History Franchise / UniversalHorror

Universal did try to set up brand new monsters in the 1940s, but after near-continuous losses in the 1930s, budget considerations made the BMovie the favored option. Despite the title, 1943's ''The Mad Ghoul'' features a VoodooZombie and it's one of the few horror movies not to receive a sequel. The Mad Ghoul was announced to be part of the ''Chamber of Horrors'' crossover, but didn't make it into the final product. 1943 also premiered ''Film/CaptiveWildWoman'', the first of eventually three movies about a gorilla-turned-human. The first film in particular is a product of the wartime female-centric cinema and the series as a whole is the only one in the Universal line-up to focus on a female monster. In 1944, ''Film/TheBakerStreetDozen Sherlock Holmes'' film ''The Pearl of Death'' resulted in a horror series SpinOff centered on the Creeper, a brutish deformed murderer.

Although Universal took time off from making horror movies in the late 1930s due to financial difficulties and the initial impact of UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode, it returned in 1939 with ''Film/SonOfFrankenstein'' before introducing in 1941 one of its most enduring films: ''[[Film/TheWolfMan1941 The Wolf Man]]'', starring their new leading man, Creator/LonChaneyJr. 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 a fish bowl. They remade ''[[Film/PhantomOfTheOpera1943 Phantom of the Opera]]'' in 1943 and continued making sequels to their now-classic properties. Eventually, these sequels would start giving way to {{crossover}}s featuring [[MonsterMash all of Universal's monsters]], culminating in the 1948 hit ''Film/AbbottAndCostelloMeetFrankenstein'', an AffectionateParody of the early horror genre and the first of a series of which Creator/AbbottAndCostello faced all sorts of fantasy adventures often involving the Universal monsters.

Two BMovie properties from this era that were notably left out of the mash-up are ''The Mad Ghoul'' and ''Film/CaptiveWildWoman''. ''The Mad Ghoul'' is about a mad scientist and his zombie servant. The Mad Ghoul was announced for inclusion in ''[[Film/HouseOfFrankenstein Chamber of Horrors]]'', but didn't make it into the final product and faded into obscurity thereafter. ''Captive Wild Woman'' is about a mad scientist and his gorilla girl creation. A product of the wartime female-centric cinema, ''Captive Wild Woman'' received two sequels and with those the gorilla girl is the only female monster in the Universal line-up to have a series of her own.

From here, Universal horror entered a period of dormancy, as the trend in horror movies began to shift toward {{science|IsBad}} [[MadScientist gone]] [[ILoveNuclearPower wrong]] and {{alien inva|sion}}ders in [[TheFifties 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 ''Film/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon'' in 1954 and ''Film/TheMolePeople'' 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''.

Although Universal took time off from making horror movies in the late 1930s due to financial difficulties, it returned in 1939 with ''Film/SonOfFrankenstein'' before introducing in 1941 one of its most enduring films: ''[[Film/TheWolfMan1941 The Wolf Man]]'', starring their new leading man, Creator/LonChaneyJr. 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 a fish bowl. They remade ''[[Film/PhantomOfTheOpera1943 Phantom of the Opera]]'' in 1943 and continued making sequels to their now-classic properties. Eventually, these sequels would start giving way to {{crossover}}s featuring [[MonsterMash all of Universal's monsters]], culminating in the 1948 hit ''Film/AbbottAndCostelloMeetFrankenstein'', an AffectionateParody of the early horror genre and the first of a series of which Creator/AbbottAndCostello faced all sorts of fantasy adventures often involving the Universal monsters.

Universal first dabbled in the horror genre with two very little known films, ''Film/DrJekyllAndMrHyde'' (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 ''[[Film/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame1923 The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]'' and its 1925 adaptation of ''[[Film/ThePhantomOfTheOpera1925 The Phantom of the Opera]]'', both starring Creator/LonChaney. It then had a string of successful silent films with German expressionist director Paul Leni and actor Creator/ConradVeidt before it came roaring into the "talkie" era in 1931 with two movies: ''Film/{{Frankenstein|1931}}'' and ''Film/{{Dracula|1931}}''. These two films were smash hits that [[TropeMakers 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, Creator/BorisKarloff and Creator/BelaLugosi. Universal followed this up with ''[[Film/TheMummy1932 The Mummy]]'' in 1932, ''[[Film/TheInvisibleMan1933 The Invisible Man]]'' in 1933, and a trilogy of movies based on the works of Creator/EdgarAllanPoe (''Film/MurdersInTheRueMorgue, Film/TheBlackCat'' and ''[[Film/TheRaven1935 The Raven]]''), as well as sequels to ''Dracula'' and ''Frankenstein''.

* ''Tower of London'' (1939)

* ''The Strange Door'' (1951)
* ''The Black Castle'' (1952)

More recently, there were plans to create a new, rebooted Universal Horror universe, [[http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/universal-announces-plans-for-a-classic-monster-revival-with-dark-universe-201 known as]] the Film/DarkUniverse. ''Film/DraculaUntold'' was intended to be [[http://www.aintitcool.com/node/68991 the first film]] in this shared setting, but its underperformance caused it to be scrapped from continuity and ''Film/TheMummy2017'' used as the new first film, similar to what happened with ''Film/GreenLantern'' in the Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse. The new ''Mummy'' also features [[Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde Dr. Jekyll]] in a supporting role, and movies featuring other characters were in development, with Creator/JohnnyDepp signed up for the Invisible Man and Creator/JavierBardem to play Frankenstein's Monster. Revamps for Van Helsing and Gill Man were also planned. However, after ''The Mummy'' bombed even more spectacularly than ''Dracula Untold'', the plans for the Dark Universe were shelved. A rejected pitch by Creator/GuillermoDelToro for a rather [[InterspeciesRomance unconventional take]] on ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' did eventually get made (though not by Universal) as ''Film/TheShapeOfWater'', and a few years after that, there was ''Film/TheInvisibleMan2020'', made by [[Creator/BlumhouseProductions Blumhouse]] and distributed by Universal. Although ''The Invisible Man'' was a sleeper hit - making back its budget many times over - it was very much a standalone film, and the idea of a new shared universe is no closer to materializing.

* ''Horrified!'' is a published 2019 TabletopGame/{{Ravencroft}} tabletop strategy/horror game that lets players work together in defeating seven titular classic Universal Monsters: Dracula, The Invisible Man, The Creature From the Black Lagoon, The Wolf Man, The Mummy, Frankenstein (The Monster) and the Bride of Frankenstein.

More recently, there were plans to create a new, rebooted Universal Horror universe, [[http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/universal-announces-plans-for-a-classic-monster-revival-with-dark-universe-201 known as]] the Film/DarkUniverse. ''Film/DraculaUntold'' was intended to be [[http://www.aintitcool.com/node/68991 the first film]] in this shared setting, but its underperformance caused it to be scrapped from continuity and ''Film/TheMummy2017'' used as the new first film, similar to what happened with ''Film/GreenLantern'' in the Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse. The new ''Mummy'' also features [[Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde Dr. Jekyll]] in a supporting role, and movies featuring other characters are in development, with Creator/JohnnyDepp signed up for the Invisible Man and Creator/JavierBardem 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 ''Film/TheShapeOfWater'' and the [[Film/TheInvisibleMan2020 reboot]] of the 1933 Invisible man film by [[Creator/BlumhouseProductions Blumhouse]] distributed by Universal.

* ''The Werewolf'' (1913)

* 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''?

* ''Horrified!'' is a published 2019 Ravencroft tabletop strategy/horror game that lets players work together in defeating seven titular classic Universal Monsters: Dracula, The Invisible Man, The Creature From the Black Lagoon, The Wolf Man, The Mummy, Frankenstein (The Monster) and the Bride of Frankenstein.

* ''The Land Unknown'' (1957)

* ''The Cat Creeps'' (1946) (no relation to ''The Cat Creeps'' (1930))

* ''The Cat Creeps'' (1946)

Although Universal took time off from making horror movies in the late 1930s due to financial difficulties, it returned in 1939 with ''Film/SonOfFrankenstein'' before introducing in 1941 one of its most enduring films: ''[[Film/TheWolfMan1941 The Wolf Man]]'', starring their new leading man, Creator/LonChaneyJr. 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 a fish bowl. They remade ''[[Film/PhantomOfTheOpera1943 Phantom of the Opera]]'' in 1943 and continued making sequels to their now-classic properties. Eventually, these sequels would start giving way to {{crossover}}s featuring [[MonsterMash all of Universal's monsters]], culminating in the 1948 hit ''Film/AbbottAndCostelloMeetFrankenstein'', an AffectionateParody of the early horror genre and the first of a series of which Creator/AbbottAndCostello faced all sorts of fantasy adventures often involving the Universal monsters. From here, Universal horror entered a period of dormancy, as the trend in horror movies began to shift toward {{science|IsBad}} [[MadScientist gone]] [[ILoveNuclearPower wrong]] and {{alien inva|sion}}ders in [[TheFifties 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 ''Film/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon'' in 1954 and ''Film/TheMolePeople'' 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''.

Although Universal took time off from making horror movies in the late 1930s due to financial difficulties, it returned in 1939 with ''Film/SonOfFrankenstein'' before introducing in 1941 one of its most enduring films: ''[[Film/TheWolfMan1941 The Wolf Man]]'', starring their new leading man, Creator/LonChaneyJr. 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 a fish bowl. They remade ''[[Film/PhantomOfTheOpera1943 Phantom of the Opera]]'' in 1943 and continued making sequels to their now-classic properties. Eventually, these sequels would start giving way to {{crossover}}s featuring [[MonsterMash all of Universal's monsters]], culminating in the 1948 hit ''Film/AbbottAndCostelloMeetFrankenstein'', an AffectionateParody of the early horror genre and the first of a series of which the Creator/AbbottAndCostello faced all sorts of fantasy adventures often involving the Universal monsters. From here, Universal horror entered a period of dormancy, as the trend in horror movies began to shift toward {{science|IsBad}} [[MadScientist gone]] [[ILoveNuclearPower wrong]] and {{alien inva|sion}}ders in [[TheFifties 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 ''Film/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon'' in 1954 and ''Film/TheMolePeople'' 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''.

Although Universal took time off from making horror movies in the late 1930s due to financial difficulties, it returned in 1939 with ''Film/SonOfFrankenstein'' before introducing in 1941 one of its most enduring films: ''[[Film/TheWolfMan1941 The Wolf Man]]'', starring their new leading man, Creator/LonChaneyJr. 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 a fish bowl. They remade ''[[Film/PhantomOfTheOpera1943 Phantom of the Opera]]'' in 1943 and continued making sequels to their now-classic properties. Eventually, these sequels would start giving way to {{crossover}}s featuring [[MonsterMash all of Universal's monsters]], culminating in the 1948 hit ''Film/AbbottAndCostelloMeetFrankenstein'', an AffectionateParody of the early horror genre and the first of a series of which the comedy duo facing all sorts of fantasy adventures often involving the Universal monsters. From here, Universal horror entered a period of dormancy, as the trend in horror movies began to shift toward {{science|IsBad}} [[MadScientist gone]] [[ILoveNuclearPower wrong]] and {{alien inva|sion}}ders in [[TheFifties 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 ''Film/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon'' in 1954 and ''Film/TheMolePeople'' 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''.

Although Universal took time off from making horror movies in the late 1930s due to financial difficulties, it returned in 1939 with ''Film/SonOfFrankenstein'' before introducing in 1941 one of its most enduring films: ''[[Film/TheWolfMan1941 The Wolf Man]]'', starring their new leading man, Creator/LonChaneyJr. 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 a fish bowl. They remade ''[[Film/PhantomOfTheOpera1943 Phantom of the Opera]]'' in 1943 and continued making sequels to their now-classic properties. Eventually, these sequels would start giving way to {{crossover}}s featuring [[MonsterMash all of Universal's monsters]], culminating in the 1948 hit ''Film/AbbottAndCostelloMeetFrankenstein'', an AffectionateParody 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|IsBad}} [[MadScientist gone]] [[ILoveNuclearPower wrong]] and {{alien inva|sion}}ders in [[TheFifties 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 ''Film/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon'' in 1954 and ''Film/TheMolePeople'' 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''.

Universal first dabbled in the horror genre with two very little known films, ''Film/DrJekyllAndMrHyde'' (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 ''[[Film/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame1923 The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]'' and its 1925 adaptation of ''[[Film/ThePhantomOfTheOpera1925 The Phantom of the Opera]]'', both starring Creator/LonChaney. It then had a string of successful silent films with German expressionist director Paul Leni and actor Creator/ConradVeidt before it came roaring into the "talkie" era in 1931 with two movies: ''Film/{{Frankenstein|1931}}'' and ''Film/{{Dracula|1931}}''. These two films were smash hits that [[TropeMakers 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, Creator/BorisKarloff and Creator/BelaLugosi. Universal followed this up with ''[[Film/TheMummy1932 The Mummy]]'' in 1932, ''Film/TheInvisibleMan'' in 1933, and a trilogy of movies based on the works of Creator/EdgarAllanPoe (''Film/MurdersInTheRueMorgue, Film/TheBlackCat'' and ''[[Film/TheRaven1935 The Raven]]''), as well as sequels to ''Dracula'' and ''Frankenstein''.

* ''Film/TheInvisibleMan'' (1933)

More recently, there were plans to create a new, rebooted Universal Horror universe, [[http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/universal-announces-plans-for-a-classic-monster-revival-with-dark-universe-201 known as]] the Film/DarkUniverse. ''Film/DraculaUntold'' was intended to be [[http://www.aintitcool.com/node/68991 the first film]] in this shared setting, but its underperformance caused it to be scrapped from continuity and ''Film/TheMummy2017'' used as the new first film, similar to what happened with ''Film/GreenLantern'' in the Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse. The new ''Mummy'' also features [[Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde Dr. Jekyll]] in a supporting role, and movies featuring other characters are in development, with Creator/JohnnyDepp signed up for the Invisible Man and Creator/JavierBardem 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 ''Film/TheShapeOfWater'' and the [[Film/TheInvisibleMan2020 reboot]] of the 1933 Invisible man film by [[Creator/BlumhouseProductions Blumhouse]]distributed by Universal.

More recently, there were plans to create a new, rebooted Universal Horror universe, [[http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/universal-announces-plans-for-a-classic-monster-revival-with-dark-universe-201 known as]] the Film/DarkUniverse. ''Film/DraculaUntold'' was intended to be [[http://www.aintitcool.com/node/68991 the first film]] in this shared setting, but its underperformance caused it to be scrapped from continuity and ''Film/TheMummy2017'' used as the new first film, similar to what happened with ''Film/GreenLantern'' in the Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse. The new ''Mummy'' also features [[Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde Dr. Jekyll]] in a supporting role, and movies featuring other characters are in development, with Creator/JohnnyDepp signed up for the Invisible Man and Creator/JavierBardem 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 ''Film/TheShapeOfWater''.

* 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 ''TheManWhoReclaimedHisHead''?

[[index]]
* A few video games have been based on the films. This include the cartoonish ''Universal Studios Monsters: Dracula'' on the UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor and the MultiplayerOnlineBattleArena ''VideoGame/UniversalMonstersOnline''.

Although Universal took time off from making horror movies in the late 1930s due to financial difficulties, it returned in 1939 with ''Film/SonOfFrankenstein'' before introducing in 1941 one of its most enduring films: ''[[Film/TheWolfMan1941 The Wolf Man]]'', starring their new leading man, Creator/LonChaneyJr. 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 ''[[Film/PhantomOfTheOpera1943 Phantom of the Opera]]'' in 1943 and continued making sequels to their now-classic properties. Eventually, these sequels would start giving way to {{crossover}}s featuring [[MonsterMash all of Universal's monsters]], culminating in the 1948 hit ''Film/AbbottAndCostelloMeetFrankenstein'', an AffectionateParody 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|IsBad}} [[MadScientist gone]] [[ILoveNuclearPower wrong]] and {{alien inva|sion}}ders in [[TheFifties 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 ''Film/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon'' in 1954 and ''Film/TheMolePeople'' 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''.

Universal itself has also mined its past for ideas. They did [[Film/{{Dracula 1979}} a remake]] of ''Dracula'' in 1979 starring Creator/FrankLangella and Sir Creator/LaurenceOlivier, and at the TurnOfTheMillennium, they remade ''Film/TheMummy1932'' as a series of [[TwoFistedTales pulpy, two-fisted]] ActionAdventure movies, known as Film/TheMummyTrilogy. They reunited the Wolf Man, Dracula, and Frankenstein's monster for the [[SoBadItsGood cheesily good]] SummerBlockbuster ''Film/VanHelsing'' in 2004, and did [[Film/TheWolfman2010 a remake]] of ''The Wolf Man'' in 2010 starring Creator/BenicioDelToro and Sir Creator/AnthonyHopkins. Finally, it's perhaps not a coincidence that [[Ride/UniversalStudios Universal's theme parks]] in Orlando and Hollywood are known across America for having some of the biggest [[AllHallowsEve Halloween]] celebrations around, collectively known as ''Theatre/HalloweenHorrorNights''.

Universal first dabbled in the horror genre with two very little known films, ''Film/DrJekyllAndMrHyde'' (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 ''Film/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' and its 1925 adaptation of ''[[Film/ThePhantomOfTheOpera1925 The Phantom of the Opera]]'', both starring Creator/LonChaney. It then had a string of successful silent films with German expressionist director Paul Leni and actor Creator/ConradVeidt before it came roaring into the "talkie" era in 1931 with two movies: ''Film/{{Frankenstein|1931}}'' and ''Film/{{Dracula|1931}}''. These two films were smash hits that [[TropeMakers 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, Creator/BorisKarloff and Creator/BelaLugosi. Universal followed this up with ''[[Film/TheMummy1932 The Mummy]]'' in 1932, ''Film/TheInvisibleMan'' in 1933, and a trilogy of movies based on the works of Creator/EdgarAllanPoe (''Film/MurdersInTheRueMorgue, Film/TheBlackCat'' and ''[[Film/TheRaven1935 The Raven]]''), as well as sequels to ''Dracula'' and ''Frankenstein''.

* ''Film/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' (1923)

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 ''Film/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' and its 1925 adaptation of ''[[Film/ThePhantomOfTheOpera1925 The Phantom of the Opera]]'', both starring Creator/LonChaney. It then had a string of successful silent films with German expressionist director Paul Leni and actor Creator/ConradVeidt before it came roaring into the "talkie" era in 1931 with two movies: ''Film/{{Frankenstein|1931}}'' and ''Film/{{Dracula|1931}}''. These two films were smash hits that [[TropeMakers 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, Creator/BorisKarloff and Creator/BelaLugosi. Universal followed this up with ''[[Film/TheMummy1932 The Mummy]]'' in 1932, ''Film/TheInvisibleMan'' in 1933, and a trilogy of movies based on the works of Creator/EdgarAllanPoe (''Film/MurdersInTheRueMorgue, Film/TheBlackCat'' and ''[[Film/TheRaven1935 The Raven]]''), as well as sequels to ''Dracula'' and ''Frankenstein''.

[[index]]

[[/index]]

** ''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.