This article is part of a directory: Game Rant's Ultimate Guide To Horror Movies
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By reviving monsters from classic literature and creating some of their own, Universal Pictures gave an entire generation of viewers nightmares. Generations, in fact. After their initial cinematic run throughout the 1930s and 40s, films from the franchise were repeated on television in the 60s and 70s, capturing the imagination of a whole new audience.

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The movies have been remade, spoofed, pastiched, and reinterpreted many times over, and remain touchstones for many modern directors. High-profile movie-makers such as Tim Burton and even Quentin Tarantino cite key Universal horror movies as influences on their work, and many of the monsters and ghouls are now pop culture icons.

10 Dracula (1931)

Bela Lugosi as Dracula

Perhaps a little slow compared to some of the movies that came later, Dracula is still an iconic piece of cinema. From the gorgeous setting to the haunting use of Tchaikovsky’s Black Swan music, everything pulls together to create a truly haunting atmosphere.

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Bela Lugosi set the standard for the role of the Count, with his thick accent and wonderfully chilling lines. To this day his performance of Dracula is referenced, imitated, and spoofed. It’s no wonder that Lugosi himself was buried in the Count’s cape.

9 Frankenstein (1931)

Boris Karloff Frankenstein

James Whale’s first dalliance with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was a macabre triumph, updating the classic story with a faster pace and some grotesque imagery. Much of what we associate with the Frankenstein myth comes from this movie.

Boris Karloff was an instant success as the Monster, with a make-up job that has gone on to become iconic and instantly recognizable He imbued the creature with a great deal of emotion and gravitas, even during one of Frankenstein’s most controversial scenes - that with the little girl by the lake.

8 The Invisible Man (1933)

The Invisible Man

Easily one of the most highly-regarded of all Universal’s monster movie output, The Invisible Man is a triumph of storytelling, performance, and special effects.

Claude Rains is pitch-perfect as Doctor Jack Griffin (the Invisible Man of the title), slowly descending into madness as he struggles to cope with his condition. James Whale once again proves himself as a fantastic director here, elevating the slightly silly material to darker, more introspective heights. Sequels would follow, one of which would star horror legend Vincent Price.

7 The Wolf Man (1941)

Wolf Man

Lon Chaney Jr. holds the record of being the only actor to portray Laurence Talbot (the Wolf Man) in all of his Universal films. The other monsters would be recast time and again (with Chaney Jr. taking on both the Mummy and Frankenstein’s Monster in various sequels), but there was only one Wolf Man.

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The first film in the werewolf franchise wasn’t based on a novel or short story – it was completely original. Even so, much of the werewolf lore established in The Wolf Man has since formed the basis of numerous lupine movies since.

6 Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man (1943)

Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man

The idea of crossovers in major franchises is nothing new, particularly with the MCU pulling together all manner of heroes and villains together from various corners of its ever-expanding universe. It was quite novel back in 1943 though when two of Universal’s biggest monsters went head-to-head.

Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man is much sillier fare than previous entries, focusing more on B-Movie thrills than a genuine atmosphere. It is highly entertaining though, and worthy of note for having Bela Lugosi appear as Frankenstein’s Monster (a role he turned down for James Whale’s original).

5 The Island Of Lost Souls (1932)

The Island Of Lost Souls

The first sound adaptation of the HG Wells novel The Island of Dr. Moreau, Island of Lost Souls was controversial upon its release – mainly because of its undercurrent of blasphemy which shocked censors at the time.

The movie features powerful performances from Charles Laughton and a particularly emotional Bela Lugosi (in one of his finest Universal roles), beautifully capturing the tormented spirit of the original novel. There are certain parallels to Frankenstein in the idea of a man playing God vs the effect his work has on his creations. An early classic.

4 Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954)

Creature From The Black Lagoon

Often imitated, Creature From the Black Lagoon is a beautifully shot monster movie that came much later than Universal's classic horror output. Its sequels weren’t as impressive, but the original remains iconic.

The Creature itself is a fantastic design, and director Jack Arnold squeezes every ounce of atmosphere out of the Amazon sets and the impressive underwater sequences. The movie as a whole has had a big influence on fantasy-horror director Guillermo del Toro, who used it as the basis for his film The Shape of Water.

3 The Mummy (1932)

The Mummy (1932)

A much slower film than some of the others in the monster series, The Mummy is more about the creeping dread. Its atmosphere and slow-burning plot are closer in style to Dracula than anything else.

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The Mummy's make-up (by the renowned Jack Pierce) was eerily evocative of recent discoveries in Ancient Egypt, giving the sense of a genuine walking cadaver. While The Mummy might not be hailed as one of the all-time greats, a few sequences are still bone-chilling today.

2 Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

In the dying days of the Universal Monster Universe, some of the classic monsters were reeled out one final time for some slapstick shenanigans in a comedy horror movie. This included Bela Lugosi appearing as Dracula on-screen for the second and final time of his career.

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were big-name comedy actors of the time, and their brand of humor was immensely popular. Despite the silliness though, the monsters they came up against (also including Frankenstein's Monster and the Wolf Man) were played dead straight.

1 The Bride Of Frankenstein (1935)

The Bride Of Frankenstein (1935)

James Whale’s masterpiece, The Bride of Frankenstein is a beautiful, heart-wrenching and at times hilarious movie, with an excellent cast and some very clever underlying themes.

Director Whale sneaks in clever homosexual and religious allegory into the movie, particularly in the wonderful character of Dr. Pretorius, played to the hilt by Ernest Thesiger. Elsewhere, there’s a touching scene between Karloff’s Monster and a blind man, and an exciting finale in which the titular Bride is unveiled in all of her gothic glory. A perfect movie.

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