20 Universal Monster movies everyone should see at least once

The first two definitive Universal Monster movies that really made a splash were both released in 1931, but these weren’t the first two monster flicks the studio released. However, the Hunchback of Notre Dame and the Phantom of the Opera aren’t exactly dynamic horror movie characters. Count Dracula, on the other hand, is. Dracula remains the most-famous vampire character, and Bela Lugosi’s turn in the role set the rubric. Interestingly, a Spanish-language version was shot at roughly the same time on the same sets and was released the same year. It’s quite good.

Okay, we’ll start here: In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein is the doctor, not the monster. Well, as you will see in the sequels to come, in the Universal world the monster is clearly designated as Frankenstein. “Frankenstein” is the other definitive, genre-defining monster movie of 1931. Boris Karloff played the monster. Also, notably, the doctor’s assistant in this movie is named Fritz, not Igor.

The theme song to “Rocky Horror Picture Show” made sure to point out that Claude Rains played The Invisible Man, so we kind of have to include this one. With all due respect to Lugosi and Karloff, Rains was a four-time Oscar nominee and a much better actor than either of those two. James Whale, who directed “Frankenstein,” also directed this film.

Whale also directed the first Universal Monsters sequel. The Bride, with her distinctive hairdo, is almost as iconic as Frankenstein himself. Interestingly, Elsa Manchester, who played The Bride, also plays Mary Shelley in an opening set piece of the film.

Here’s something surprising: The first werewolf movie Universal released was 1935’s “Werewolf of London.” It was not the much-more-definitive “The Wolf Man.” This is the one where Lon Chaney Jr., son of the iconic actor Lon Chaney, plays Larry Talbot, aka the Wolf Man. Additionally, both Lugosi and Rains have roles in “The Wolf Man,” though not as either of their monster characters.

There had been plenty of sequels already from Universal, which is pretty wild given that 1943 marked only 12 years from the release of “Dracula” and “Frankenstein.” However, this is the first sequel that sold itself on a crossover. Frankenstein was going to meet the Wolf Man! Chaney Jr. was back, but this time Frankenstein was played by Lugosi. This movie was notable for a couple things. One, it is the first time that the Wolf Man transforms due to a full moon. Two, Frankenstein was supposed to talk, but Lugosi’s Hungarian accent was too thick and too, you know, Hungarian. Thus, the monster doesn’t talk, all his dialog was removed, and it is never mentioned that the monster is blind, which is why Lugosi was walking around with his arms in front of him in the movie, creating that image of Frankenstein.

We wanted to get the Phantom in the mix at least once. Of course, the most-famous version of the character comes to us from Andrew Lloyd Webber, not Universal, but this dude is in the mix, though not since the 1940s. Also, the Phantom? He’s played by Claude Rains. That guy loved himself a Universal Monster movie!

Frankenstein and Dracula ran rampant over Universal’s movies for years, but “House of Frankenstein” is important to note and it’s spelled out in two words on the poster: “All Together!” We’ve got Frankenstein! We’ve got Dracula! We’ve got the Wolf Man! We’ve got Boris Karloff as a mad scientist! Now, it’s not a good movie, but it is a significant offering from Universal and sort of is a predecessor to “The Avengers” in a way. Kind of.

Your monster movies need a jolt. Your headlining comedy duo needs a jolt. Why not put them together? For the first of four times, Abbott and Costello started in a movie built around them running into a Universal monster. Clearly, this meeting with Frankenstein worked out. It was a hit, and AFI named it one of the top comedies of all time back in the day.

We included this one to include Bud and Lou again, but also because it’s how we get Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde into the mix. There have been several Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde movies. Fredric March won an Oscar for such a film. Spencer Tracy starred in one adaptation. That’s the key, though. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde come from a Robert Louis Stevenson novel. Universal did not have sole claim to the scientist and his violent alter ego. It still worked him into the Universal mix, though!

The last significant addition to the Universal Monsters world was Gill-Man, known to most as “The Creature from the Black Lagoon.” No castles or mad scientists, just a fish man living in the water. The film was quite successful, Gill-Man became an iconic monster, and Guillermo del Toro got the idea to make a movie that answered the question, “What if ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’, but horny?” That movie won Best Picture.

Universal hit us with a quick cash-in sequel to “Creature from the Black Lagoon.” It came out effectively a year to the day of the original. Is this a worthwhile sequel? Maybe not in and of itself, but it’s worth mentioning for another cultural reason. “Revenge of the Creature” was screened on an episode of “Mystery Science Theater 3000.” In fact, it was the very first movie riffed when the show moved to the Sci-Fi Channel.

There were a couple more Universal movies in the 1950s, but then the well went dry for a while. Thus began the process of reinvention and modernization. The first of these films was 1979’s take on “Dracula.” Frank Langella played the titular vampire. Laurence Olivier – yes, Laurence Olivier – played Van Helsing. W.D. Richter wrote the script, and John Badham directed it. That’s quite the collection of talent. The movie was a marginal hit and fairly well received, but it would be another 20 years until Universal tried again.

The Mummy is the one major Universal Monster not to get mentioned yet. The early offerings were notable, but not really terribly impactful. Plus, it made sense to enter this version of “The Mummy” into the mix. For Millennials, this was the first Universal Monster movie. Also, for many Millennials, this Brendan Fraser film is still considered a classic.

After the success of “The Mummy,” we got not just sequels, but a spinoff. “The Scorpion King” is a prequel to “The Mummy,” but the reason it matters is due to the cast, namely the man who plays the titular Scorpion King. This was the first starring role for Dwayne Johnson, back when he was still primarily known as The Rock.

Hugh Jackman was a movie star thanks to playing Wolverine. Stephen Sommers had directed “The Mummy.” It could have worked. Jackman plays Van Helsing, the vampire hunter from the novel “Dracula,” but this movie was another world connector. Frankenstein, a werewolf, and even Dr. Jekyll are in the film. Alas, it was relatively a flop, leading to a sequel being canceled.

The failure of “Van Helsing” effectively ended any momentum for Universal, and “The Wolfman” is a one-off attempt to make a successful horror movie. It had been a minute since werewolves had gotten into the mix. Maybe Benicio del Toro and Anthony Hopkins could drive moviegoers into the theater. Instead, while the movie won an Oscar for Best Makeup, “The Wolfman” failed to make back its budget, and it would be the end of Universal’s monster movies for a while.

Thanks to “The Avengers” the idea of interconnected film universes was something every studio was striving for. Universal hoped to do that with their gallery of monsters in what they intended to call the “Dark Universe.” The whole thing proved a fiasco. People don’t even remember 2014’s “Dracula Untold,” but they remember 2017’s “The Mummy” starring Tom Cruise. It did make quite a bit of money, but it was greeted with a lack of enthusiasm from critics and audiences. Plus, “quite a bit of money” was not the goal. A massive, MCU-level success was. The “Dark Universe” died on the vine.

“The Invisible Man” is the opposite of “The Mummy.” Instead of a gaudy action flick hoping to spawn a universe, writer/director Leigh Whannell got a slim budget to make a no-frills horror movie produced by Jason Blum. The result? A critical darling that made $144.5 million off of a budget of $7 million. That’s with the fact it came out in February of 2020, meaning the theatrical run was truncated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Universal did right by Whannell, who directed and co-wrote 2025’s “The Wolf Man.” His version of the Universal Monster is now the definitive one.

Whannell’s vision leading the way is bolstered by the reception of “Renfield” which is an interesting offer to be sure. It’s a horror-comedy that features Nicolas Cage as Dracula. That’s fun…right? Well, for the most part, it is. “Renfield” definitely stands out among Universal’s offerings. It was a flop, though, and there seems to be no appetite from Universal now for comedy in this space. Maybe it needs to find this generation’s Abbott and Costello.