DARK SHADOWS FORUMS
General Discussions => Current Talk Archive => Current Talk '25 I => Current Talk '02 II => Topic started by: tripwire on October 31, 2002, 12:34:50 AM
-
in the 30`s, universal studio came out with some classic monster movies, a part of my childhood was spent watching these movies, and others that werent so classic B horror i think they would be called...Who was your favorite monster ? We had the Frankenstein monster....Dracula.......The Wolfman.....and The Mummy as the big 4....and others i cant recall....(scariest scene i can recall was when Larry Talbot transforms into the wolfman...i dont know why, but that scared the %#&* out of me.)
-
I have to go with Lugosi's Dracula. He scared me the most. I really liked Dwight Frye as his slave also.
-
Karloff's Frankenstein monster was the scariest. However, I did like Glenn Strange's "cold" monster. That was chilling for different reasons.
Nancy
-
I have to go with Lugosi's Dracula. He scared me the most. I really liked Dwight Frye as his slave also.
Me too, and I like Dwight Frye Also, good looking man. He died in 1943.
-
Bela Lugosi's Dracula. He was perfect. Very nice looking in that tux...very nice.
[fangs]
-
Frankenstein's monster gets my vote. I still to this day have recurring nightmares (at least once a year, if not more) that he is chasing me.
I've had only two other recurring dreams during my lifetime. One is trying to escape an air raid. I always have to squeeze through a hole (of some sort) to get to safety but I can never squeeze back out through the hole (I hate that dream). The other one is fabulous. I dream that I can float. It's always like I am an ice skater without the ice or the skates. Usually I am either dancing or walking and I just take off. It's a euphoric feeling.
Any dream analysts out there? The common thread appears to be the issue of escape. But what do I know?
Dom
-
I loved Boris Karlof's Frankenstein. I am a big fan of any of Karlof's movies. He even scares me when he is only narrating.
-
That creepy mummy. All wrapped up with plenty of places to go. I always had nightmares of that thing shuffling towards me. The one thing I could never figure out is how did it always catch Evelyn Ankers? Even though she ALWAYS wore high-heels and ALWAYS managed to trip at least a half-dozen times, that thing would amble along at a pace that would shame a snail, while she ran like the dickens. And yet, Kaopectate or whatever managed ending up with her passed out in its arms. Go figure.
Gerard
-
Thank you for this topic, tripwire! I love the Universal monster movies and make sure to watch them every year around Halloween. Even though the acting may not be the best and the plots have enough inconsistencies to rival DS, the films are still a lot of fun.
I never cared much for the Frankenstein monster, and though Dracula is a lot of fun, I think my favorites from the series are the wolfman and the mummy. I seem to really favor shapeshifters (in addition to The Wolfman, Werewolf of London and RKO's Cat People are among my favorite classic horror films.) They're so much more sympathetic than the other monsters. As humans with an unwanted and dreadful fate unfairly forced upon them, they seem more deserving of appreciation.
I really enjoy the mummy series, even though Kharis is basically the Frankenstein creature (mindless monster on killing rampage) in Egyptian trappings. The mythology surrounding this mummy and the progression of its story are enough to off-set the unimaginativeness of the character. On the other hand, Karloff's mummy Im-ho-tep was much more active, cunning, and evil. The Mummy was one of my favorite movies in the 6th grade and still ranks on my list as one of, if not the best of the monster pictures. I recently read that The Mummy was a remake of Dracula though with an Egyptian setting, but I don't believe it. The story was sufficiently original enough and intriguing enoguh to set it apart and (I feel) even above the earlier film.
The one thing I could never figure out is how did it always catch Evelyn Ankers? Even though she ALWAYS wore high-heels and ALWAYS managed to trip at least a half-dozen times, that thing would amble along at a pace that would shame a snail, while she ran like the dickens. And yet, Kaopectate or whatever managed ending up with her passed out in its arms. Go figure.
Very true. What bugs me is that the while the mummy is six feet away and slowly staggering along, the Mapleton bumpkins, instead of running while they have the chance, always simply stand and shoot repeatedly at the thing to no effect until it eventually wrings their necks. They always look so shocked when the monster finally gets them too...
Two other monsters not on the list that I really enjoy wtaching are the invisible man and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. For the time that it was filmed, The Invisible Man has some excellent special effects. The original film with Claude Rains, though departing from the novel, was very suspenseful and the 'monster' believably threatening. (For different reasons, its sequel is also very good, and perhaps better.) IMHO, Creature from the Black Lagoon is another of the better B-movies. One of the things that I appreciate about the original film is that the characters are not helpless victims who sit around waiting to be picked off. Rather, both monsters and people work to outsmart each other.
ProfStokes
-
Two of my favorites were Creature from the Black Lagoon and Giant Gila Monster. I believe they were in the 1950's though. I used to come home from school every afternoon and watch a 4:00 movie called "The Big Show". It featured a lot of these type movies. I loved them! I seem to remember watching The Mummy at the local theater and it was in 3-d.. I know I watched some movie wearing those 3-d glasses.. I think that was the one.. I remember thinking how cool that was :) I loved watching the older movies you have all mentioned as well. And one more that scared me was The Blob. I was sitting in the back row of the theater with these vent things behind me.. I just knew that icky Blob stuff was gonna come through those vents!
-
Dracula was always my favorite of the Univeral monsters. I've always had a thing for vampires. That's what drew me to Dark Shadows in the first place. I couldn't believe it, a television show with a vampire as the star! I did get alittle excited though the last time I saw the Mummy and they spoke of Anubis.
I always thought it was interesting that Joe Haskell was probably the only character anywhere who was attacked by the top three universal monsters. a vampire, frankenstein monster and werewolf.
-
I guess Chaney's Wolfman would be my favorite too, with Karloff as Frankenstein a close second. I also liked the mummy Kharis, although I must admit part of the reason is for comedic value!
Bernie
-
Dracula was always my favorite of the Univeral monsters. I've always had a thing for vampires. That's what drew me to Dark Shadows in the first place. I couldn't believe it, a television show with a vampire as the star! I did get alittle excited though the last time I saw the Mummy and they spoke of Anubis.
[I always thought it was interesting that Joe Haskell was probably the only character anywhere who was attacked by the top three universal monsters. a vampire, frankenstein monster and werewolf. ]
well, i think they missed their chance with the mummy also, cause soon we find out that
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
Quentin had recently been in Egypt. ok so, just on a whim, he decides to buy a mummy while he is over there, brings it back in the sarcofugus (sp). and he hangs with quentin in his room..Quentin later pisses Angelique off, and as revenge, she burns those leaves, or casts a spell to raise the mummy, and the mummy then harasses quentin and others...but, when he becomes the wolfman, they duke it out, and barnabas gets involved lol......a vampire, a mummy and werewolf going at it, heck, thats better than any ppv wrestling nonsense, and about as real..then all we would need is adam to be whisked back to 1897.
P
-
I love all those Universal monster movies and
especially enjoy the Abbott & Costello meet
.....whoever movies. Just watched A & C meet
the Wolfman last night.
-
love them all Boris, Bela, Chaney!!!!!!
jennifer
-
Although it strictly wasn't a Universal monster, another one that creeped me was The Thing (it was an RKO monster). Watching that pre-Matt Dillon hiding among those snow drifts, keeping dead bodies hung upside-down in the plant nursery.............eeeeeeeeech!
It was also a wonderfully written and directed movie, with the characters constantly talking over each other's lines, making it all the more realistic, fast-paced and with that right touch of humor.
Gerard
-
...another one that creeped me was The Thing (it was an RKO monster). Watching that pre-Matt Dillon hiding among those snow drifts, keeping dead bodies hung upside-down in the plant nursury .....
It was also a wonderfully written and directed movie, with the characters constantly talking over each other's lines, making it all the more realistic, fast-paced and with that right touch of humor.
YES!!
One of the all time great horror flicks. That one still gives me the horrors! The music is just......eeeekkkkk!
Excellent comment about the dialogue, Gerard. That movie was performed like a play, rather than a film. It was almost unheard of for people to talk over one another's lines in films, but much more likely on stage where the action is supposed to be more 'real'.
The only thing I could never forgive was the killing of the sled dogs. I always make sure my Siberian is not in the room when I'm watching that one! ;)
Raineypark
-
I love the first The Thing and I loved the second The Thing for different reasons!
Nancy
YES!!
One of the all time great horror flicks. That one still gives me the horrors! The music is just......eeeekkkkk!
Excellent comment about the dialogue, Gerard. That movie was performed like a play, rather than a film. It was almost unheard of for people to talk over one another's lines in films, but much more likely on stage where the action is supposed to be more 'real'.
The only thing I could never forgive was the killing of the sled dogs. I always make sure my Siberian is not in the room when I'm watching that one! ;)
Raineypark
-
Although it strictly wasn't a Universal monster, another one that creeped me was The Thing (it was an RKO monster). Watching that pre-Matt Dillon hiding among those snow drifts, keeping dead bodies hung upside-down in the plant nursery.............eeeeeeeeech!
It was also a wonderfully written and directed movie, with the characters constantly talking over each other's lines, making it all the more realistic, fast-paced and with that right touch of humor.
Gerard
I love that movie. It was one of the movies I let my 10year old son watch knowing it would be full of suspense and horror but had a good out come. My husband was always partial to "The Thing" and "The Crawling Eye".
-
.
I really enjoy the mummy series, even though Kharis is basically the Frankenstein creature (mindless monster on killing rampage) in Egyptian trappings. The mythology surrounding this mummy and the progression of its story are enough to off-set the unimaginativeness of the character. On the other hand, Karloff's mummy Im-ho-tep was much more active, cunning, and evil. The Mummy was one of my favorite movies in the 6th grade and still ranks on my list as one of, if not the best of the monster pictures. I recently read that The Mummy was a remake of Dracula though with an Egyptian setting, but I don't believe it. The story was sufficiently original enough and intriguing enoguh to set it apart and (I feel) even above the earlier film.
ProfStokes
ProfStokes,
Being a Karlof fan, I enjoyed his version of "The Mummy" except I did not see him as the intense lover longing for the return of his Princess. I don't want to even try to spell her name. I think Christopher Lee captured the intensity and longing along with the malevolence. What did you think of the first Brenden Fraser re-make?
-
I think Christopher Lee captured the intensity and longing along with the malevolence. What did you think of the first Brenden Fraser re-make?
I've never seen the recent Mummy or any of its sequels/prequels/spin-offs, but I suspect it couldn't compare to the original. I'm afraid I haven't seen any of Christopher Lee's work as the mummy or as Dracula either, but I think I would prefer to watch the Hammer films before the newer movies.
ProfStokes
-
I've never seen the recent Mummy or any of its sequels/prequels/spin-offs, but I suspect it couldn't compare to the original. I'm afraid I haven't seen any of Christopher Lee's work as the mummy or as Dracula either, but I think I would prefer to watch the Hammer films before the newer movies.
ProfStokes
Just in case you decide to rent "The Mummy" starring
Brendan Fraser, it is loaded with a whole lot of stomach churning, flesh crawling special effects.
-
My two all-time favorite "SCI-FI" (and I use the term very loosely) movies are, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman [1958] and Curse of the Faceless Man [1958] - admittedly, two of the worst films ever made. These films were staples on Chiller Theater, a Sat. night B-horror movie showcase that aired in the New York Tri-state area when I was a kid in the 60s. The lesser known, Curse of the Faceless Man, was basically a re-telling of the Mummy set in Italy with a volcanic ash-encrusted "preserved" slave who comes back to life after being dug up in an excavation, searches for (and finds!) the reincarnation of his one true love (of course, killing almost all who get in his way). I have never met anyone who remembers this flick. This movie scared the crap out of me as kid. The film's score was very effective!
Dom
-
[hello][hello]My very favorite Dracula was John Carradine. He was great, handsome and lethal in the old movies. I started a Dracula on public television with Louis Jordan one night years ago, and it totally creeped me out so much (had always like Mr. Jordon, but the long fingernails and other eech were too much) so I had to let that one go unwatched! Another favorite (and my husband and I watched it again not long ago) was the original Body Snatchers, with Kevin McCarthy and I can't remember who, but it was a great scare the first time that a person watches it. Love the ending-- so Alfred Hitchcock! Speaking of Alfred, we loved his show back in the 50's or 60's, can't beat him for suspense.
I also collect the classics with Lagosi and Karloff and others.
-
I love all those Universal monster movies and
especially enjoy the Abbott & Costello meet
.....whoever movies. Just watched A & C meet
the Wolfman last night.
Although I too liked the Abbott & Costello movies that involved the Universal monsters, it kind of bothered me to see Chaney and Lugosi play second fiddle to A & C!!
It WAS good to see Lugosi back as Dracula, though. I liked John Carradine to a point, but there was no replacing Lugosi!!
Bernie
-
I think that the original Mummy (which I saw recently on AMC) is just the shit. As a child I felt a bit sorry for him - He's waited thousands of years to come back from the dead, and all he wants is a girlfriend! LOL And of course there is a certain glamour to the ancient Egyptian thing.
Moving on to later days, though there weren't any monsters in 'Carnival of Souls' I found that to be a geniunely creepy flick. And I guess 'Night of the Living Dead' is the scariest thing I've ever seen.
But I'm still a sucker for newer versions of the classics. Hammer Horror films, which others have mentioned were maybe scarier than the originals, even if they weren't quite as good. Heck, I even like latest renditions of Dracula (with Gary Oldman) and the Mummy (w/Brendan Fraser) - guess I just like monsters -imagine that!
Still, the stories and the photography in the 30's horror films are without peer. Have you ever noticed that you can turn the sound all the way down while watching Lugosi's 'Dracula' and the movie works just as well? Guess this may be because when it was made they were only a few years away from silents, but to me this is incredible cinematography and storytelling at it's best.
-
Moving on to later days, though there weren't any monsters in 'Carnival of Souls' I found that to be a geniunely creepy flick. And I guess 'Night of the Living Dead' is the scariest thing I've ever seen.
'Carnival of Souls' is the creepiest movie I have ever seen. I cannot watch it alone. It actually makes me afraid of mirrors.
-
I think Lon Chaney Jr.'s Wolfman was the first horror movie I saw (or that I remember) and it has always seemed quite poignant. "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" scared the hooey out of me as a kid!! And "Night of the Living Dead" made me tell everyone that I will be cremated, thank you very much. I think that is the probably the scariest movie ever made.
Not in the same league, but I just watched "Event Horizon" last night and it is quite a decently made creepy movie....
-
Although I too liked the Abbott & Costello movies that involved the Universal monsters, it kind of bothered me to see Chaney and Lugosi play second fiddle to A & C!!
It WAS good to see Lugosi back as Dracula, though. I liked John Carradine to a point, but there was no replacing Lugosi!!
Bernie
I may be wrong in this Bernie, but I think Lugosi seemed
to enjoy his tongue in cheek role in the A & C movie.
He looks like he has a hard time not cracking up in places.
-
I've never seen the recent Mummy or any of its sequels/prequels/spin-offs, but I suspect it couldn't compare to the original. I'm afraid I haven't seen any of Christopher Lee's work as the mummy or as Dracula either, but I think I would prefer to watch the Hammer films before the newer movies.
ProfStokes
Special effects aside, I very much enjoyed The Mummy
and the first sequel. It had the flavor of an old
fashion type monster movie IMHO.
Take a chance and watch, I think you'll like it.
-
I may be wrong in this Bernie, but I think Lugosi seemed
to enjoy his tongue in cheek role in the A & C movie.
He looks like he has a hard time not cracking up in places.
Well, I wouldn't be surprised. Lugosi was certainly a different person than he was when Dracula came out, in 1930 was it?? Unfortunately his career seemed to be downhill from there on out.
Bernie
-
[hello][hello] Another favorite (and my husband and I watched it again not long ago) was the original Body Snatchers, with Kevin McCarthy and I can't remember who, but it was a great scare the first time that a person watches it.
This is one of my favorites too! Loved the scene were Kevin McCarthy and Dana Winters think that they've escaped and he keeps telling her not to close her eyes but..she does! I can still see her eyes looking up at him. So cold and deadly!!!
Another classic (in my opinion) is 'The Spiral Staircase' with Dorothy McGuire. She goes down to the basement and the camera pans over to the eye looking at her from behind the wall...I still get shivers thinking about it.
The psychological stuff always appealed to me more than the core monster group although I did like the Wolfman in particular.
-
I have some for you...
How about
1"Werewolf of London"
2 "Dracula's Daughter"
3 "Frankenstien meets the Wolfman"
There are a few more I just can't remember.....
-
I vote for Dracula. Scared the begeebez outta me as a kid. There was this movie that had a crawling hand in it, and between that and Dracula, I would RUN to jump in bed so the hand wouldn't get me, (because it was hiding under the bed, of course), and sleep with the blankets wrapped around my neck all night so Dracula wouldn't get me. YIKES!