Murders in the Rue Morgue

With the back-to-back successes of Frankenstein and Dracula, 1931 was the breakout year for Universal Studios as the studio established itself as a true genre heavyweight. That set the challenge to follow up this daunting double act. Enter 1932'...

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Black Friday

Black Friday (1940) is one of the odder entries in Universal's thriller canon. The film blends together a gangster drama with a mad scientist story, creating a tale of revenge with just a tinge of the weird and supernatural added, perhaps to ba...

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Burning, The

The slasher genre had been alive and kicking for a good few years before The Burning (1981) came along, but even at this early stage in the game, its summer camp setting felt pretty old hat. Starring Brian Mathews, Leah Ayres, Jason Alexander, Fish...

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Captive Wild Woman

Universal's most well-known monster movie €™s include Dracula, The Mummy, Frankenstein's Monster and even Creature from the Black Lagoon's Gill Man has his fans. Undoubtedly few people are familiar with the €œApe Woman. €� The trilogy ...

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Cat and the Canary, The (1927)

An old, dark house. A lunatic on the loose. A fortune people will do anything to get their hands on. These are the ingredients comprising one of Universal's earliest screen shockers, 1927's silent feature The Cat and the Canary. You may be ...

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Cat People

Cat People (1942), starring Simone Simon and Kent Smith, is a shining example of the sort of innovation producer Val Lewton brought to the horror genre. Pretty much just given a title and asked to create a movie from scratch, Lewton seized the oppo...

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Dracula 1931

Few actors are privileged to have a name fans associate with an entire character type. 1931's Dracula introduced Bela Lugosi as the world's most famous vampire, and it was a portrayal that would shape the bloodsuckers yet to come. The film ...

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Fiend Without a Face

B-movies are a dime a dozen, but when a group like the Criterion Collection sets their sights on such a flick, my curiosity is instantly piqued. There's just something about the same people that painstakingly resorted the works of Kurosawa and ...

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Fly, The - 1958

Mad science is one of modern horror's building blocks. It was Frankenstein who unleashed his creature upon the world; Dr. Moreau who blurred man and beast; and Fu Manchu who served as one of the earliest screen baddies. This is a well the genre...

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Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man

Until 1943's Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, Universal's famous monsters mostly kept to themselves. But fan fantasies everywhere were realized when two of the all-time horror greats went face to blood-curdling face. Hollywood hasn't lo...

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