Why I Think the Universal Classic Monster Films are Underappreciated

[@johnjames-glover4630]

Great video. Always nice to come into contact with other fans of the classic Universal horrors.

[@Redlinesixtynine]

Thanks for the in-depth break down of these great films, outstanding job. I was weaned on these classic Universal monster films, and others, as a kid..watching them on the weekend creature feature, which I used to watch on Detroit's Sir Graves Ghastly, and Cleveland's Big Chuck and Houlihan, later Little John. I'd look forward to those Saturday afternoon showings, hoping for a classic Universal, but willing to watch whatever they showed. These led me to love classic movies as a whole. I still prefer watching a great classic over most modern films. I bought my Universal Monster Legacy set, years ago, and love to catch up with these old classic films, like old friends, whenever I want.

[@RSEFX]

These films have had continuous major exposure across many generations. To me, they are OVER appreciated and obsessed about. It is sort of novel to see a video that seems to have discovered something (these films) that are super well-known throughout the world. Truly a unique perspective,, to me at least. I've simply grown tired of them and the endless talk about them, the endless merchandise etc. BUT...I assume these CAN be fun and unique even after all this time. A lot of work went into this video, so kudos for doing all that. I feel sure, now, that there are still people who will enjoy this greatly. Thumbs up.

[@ClutchCargo001]

You're largely right, but I know for a fact there are plenty of Millennials and Generation Alphas who've had limited exposure to these. We grew up with these films, they not so much. The market is infinitely more crowded now.

[@trevthomscultclassiccorner2037]

He makes very valid points about their relevance though. Sure, they have various things referencing them, but most people have forgotten these originals unless they're enthusiasts. Just think how hard Universal is trying to reinvent them & not really succeeding in a big way. There's very much a prevalent attitude that they're "passe", which you just demonstrated, & we shouldn't assume they'll be remembered forever. They're almost like campfire stories where people are only familiar with the echoes now.

[@ferociousgumby]

This was the best thing I have ever seen on the classic horror films of the 1930s-40s. I quickly subscribed, but then saw that almost all your other videos are unboxings of BluRays. I hope you will consider doing more of these in-depth videos,, for many of us are weary of most movie commentary, with their AI narrators and multiple factual errors. You really know your stuff, and I can't wait to see more! P.S. on Halloween night, I watched (back-to-back) Dracula, Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein. As I attended to the trick-or-treaters at the door, these spooky (beloved) films created a great backdrop.

[@JonasMeichel]

Yeah that was the goal to (hopefully) filter out unboxing videos (especially since I only have so many Blu-rays and/or DVDs I can cover) so I can make longer form videos like this.

[@ferociousgumby]

@@JonasMeichel Please do! This was a treat to watch, and I didn't want it to end.

[@vheacock6170]

Wow! This video was one of a kind. The gates of Heaven opened up to me while I watched this. This video cured everything. Boy oh boy the things I would do to relive watching this video for the first time again

[@AndyMangele]

I find it somewhat interesting how similar the vibes of the Renfield on the stairs and the "he went for a little walk" scenes are.

[@ClutchCargo001]

There's a story that a little girl who upon meeting Karloff told him she felt very sorry for the monster. He reportedly said, 'Thank you! That was my intention.' If it's not true, it should be.

[@tubian323]

Yes, although the Creature didn't have any lines he wasn't the stereotype "Grrr" and walking around stiffly you see in Frankenstein impressions. If go back and watch it Karloff has subtle expressions on his face.

[@junehanzawa5165]

Except that the real Frankenstein monster spoke english clearly and fluently, and was much more of a vengeful monster.

[@KoovinCartoons]

They were still pretty popular back in 80s when I was a kid, with the movies always being shown on local tv stations. The diversification of media and the passage of time helped make them less popular. I also consider the Karloff/Lugosi 30’s horror trilogy The Black Cat, The Raven, and The Invisible Ray to be part of the Horror cycle, as well as one offs like The Old Dark House.

[@cheddarcheese7928]

This was so much fun!..At the end I actually went back to watch a few of the reviews all over again..A lot of time and love was put into this!

[@rafaelramirez1507]

Your video made me smile Jonas, your love for these films reminds me alot of my nephew, who much like you just started watching these classics at around 2001. He is 32 years old, and already he is a big time universal horror fan ( he even got his girlfriend into them too lol) 👍👍

[@trevthomscultclassiccorner2037]

Sounds a lot like my story, as I'm only a year older. 😉

[@daleanderson1727]

I love to listen to people who are passionate and speak interestingly about topics. Thanks for sharing your thoughts here.

[@ElmSt1984]

A highly in depth and researched video! Wow. Wonderful watch! On another note it really bothers me how we don't see these movies on TV anymore,even around Halloween. I remember back in the 80's,90's and early 2000's you would still see these films on AMC or MonsterVision. I guess most people these days would consider these great movies "boring?" or don't wanna watch black/white films? I don't know.

[@ferociousgumby]

I watch them on Turner Classic Movies, uncut and with no commercials. They show this genre of film fairly often, especially at Halloween.

[@He_Loves_Horror]

@@ferociousgumby Agreed with you, Ferocious Gumby. Honestly if the original poster sounds a bit depressed, alas there is no reason to be. Both the standard def DVD format, as well as glorious Blu-Ray, have a lot of notable box sets that are now much cheaper due to physical media oddly disappearing. A lot of this stuff on Amazon isn't like buying a new car or anything price range wise. And I'm sure most people space range wise can stand to horde sixty titles or so somewhere in their master bedroom or their living room home theater setup. 👍

[@Dunlop-hg2ql]

I hate that stupid word "dated" anyway. I actually like that we have all these movies, spanning an entire century (since mister Edison first invented the motion picture camera), capturing these different eras and displaying these different methods and techniques and styles and aesthetics. I think it would be like BORING if EVERY movie looked like it were made just last week. But THAT's just me I guess.

[@JonasMeichel]

I more meant “dated” in some of their depictions of certain things and the certain kinds of humour in these films. As some of that would probably not fly today. I didn’t really mean “dated” as in “look how old these films look/sound” and meaning that in a negative way.

[@trevthomscultclassiccorner2037]

Sadly you underestimate the masses' capacity for being as shallow & current as possible.

[@CameronRiebe]

I agree. I hate that word "dated".

[@Jath2112]

Just...had to share a bit of personal history: Growing up my friend Dan lived two blocks away (I can't remember NOT knowing him) ... when I was 11 I slept over at his place almost every night over summer break. His dad worked a normal job from 3 to 11... but in reality he was one of the three magicians in the phone book. Dan would crash out and I would hang with his dad when he got home from work. He had all of these classics and a bunch of other movies in a big well maintained collection prominently displayed in the living room and his routine was...wake up early... dress in his magician clothes and practice his entire set in the basement...work 3 to 11... come home....watch one classic monster movie... repeat... for that entire summer I joined him as often as I could. He would tell me all about the movies... and after that he stayed up late and taught me magic. I got pretty good at it for an 11 year old...and I have loved these films for my entire life. That's all really. I feel like I won a lottery on that. I just wanted to share. This video really took me back.

[@AndyMangele]

That sounds like a great childhood memory to me! 👍

[@AndyMangele]

I absolutely share your enthusiasm for the Universal horror movies of this era. I love them more than any other kind of screen horror - and therefore enjoyed your video essay a lot❣️

[@alexanderperry7618]

Perfect timing

[@winslow-eh5kv]

Well, obviously THESE have, in more recent times, gotten overshadowed by ohhhh Jason, Freddy, Micheal, and Chucky (surprised he failed to note THAT)). There were also the Paul Nashy, Al Adamson, and Andy Warhol versions of Frankenstein, Dracula, and the wolfman which should've gotten some mention here during the last segment (starting at 3:26:06).

[@JonasMeichel]

I didn’t even know those versions existed to be honest. I also tried to not just list every interpretation of those characters (Dracula and Frankenstein’s Monster especially), as that would’ve made the video even more obscenely long than it already is.

[@trevthomscultclassiccorner2037]

Yeah, if the originals have fallen into obscurity, the likes of Naschy (Spanish Lon Chaney) & Co. are definitely not gonna be on anyone's radar unless they're hardcore genre enthusiasts.

[@winslow-eh5kv]

@@trevthomscultclassiccorner2037 Yeaa, I didn't mean focus a lot of time on them. Just maybe give them a little brief passing mention during the LAST segment (at 2:26:09).

[@MichaelBowlby-f2j]

Because there is no blood and gore. Universal relief on good acting and good story telling

[@IanFindly-iv1nl]

Well, there might not have depicted blood and gore in these old horror flicks, however they DID feature DISFIGURMENT (like Frankenstien's misshapen brow and head for example), and THAT was something pretty freaky and gruesome to audiences back THEN. Probably was THEIR equivalent to gore in fact.

[@vheacock6170]

“WE LOVE U JONAS‼️‼️‼️‼️” we all say in unison

[@stevenmillan9220]

While Universal classic horror films are widely celebrated,it is the wave of new horror cinema that has been dominating everything since the 2000s and those films and the Harry Knowles inspired film journalists and Knowles inspired film critics are what is overshadowed these cherish horror classics from the past(along with the AIP movies and Hammer Films) as it is our job to keep these films alive and thriving.

[@EricStanway-ky9ys]

I learned about all this stuff by reading Famous Monsters of Filmland when I was a kid. Yes, I'm old.

[@ArizonaJoeHines]

Dracula is the first Hollywood film to be unabashedly supernatural.

[@hungfao]

Enjoyable review.

[@ClutchCargo001]

There's a hilarious take off of Invisible Man in Amazon Women on the Moon. Ed Begley Jr. plays The Son of the Invisible Man and it's my favorite of the numerous vignettes.

[@JonasMeichel]

@@ClutchCargo001 I remember hearing about that in one of the Documentaries I watched in preparation for this video. I might have to check it out!

[@trevthomscultclassiccorner2037]

Great job! 😁 I think it's a sobering fact that, unless you're a nerd with niche interest, the main thing holding these wonderful films back is their age, in addition to the common attitude among people of not giving a shit about something if it predates you by too many years. It's impressive though that while the films have fallen out of popularity, the impact they made stuck around in pop culture & thus so did the archetypes. I was also surprised with how much I agreed with your ranking & reasons for placement, even if a few of the movies would've been bumped up in my own personal ranking. I'm glad my budding tastes as a monster kid caught wind of these movies in the late 90s & early 2000s. That, & my mom not wanting to watch any contemporary horror.

[@tubian323]

The classic Universal monster movies aren't scary by today's standards, but they are good entertainment.

[@winslow-eh5kv]

WHAT, for example, WOULD be "scary" by "today's standards"?

[@syxw0x248]

Very cool

[@CommanderCourage]

Great video! 👏🏻

[@DouglasMurray-h2o]

I appreciate them.

[@elirien4264]

I love these films.

[@octagonseventynine1253]

Great vid. One note so far regarding Dracula; Renfield seems to have turned the maid into a Vampire because I think she’s the one who removes the wolfsbane from Mina’s window later on? Also have you seen the version with the score by Phillip Glass? I actually prefer it to the original lack of score. *edit* I just got to the bit where you talk about the Glass score 😂

[@JonasMeichel]

The scene where he’s hovering over the maid was cut short probably to make it more ambiguous. But in the Spanish version, he was just leaning over to eat a fly (or a spider. I don’t quite remember). I’m also not sure if Renfield has the power to turn others into vampires as I think he’s more of a familiar rather than a vampire (thus why he eats flies and spiders rather than drinking blood). And yes, I have seen the version with the Philip Glass score and acknowledge it in the video. I thought the music itself was great, but it didn’t feel integrated into the film very well (mainly in terms of audio mixing). I prefer the lack of score, but I admit that’s a personal thing. Edit: Didn’t realized you edited it until I already sent my reply :/

[@MIKELOOKS4MAGIC]

I loved Frankenstein meet's the Wolf man. I feel they Just camp it up for this film. Love Maria and Hunchback Woman. The Gang is a Blast as is the song

[@Jimvanhise]

Supposedly modern horror movie fans find the old films too tame. Thirty years ago Forrest Ackerman (creator of Famous Monsters of Filmland) offered to do a column for Fangoria magazine on the great Universal Studios actors like Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney Jr but he was told that Fangoria's readers don't care about them or even know who they are!

[@JonasMeichel]

@@Jimvanhise I didn’t know that!

[@trevthomscultclassiccorner2037]

This depresses me, as I not only enjoy the newer icons, but recognize the importance of the OGs. It's really sad how people will only pick & acknowledge one thing, without realizing how important the two things are to each other.

[@junehanzawa5165]

Have you ever read the novels and compared them to these classic movies? It might make for a really good comparison video. For example, in the novel, Renfield never went to Dracula's castle. It was Mina's fiancée Jonathan Harker. And it's those 5 first charpters with Harker that are the best of the entire novel, and set everything in motion for the rest of the film. Without it, Mina and the rest just doesn't make sense. And all the key characters from Dracula's time in England, outside of Van Helsing and Renfield, were left out with the only other one included, Lucy, being nothing more than a side note. And the entire 3rd act of the novel of their hunting of Dracula all over England, and then spliting up and crossing the English channel after him into Europe, and finally into Transylvania for the dramatic climax (the second best section of the story). Understandable due to the lengh, but still a great comparison of what it could have been.

[@JonasMeichel]

I unfortunately have only read the original Frankenstein. That’s why it’s the only one I draw direct comparisons to when it comes to the original novels. I only knew bits and pieces of the original Dracula novel (like how Jonathan Harker was the one to go to Transylvania and not Renfield). But otherwise I was more judging it as its own thing. The same went for The Invisible Man. I intend to read the other novels that inspired these movies (Dracula and The Invisible Man especially) at some point though!

[@junehanzawa5165]

@@JonasMeichel Just read the first 5 chapters. They're a masterpiece or writing and horror. You won't put it down for those first 5. Disregard the rest. It's gets long and boring. But those first 5 are a movie onto itself. It won't take you that long. And you'll want to read them again once finished, they're that good.

[@junehanzawa5165]

@@JonasMeichel And the novel is of course free on digital anywhere you prefer to read.

[@BryanBledsoe-b3w]

Not in my book they're still the masters of horror

[@nope5657]

Underappreciated? Dude, they're some of the most influential and iconic films ever made.

[@JonasMeichel]

Starting at 3:26:07 I start explaining my reasoning. The TLDR of it, is the films themselves aren’t talked about as much as what they went on to inspire. Basically being taken for granted at this point.

[@danielhaynes2373]

You spoke of Tom Weaver's commentary on "The Wolf Man". As The Wolf Man was my favorite monster and Lon Chaney Jr my favorite actor, I'm very protective of that film and found Mr. Weaver's commentary consisted of cynicism from beginning to end and by far the least enjoyable of all the Universal Horror films commentaries. If he thought he was being funny, I found he sounded like he wanted to be anywhere else, doing anything else. I found Weaver's commentary and attitude offensive.

[@He_Loves_Horror]

Yeah the Blu Ray boxset commentary tracks on these are kind of interesting. Some are amazingly detailed. Some, such as Weaver as ya noted on The Wolf Man and the original Creature from the Black Lagoon as I remember eating my dinner and watching 'em with commentary earlier this year, sounded either like he was reading from a script. Or like he needed to be somewhere very imported less then ten minutes after the commentary track was recorded. He has an odd sound, I get what you mean. Nothing against him but I just wished many classic genre journalist writers took a note from Tim Lucas' commentary on the Mario Bava's Bay of Blood Blu-Ray. 🤔

[@richardkennedy8481]

The Bat Whispers 1930.

[@Jean-rg4sp]

*No. **9:31** All the talk of Swan Lake misses the point that the music was the same for other horror films produced by Universal. It was generic, already on a record so no need to pay musicians, out of copyright, and not at all suitable for a horror movie. ... I live in Spain and we have several channels on out TV just for old movies but most people watching this video have not seen the Spanish language version of Dracula and do not appreciate all the references to it about how it explains more to the audience the sequence of events yet is not as good as the English language version in the opinion of the reviewer.* etc., etc.

[@MistahJigglah]

@@Jean-rg4sp What? Other than Bela Lugosi, the Spanish version is widely recognized to be the superior Dracula even among English speaking critics. The only thing the English version gets praised for is Lugosi's tour de force performance

[@Jean-rg4sp]

@@MistahJigglah Nothing I wrote contradicts your comment. Most people watching this English language video would be familiar with the superior Spanish version of _Dracula._ Here in Spain, of course, it is a different story.

[@MistahJigglah]

@@Jean-rg4sp Yes, it most certainly contradicts every major point in your original post which is about the English speaking perception of the Spanish language film. If you meant that the other way around like in your response, that's not what you said in the op.

[@MistahJigglah]

@@Jean-rg4sp Also, it's a shame most Spaniards miss out on Lugosi's genius

[@Jean-rg4sp]

@@MistahJigglah I believe my original comment was clear enough.

[@antoniocunha3912]

Maybe they could make musicals from these awful flicks: Song of Frankenstein, Song of Dracula, Song of the Mummy and so on. Jokes apart, the 1931 Frankenstein was enough for me. The Bride film is a mess, with those little people and the female creature appearing for just 5 minutes to be blown apart. Not to mention the creature's makeup is worse.But this is just MY opinion, of course. But I would love to know someone found the missing scenes of the Bride's film and watch the complete film for its a James Whale's film. But I have to say I do prefer by far the old dark house with Gloria Stuart. I love the sex subtext there.

[@MistahJigglah]

Moronically Titled Clickbait Designed to Anger = Do Not Recommend

[@JonasMeichel]

@@MistahJigglah The intent was not to anger with that title, as it is a genuine sentiment that I believe. I later start defending my position starting at around 3:26:07 (give or take). If I wanted a clickbait title just to garner clicks, it would probably work better if I painted these films in a more negative light, rather than a positive one.

[@MistahJigglah]

@JonasMeichel Is your next video going to be about how you honestly believe American airports aren't that busy the day before Thanksgiving or that you don't think there's been enough written about Napoleon Bonaparte?

[@JonasMeichel]

No, as those aren’t subjects that I’m interested in, let alone ones that I’d cover on this channel. I guess I wasn’t clear enough at the end of the video, but luckily there have been others that have pointed this out in this very comment section. They’ve started to lose popularity in recent years (last 10-15 give or take), especially the films themselves. That’s what I was trying to get at, the fact that the films themselves weren’t nearly as recognized as the things they helped popularize. That they were taken for granted at this point. There’s a reason I titled it, “underappreciated” and not “underrated”. It’s because the films themselves aren’t as widely recognized as the things they helped popularize despite the fact that without those films, we wouldn’t have those other things (or at least not the way we have them now). They’re not “underrated”, far from it, but people don’t think about what they did for horror, cinema, pop culture, etc. That was what the penultimate part of the video was about, I guess I could’ve made that more clear.

[@Kade_1.10.27]

@@MistahJigglah Thank you for saying the truth

[@b3arguy]

@@MistahJigglah Thank you for saying the truth

[@rippingmyheartwassoeasy]

This would be so much more engaging with some sort of music background accompaniment. The voice narration only for 3 hours straight it unwatchable.

[@paintedjaguar]

I hate that kind of musical background noise. Even with a good sound mix, it almost always makes narration harder to absorb. Seems some people are so used to constant over-stimulation, that they can't bear to just be still and listen.

[@ferociousgumby]

To each his own, but I pretty much had the opposite reaction. Just narration - narration of this quality - is more than enough to hold my attention for 3 1/2 hours. If things are overscored, I feel like I'm being told what my reaction should be. Music, used sparingly, is much more effective (see Bride of Fra nkenstein, which runs the gamut from stark to melancholy to wildly romantic). I saw echoes of this romanticism in the brilliant tribute/parody, Young Fra nkenstein. The references pertain to at least the first three in the series. Mel Brooks must have really loved these classics to give us such a memorable, loving, even respectful tribute. And need I say, it featured the thoroughly charming Terri Garr, who passed very recently. I would LOVE to see a video on this subject! Who's with me on this?💗

[@kanhaibhatt913]

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