20th Century Fox took a stab at the “Frankenstein” story this past weekend with their release of Victor Frankenstein (review). While that is all well and good, we thought we would bring it back to the beginning and take a look at the original adaptations of Frankenstein and the other classic monster movies from Universal Pictures. What better way to celebrate their existence than to pit the monsters against each other and rank them?*
*All inclusions on the list are monsters from the Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection, which you should go out and buy, because it’s a great set. Criteria used were merely how dangerous/deadly they all are.
8. The Bride of Frankenstein
Bride of Frankenstein is actually the better movie when compared to Frankenstein, but the Bride herself is only on screen for the final five minutes of the film, and she doesn’t do much of anything besides look confused and scream. She looks great, but she isn’t much of a monster.
7. Frankenstein
Frankenstein’s (Boris Karloff) main method of murder is strangulation (a common theme among Universal monsters), but he really does mean well. Just don’t show him any fire if he’s around. Frankenstein’s monster is arguably the most iconic monster in Universal’s oeuvre, but if you were to come face-to-face with him, all you would need to do is either be nice to him or run away. As we saw with the blind hermit in Bride of Frankenstein, kindness goes a long way with this guy.
6. The Mummy
Imhotep (aka Ardath Bey) is certainly an imposing figure to look at, but all he really wants is to find the reincarnated love of his life. Sure, he kills one or two people along the way and he has a super creepy hypnotic death stare, but he’s not exactly what you’d call terrifying. He could hypnotize you into standing still while he strangled you, I suppose. Just close your eyes if you see him in the room and you should be good.
5. The Wolf Man
Poor Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney, Jr.) just couldn’t catch a break. Not only was the woman he cared for dating another man, but he was bitten by a wolf while trying to protect her! After going through that, she still didn’t love him. The Wolf Man is a tragic creature, and he is scary in terms of his animalistic instincts and mannerisms, but the fact remains that he is an unwilling participant in his curse. Still, he is a vicious beast, meaning he will maul anything in his path, making him particularly deadly. Watch out for that wolfsbane when it’s blooming!
4. Phantom of the Opera
While this 1943 version of the Phantom may not be the one most people remember (mostly because it plays out like an origin story), it doesn’t mean he’s not dangerous. He will kill (or drug) anyone in his way to ensure the success of Christine DuBois at the Paris Opera House. There are few things more deadly than a man blinded by love, especially one as smart as Erique Claudin. To top it all off, he’s got one Hell of an acid burn scar on his face.
3. Dracula
Much like many of the other monsters on this list, Dracula (Bela Lugosi) cares about finding love, which is why he targets Mina Seward (Helen Chandler) as a potential bride. Dracula is has an icy stare that can hypnotize you, he can turn you into his slave and he can turn into a bat. Those pretty nifty powers to have! He may have a little too much makeup on, but he’s still a force to be reckoned with.
2. The Creature From the Black Lagoon
As a kid, the Creature was always my favorite movie monster, mostly because of my love for aquatic horror. He (it?) is a terrifying creation, and his amphibian-like breathing is disturbing in its authenticity (Seriously, go back and watch it. It’s grotesque). Once he gets his eyes on Kay (Julie Adams) all bets are off as the Creature goes on a murderous rampage, killing anyone in his way of the gorgeous woman. He’s scary to look at and stalks his prey before killing them in presumably gory ways (we never see the aftermath). The Creature may have been the last classic Universal Monster, but he is one of the best.
1. The Invisible Man
Jack Griffin (Claude Raine) is not a monster in the literal sense, but he is certainly the scariest one in that he is a cold, calculating and absolutely psychotic serial killer. He may have the highest body count out of all the monsters on this list. Just listening to his maniacal laugh is enough to give anyone a chill up their spine. Jack’s intelligence and psychosis make him the most deadly of all the Universal Monsters. It is ironic that a human is the most deadly on a list filled with monsters, but man is the most dangerous game.
How would you rank the Universal Classic Monsters? Let us know in the comments below or shoot me a Tweet!