Universal Pictures is celebrating its 100th anniversary and one of the main pillars of the studio's structure was the famed 'Universal Monsters'. From 1931 until the mid 1950's, these films excited and terrified audiences both young and old and have now become icons of cinema. This year, Universal announced that they wished to revive these classic monsters in what will be known as a 'shared universe' which many will likely associate with the recent Marvel Comics film series beginning in 2008. The success of these superhero films have driven the industry for many years now, but the decision to make these classics a part of that trend is troublesome to me and to many in the horror community.
That's not to say that these monsters have never crossed over to each other in some way or another. Hell, the Frankenstein's Monster fought the Wolf Man in one of the most popular horror films of all time. So if it's not the 'shared universe' angle, then what is it you may be asking? It's the tone and the overall direction in which the studio wishes to take said film universe. Below is a sample image from 2014's 'Dracula Untold':
The film itself wasn't bad (we may do a full retrospective review down the line) however it was filled with CG action battles with Dracula turning into a swarm of bats to fight like a video game character. Very little if any of that Gothic horror was present in 'Dracula Untold'. Our next sample is from the upcoming 'Mummy' reboot:
While they seemed to have the look down for a monster, I see many problems both in the individual image and the film's theatrical trailer which we'll post below if you haven't seen it yet. The film shows us the titular creature's sarcophagus, and this image above in the trailer. The rest is an action scene involving Tom Cruise in a plane crash that he has somehow survived. Nothing in this trailer would ever tell someone this is a Universal Horror flick and that's the problem right there.
Universal Pictures not only wishes to emulate the structure of Marvel, but it also seems they wish to create that structure of ACTION films but with monsters in place of people in tights and masks. The horror genre is one that the industry has never truly been proud of, but Universal Pictures was the exception and was for many decades. They took pride in their monsters as much as their masterpieces and because of that pride, they were all well made films in their own right and could stand the test of time along with 'Wizard of Oz' and 'Touch of Evil'.
However, times have changed and even the films that made the studio what it is now are scary to the executives. They want to play it safe, and to a certain level that's acceptable and understandable but it's still not always right. Making these monster film reboots into nothing more than computer generated action films causes distance from the demographic they need in order for the film to get the seats filled, and in turn the profits rolling. Toning the films down and stripping them of virtually every thing that a fan or audience member would be looking for in a film called 'The Mummy' or 'The Wolf Man' will ultimately hurt them but who knows if the lesson will ever stick for them.
Universal is likely to be taking more of a loss than a profit with 2017's 'The Mummy', however I sadly don't believe for one second that it will change what is the inevitable universe that's coming to cinemas. A good comparison to close out for you fine readers would be that we need more 'Monster Squad' and less 'League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'.
Check out the trailer for 'The Mummy' and let me know what your thoughts are. Are you for or against this new universe idea? If so, why? If not, then why? Thanks for reading guys.
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