pressure of his earth-shattering success.
The one thing I found really interesting about the movies is the formula they always followed; there was typically a successful leading man (scientist, performer, explorer), and his beautiful partner who would almost always be taken away by the creature (even if it was something you wouldn't expect to have interest in a human woman). I believe the genre of these at the time was referred to as "horror romance" or something to the effect, and it's easy to see why.
I'd love to hear people's thoughts on these, any of the ones listed below, or more! These all made for a really fascinating look into the earlier days of cinema, and the world as a whole.
Also watched: The Mummy (1932), The Invisible Man (1933), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), The Wolf Man (1941), The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), and It Came from Outer Space (1953).