New Universal Monsters Blu-ray releases featuring Alex Ross artwork

I remember there was a time when having the Universal Monsters just on DVD seemed like it was never going to happen. Now we’re well past DVD releases and we’ve had multiple Blu-ray releases over the last few years. 2017 brings us yet another release for the seven major Universal Monster movies, only this time they are exclusive to Best Buy.

I have all of these movies on Blu-ray already, but the new black & white cover art painted by comic book writer/artist Alex Ross is excellent and I felt the artwork was worth posting. It would be cool if they could release the artwork as posters at some point.

Side note: I generally don’t care for reissues that feature new artwork on the cover. I guess it’s a good way to get people who already own the movie, to buy the latest issue but the new artwork generally doesn’t compare to the original artwork used for the movie’s theatrical/video release.

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Pensacon 2015

The second annual Pensacon was held this weekend in Pensacola, Florida and I was lucky enough to be able to go on Saturday morning. As someone who deals with anxiety issues and general anti-socialness, I didn’t plan on spending all day there but just a few hours.

First off, I’m really happy there is a convention like this in the area for fans of comic books, sci-fi, horror, fantasy, etc. to gather together. Any time there’s some type of event going on in my region, it usually involves country music or seafood: two things I couldn’t care less about.

Pensacon features the usual convention fare like gaming tournaments, costume contests, celebrities panels, artists alley, photo ops/signings, plus a large assortment of vendors selling things like steam punk gear, leather goods, Pokemon plush dolls, trading cards, comic books, movie posters, old video games, toys, vinyl records, jewelry, t-shirts, artwork. It was crazy how many vendors there were and how much they had to sell. One item that really stuck out to me was a vinyl copy of the Doctor Who serial ‘Genesis of the Daleks’ from the Tom Baker era and it featured the original voice cast from those episode. It was $30, which is about the going rate for it online as well, but I didn’t pick it up. One very cool toy I saw was the original G1 Galvatron from Transformers. Used, but complete and in box for $150.

Dracula Untold [Movie Review]

[WARNING: May contain spoilers. And traces of nuts.]

Dracula Untold
2014, Universal Studios

It might’ve been 84 degrees outside but that wasn’t going to stop me from my celebration of Halloween and the fall season by going to see Dracula Untold today and then washing it down with some hot chocolate from Starbucks.

Going in, I expected this to be a decent movie but I was blown away by how awesome it was. Screw the critics; they hate everything — Dracula Untold is extremely enjoyable. As far as I’m concerned, it’s the best of any of Universal’s recent attempts at remaking their classic monsters (The Mummy series starring Brendan Fraser, Van Helsing, The Wolfman). The PG-13 rating doesn’t hold back the gore at all. You can get away with so much these days with just a PG-13 rating and this movie delivers quite a few gory and bloody moments while delivering tons of action.

Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy [Review]

Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy
1955, Universal Pictures
Buy the movie at Amazon.com

I’m reviewing this from a VHS copy. I don’t own it on DVD, but the public library has a VHS copy so I dusted off the VCR for the first time in over three years to watch this movie. It’s very weird watching a VHS tape while using a fairly new HDTV.

After the success of 1948’s Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, Bud & Lou sure did “meet” a lot of people. For the most part, the meet & greets were limited to Universal’s classic monsters. After having all kinds of comedy hijinks involving Frankenstein’s Monster, Dracula, the Wolf Man, the Invisible Man and Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, it was time to send the boys to Egypt to meet up with the Mummy.

This mummy’s name is Klaris. The original Mummy movie starred Boris Karloff as Imhotep but the four Mummy movies following that featured a mummy known as Kharis. So why is this guy called Klaris? Either call him Kharis or call him something NOT similar. I guess the writer’s were lazy and, with the absence of home video, figured no one would care or notice.

1993 VHS Edition

You’d think by this point that not only would Abbott & Costello’s entire act be tired but so would the gimmick of them meeting a monster. Not true at all. Yeah, this isn’t on par with their classic …Meet Frankenstein movie (and part of that for me is because I’ve never found the Mummy to be all that interesting) but this is an enjoyable way to spend 90 minutes of your life. Looking online, this movie seems to be fairly well-liked by the duo’s fanbase.

The plot is the boys get framed for the murder of an archeologist in Egypt and stumble across a magic medallion that a number of shady characters want and while this is going on, the mummy has been reawakened and he wants his medallion back. All of this, of course, is played for laughs. There’s just something about Bud Abbott smacking around and yelling at Lou Costello that remains funny to this day.

This is not a great film but it’s pleasant enough if you’re a fan of the Universal Monsters and/or Abbott & Costello.

Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy was the comedy duo’s final film for Universal after a lengthy 15-year (and 28 movies!) run there. Had they stayed with Universal, I’m sure it wouldn’t have been long before they met the Creature from the Black Lagoon! The team did one more movie together in 1956 (Dance With Me, Henry) but broke up the act in 1957.

The Wolf Man – The Legacy Collection [DVD Review]

The Wolf Man – The Legacy Collection
(2004, Universal Studios Home Video)
Buy the collection at Amazon.com

I can’t believe I haven’t discussed this one yet. After all, I’ve discussed the Mummy and Invisible Man collections and those two franchises weren’t anywhere near as integrated into the Universal Monsters universe as the Wolf Man was.

In truth, I’ve never been a huge fan of werewolf movies. Yes, I know the werewolf is an iconic figure for horror and Halloween but it’s never appealed to me much. Honestly, my favorite werewolf movie is Teen Wolf, if that tells you anything.

I’m not saying a great horror movie based on werewolves can’t be made, but I haven’t seen one yet. I generally think werewolf movies have a very slow pace. For such a primal, powerful monster, it seems like there isn’t much action in these types of movies. It’s more about the curse and torment of being a werewolf or the mystery of exactly what is killing people. Half the movie (or more) is spent building up to the werewolf. You never even see it much. I want a Wolf Man that revels in being Wolf Man, kills often and is shown doing it often as well.

The Wolf Man (1941)

This one features an all-star cast: Claude Rains, Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney Jr. Junior wasn’t famous yet but he would be after this movie was released. I’ve always looked at The Wolf Man as the second phase in Universal horror. Universal seemed to ramp up their horror output once they had this success on their hands. And with that increased activity, it was the tragic werewolf curse of Larry Talbot that was the one continuing story and driving factor for the brand throughout the 1940s in all of the monster mash-ups.

Of course, Lon Chaney Jr. himself became the studio’s most dependable horror actor (much to his dismay) during this time as well. In addition to always reprising his role as the Wolf Man, he had his turn at playing Frankenstein’s Monster, the Mummy and Dracula during the ’40s.

The Wolf Man is a classic movie with that great gothic Universal horror feel but it’s not on the level with Dracula, Frankenstein or Bride of Frankenstein as far as I’m concerned. I can’t help but wonder if maybe that’s because of Lon Chaney Jr. I’ve never been a big fan of his. He’s always seemed a bit overweight and too average in every aspect to really pull off these roles but I guess that’s why he found success as Larry Talbot/Wolf Man because he was the everyman that the story called for.

Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943)

This is the very first monster mash-up that Universal attempted. It’s considered a sequel to both The Wolf Man and 1942’s The Ghost of Frankenstein. Chaney had played the Monster in the previous Frankenstein film and while the idea of him playing both leads (with cut-scenes and trick photography) was considered, it was ultimately decided Chaney should concentrate on playing the Wolf Man and another actor should be brought in for the role of Frankenstein’s Monster.

Unfortunately, the studio decided to go with a 60-year old Bela Lugosi. It’s just ridiculous to think of the tired Lugosi playing such a hulking brute, but here he is giving it a go. Ideally, it would be Boris Karloff as the Monster squaring off against Chaney’s Wolf Man but Karloff had smartly decided to stop playing the role after 1939’s Son of Frankenstein.

With the first half hour devoted entirely to the tale of Larry Talbot before Frankenstein’s Monster makes an appearance, this almost feels like two different movies. And sadly, the Frankenstein/Wolf Man battle at the end of the movie is extremely short. Then again, the climax for most of these old horror movies were delivered rather quickly.

Enjoyable, but better and even sillier monster rallies were to come.

Universal Horrors: The Studio’s Classic Films, 1931-1946 [Book Review]

Universal Horrors: The Studio’s Classic Films, 1931-1946
By Tom Weaver, Michael Brunas, John Brunas
1990, McFarland & Co.

I thought about saving this entry for the 2013 edition of Halloween Scream (even though I took a break in 2012…) but I figured I better talk about this book while it’s fresh on my mind. I can always link back to it later in October.

For the record, I’ll be discussing the 1990 first edition. A second printing was given to the book in 2007 and it apparently features extra artwork and movie posters not shown in the first edition. Either edition you have features some cool movie poster artwork, publicity photos and still shots from the films though.

Second Edition (2007)

At 600 pages plus, this book is not light reading but a great reference tool covering Universal Studios’ contributions during the golden age of horror. Despite the explosion of the internet and websites like Wikipedia and Internet Movie Database I still found this book full of useful information that I hadn’t read anywhere else. All of Universal’s horror movies  from this time frame (and even some that could only very loosely fit under the horror umbrella) are represented and talked about at various lengths. Some of the information covered is fairly standard but in-depth: cast/characters, crew, running time, release date, etc.

Of course, all of the major Universal Monsters are covered: Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolf Man, Invisible Man, the Phantom of the Opera, the Mummy, etc. Then we have other offerings like the Ghoul, the Werewolf of London, the She-Wolf of London, Inner Sanctum Mysteries, the Ape Woman, the Man Made Monster, The Old Dark House, Rondo Hatton as the Creeper, the Sherlock Holmes series starring Basil Rathbone and the Edgar Allan Poe films that starred Bela Lugosi and/or Boris Karloff (Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Black Cat & The Raven). Some of these things are not like the others, I’ll leave it to the reader to decide…

Quotes from the actors and crew regarding the production process and their experiences on the set are also offered up. The authors interject their own personal opinion from time to time. This only bothered me on a few occasions when I thought the authors were being too catty or biased for their own good but overall I actually enjoyed their personal quips and thought more than a few were pretty funny. I’ve read some reader reviews where complaints are made about the authors going off topic. While the authors do tend to wander at times, the topics still deal with old Hollywood so I didn’t see it as much of a problem so I was still interested in what they had to say.

My only real issue with this book is that they didn’t bother to include the movies that starred the Creature from the Black Lagoon (I’ve never been a fan of calling him “Gill-Man”) or the Abbott & Costello monster mashes even though these movies are referenced at one time or another throughout the book. But, I guess if they opened up the book to those movies they’d have to include all of the ’50s sci-fi/monster movies and everything would get way out of hand and they were already stretching the limits of what you could call “horror” with this book.

Then again, Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein was released in 1948. I’ve always considered that movie to signify the “end” of Universal’s great horror run. I think ’48, instead of ’46, would’ve been a good cut-off point for the book.

Universal Horrors: The Studio’s Classic Films, 1931-1946 is essential reading for fans of the Universal Monsters and fans of the golden age of horror in general. It’s a well put together collection that is sure to please the Famous Monsters demographic of horror fans. Just don’t expect to get it cheap. It’s going for around $50 new or used on Amazon. Luckily, you can get it on Kindle for around $19.

Buy the book at Amazon.com!

Universal Cult Horror Collection – DVD Review

Universal Cult Horror Collection (2009, Universal Studios Home Entertainment)

This set was originally released in 2009 exclusively through Turner Classic Movie’s website. It appears they only make it available during the Halloween season so I was quick to order a copy from TCM.com when it was offered again this year. As you can tell by the title the five films included are definitely cult status. Heck, you might even say they are obscure in some cases.

Sadly, there are no trailers to any of the films but TCM & Universal did a great job in putting together a nice package and special features. Every film is loaded with photos, trivia and has an informative TCMDb (Turner Classic Movies Database) article. I’ve become a big fan of the TCMDb articles but I don’t think there is any directory for them on TCM’s website, which is a shame.

House of Horrors (1946)

This is solid B-movie fare featuring a sculptor out for revenge on those who gives him bad reviews by sending The Creeper after them. Taking obvious inspiration from Rondo Hatton’s role as “The Oxton Creeper” in Universal’s Sherlock Holmes film The Pearl of Death (1944), “The Creeper” was a late attempt at Universal trying to start up a new monster series. It appears Universal made an honest attempt at building a series around Rondo as The Creeper because House of Horrors and it’s prequel The Brute Man were both filmed before Hatton passed away. Despite good intentions, Universal sold off the rights to The Brute Man to low-budget studio PRC. Both films were released in 1946.

Rondo Hatton suffered from acromelagy in real life (it was thought he had picked it up during World War I) and that is what gave him such unique facial features. It was complications from this same disease that would end Hatton’s life in the form of a heart attack at the age of 51 in February 1946.

Bill Goodwin plays the suspicious detective in this movie which was pretty fun for me because despite acting in a number of movies from the early ’40s to mid ’50s, he was primarily an announcer who is best known for is work on the Burns & Allen radio show.

Murders in the Zoo (1933)

Murders in the Zoo is actually a movie that Paramount released but Universal ended up gaining ownership of this film (and most of Paramount’s pre-1950 films) in 1962, thus explaining its inclusion in this set. Of course, it stars a man who is no stranger to Universal’s horror output — Lionel Atwill.

This is one of the stronger entries in this collection and partly because it was made pre-Code. Meaning the use of violence & sex is a lot more liberal. The movie starts off in a shocking way showing Atwill’s character sewing a man’s mouth shut in its full gory glory! Atwill plays an insanely jealous husband who will not only kill a man for sleeping with his wife but will also kill a man just for hitting on his wife. Wouldn’t it just be simpler to kill the wife? Oh wait, I spoke too soon…

Good horror number with Atwill at his villainous best and Charlie Ruggles providing some truly humorous moments as the cowardly publicist for the zoo. Ruggles would later go on to play an equally hilarious cowardly butler in The Invisible Woman.

The Mad Doctor of Market Street (1942)

Given the title you’d think this movie takes place in a lab located on some seedy city street (or at least I thought that) but that’s not the case. The movie briefly takes place in a lab where Dr. Benson (Atwill) ends up accidentally killing his human test subject when he is not able to bring him back to life from suspended animation.

On the run from the law, the movie shifts to a cruise liner headed for New Zealand and then ends up on an uncivilized island for the majority of hte film after the ship goes down in flames after engine trouble. From there the rest of the surviving passengers try to survive and get off the island as the mad doctor has set himself up as some type of god after saving the life of one of the locals. The islands’ residents believed her to be dead but it was just a heart attack that Benson saved her from though he continues to let them think he has the power to restore life.

I thought there was a bit too much comedy in this movie and the movie lacked atmosphere given its tropical location. In addition to that, there’s really no lead protagonist. It’s just a group of survivors and two of them are comic relief — the dingbat Aunt Margaret (played by Una Merkel) and the not-so-bright boxer Red Hogan (Nat Pendleton). Gonna have to say this movie is kind of a bore.

The Mad Ghoul (1943)

Reportedly this was another attempt to get a new monster series going. From what I have read, this movie was not well-received by film critics but was a success at the box office. I guess it didn’t just didn’t make enough money to warrant a sequel. It tells the tale of a jealous professor (George Zucco as Dr. Morris) who wants woman that belongs to his student/lab assistant (David Bruce as Ted).

The doctor had recently discovered how to make an ancient nerve gas that can put any living creature in a mindless zombie-like state so he uses it on Ted and orders him to commit murders in order to obtain the fresh heart fluid needed for Ted to continue living (in his ghoulish state, Ted carves out these hearts). These ghoulish trances are only temporary and when Ted returns to normal he initially believes his evil deeds to be only dreams and he doesn’t understand why he always feel so sick. Apparently, it is only under great stress that Ted reverts (unknowingly) back into his ghoulish state.

This was one Universal movie that I have wanted to see for years after reading some reviews giving it a lot of high praise. While enjoyable, I felt the plot was a bit convoluted and silly. The whole point was Dr. Morris didn’t want Ted with Isabel (Evelyn Ankers) anymore. Once he became poisoned, why not just let Ted sit and rot and die instead of having him go out and murder people for their hearts? It only complicated matters and led to the doctor’s own downfall!

The Strange Case of Doctor Rx (1942)

Like The Mad Doctor of Market Street, The Strange Case of Doctor Rx doesn’t really fall under horror at all. This is a comedy-thriller that always comes off feeling like a Saturday matinee serial thanks to the look and voice of the avenging “Doctor Rx”. The story here is that a number of acquitted criminals are being killed by a character calling himself Doctor Rx and the soon-to-be-wed P.I. Jerry Church (Patric Knowles) becomes unwillingly involved in the case.

According to the TCMDb article, this movie was shot with an incomplete script, rewrites were being made on a daily basis and a lot of the dialogue was improvised. It shows. The movie falls apart at the end with a quick jump to the characters automatically knowing and apprehending Doctor Rx and then we’re quickly told through the characters’ own dialogue how this all came about. Would’ve been a lot better had we been discovering the clues as the characters were and if we saw how Church escaped Doctor Rx’s clutches in the previous scene. Definitely the weakest of the “cult” films in this set and pretty forgettable.

Interesting to note that The Three Stooges’ Shemp Howard has a role here as a prominent bumbling policeman (he was also in The Invisible Woman as one of the mobsters).

Final Thoughts:

I can’t say I’m sorry I bought this set but I do think given the quality and obscurity of these films, the price is a bit steep (got it on sale for $39.99, regular price is $49.99) but TCM has presented and packaged these films with class and respect, something you don’t see much in the realm of horror. With the exception of Murders in the Zoo none of these movies really standout though. That said, it’s great these films are available on DVD now (you can also purchase them individually from TCM for $19.99 a piece) and I’m happy I’ve had the chance to watch them but I would recommend to anyone who wants this set to wait and see if they can snag a used copy from Amazon or eBay.