Universal Horror Top 10

[@melissaking6019]

Rain's performance in The Invisible Man is virtuosic. The way he uses his voice and body language is phenomenal. Everybody needs to see this film!

[@gehrig27]

What a perfectly timed upload, as I literally just finished my week-long binge of all the universal films from hunchback to creature walks among us. Can’t wait to dig in and hear your detailed analysis!

[@melissaking6019]

The other great film of 1931 is Mamoulian's Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. Frederic March is brilliant in both roles and Mamoulian's direction, plus the camerawork, cinematography, and screenplay are superb, especially for an early talkie. A great top 10 list, especially The Mummy, which is my favorite for all the reasons you mention, but also Karloff's majestic and sympathetic Imhotep which is one of his greatest performances. The Blurays of Jekyll-Hyde and The Mummy are excellent.

[@michaelbriefs9764]

Excellent impersonations at the end of this video!! That was fun. Thank you for your Top 10 list! I can't wait to watch these tonight and this weekend! Binge time, Universal Classics-style!

[@tonysanchez732]

All great movies. The ones I keep coming back to are: The Old Dark House and Son of Frankenstein. Great video. Thanks for posting.

[@joseluisherreralepron9987]

You are the first person (besides myself!) who misses some of the optical grunge in the HD versions of "Dracula." There is still a pretty heavy noise floor, but the pops and crackles are absent and they do certainly add a certain atmosphere. When Western Electric started using their 'Noiseless Recording' late in 1931 it produced a better product, but one that lost some of its atmosphere for modern audiences. The 4K "Dracula" is astounding: the shadow detail is so much better than even the 2K version it's almost hard to believe.

[@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader]

Yes!! Absolutely. I’m glad it’s not just me. A big chunk of the atmosphere is gone with the sound that modernized. They really have scrubbed the audio on Dracula and Frankenstein especially as the two films on the sound disc format.

[@deckofcards87]

That's why I stick with my laserdisc and copies of the old monsters. They usually keep the pops n crackles and celluoid distortions intact, and like Spencer pointed the audio tracks aren't fooked with.

[@OldmovieMike]

Great video Spencer!!! I agree with you, so good of you to speak highly of "son of Frankenstein" which usually gets left out of best of's!! awesome!!

[@ProtonPackGuy]

I loved hearing your underrated picks, I’ve always been fond of Son of Dracula’s swamp soundstage weirdness so for it to get a shout here was a joy. For Halloween this year (or whenever) would you consider covering your 10 favorite Vincent Price films and the discs you recommend for them? I’ve watched some really great films of his for the first time recently (Dragonwyck, Theater of Blood) and would love to do a further dive.

[@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader]

That’s a great idea! As usual I have a ton of classic horror video ideas for October.

[@ghostwarrior3878]

Thank u for subscribing. I got my start with the universal Monsters with the 1931 Dracula and it's my personal favorite, plus I may be a little bit biased because that's also my favorite and the first one I ever watched. And then from there, I'd have to rank Dracula Frankenstein The wolfman The Invisible Man Bride of Frankenstein The Phantom of the Opera And The Creature of the Black Lagoon And that's just naming the main line films, and the sequel. Although I did enjoy The Invisible Agent and The Invisible Man Returns. I also enjoyed the Abbot and Costello films.

[@melissaking6019]

Dracula is believed to be a Tod Browning film. But it doesn't have any typical Browning macabre, twisted, and perverse touches that one sees in his Chaney films and the amazing Freaks (1932). IMO, Freund directed Dracula along with being its cinematographer.

[@davidosborn6714]

Your rankings for the Whale films in particular are right on the money. I'll definitely be digging back into the box sets and checking out INVISIBLE WOMAN & the Tom Tyler mummy (I always get HAND and TOMB confused) based on your enthusiasm for them. If you'd expanded your criteria to include "non-franchise" entries and silents, I would have nominated THE BLACK CAT and THE MAN WHO LAUGHS as well..

[@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader]

Totally agreed. These rankings are so difficult that if I had silents and the non monster cycle films it would be way more than 10!

[@1dbanner]

To a new world of gods and monsters!

[@matthewgaudet4064]

I just started to collect them on laserdisc. My first purchase was a sealed copy of Bride of Frankenstein. Encore edition.

[@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader]

The Encores can be surprisingly good. It’s a shame Uni never did big special editions on LD but the sequels got great pressings and boxsets in the 90’s.

[@zacharia827]

Post credits scene (spoiler alert)