WHITHER UNIVERSAL MONSTERS?

In this article by Carl Kruze from Movieweb, he attempts to explain just what do to with the Universal monsters franchise. The first thing he suggests is to dump the Dark Universe and I have a hard time disagreeing with that. Bringing them into the modern world has by and large been a total failure, but it sounds like they are resurrecting this concept once again. Like every other successful film, the answer is to tell good stories.

WHAT SHOULD UNIVERSAL DO WITH THEIR CLASSIC MOVIE MONSTERS?

By Kyle Kruse | September 03, 2022 | Movieweb.com

The Universal Monsters are one of Hollywood's oldest franchises, but they've all but disappeared. Here's how Universal can bring them back.

The Universal Monsters were one of the first really successful film series in the history of Hollywood. From Dracula to The Bride of Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, The Wolf Man, and more, Universal's classic monster movies of the 1930s and ‘40s are some of the most recognizable and influential films of Hollywood’s Golden Age. The iconic status that so many of these cinematic monsters have achieved has solidified their place as a mainstay in the industry, with new iterations and reinventions of the characters consistently hitting the screen in the near-century since their introduction.

As blockbuster films have become more and more the norm for cinema screens across the country and around the world, Universal has attempted to adapt their monsters into big-budget adventures that appeal to the desires of modern audiences. The results of these efforts have been pretty mixed, and although the studio has had big ambitions for these characters in the past, at the moment the Universal Monsters all just appear to be collecting dust on a shelf.

These classic characters deserve better than that. Whether we like it or not, today’s cinematic landscape (at least in the eyes of studios and general audiences) is all about big franchises and how much money they make. The Universal Monsters have the ability to be a big success in the 21st century; here’s how to achieve that.

The Dark Universe has become one of the biggest cautionary tales of franchise filmmaking of the last decade. Universal believed that they could build their classic monsters into a cinematic universe reminiscent of that of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 2014’s Dracula Untold was intended to be the beginning of this universe, but when that movie failed at the box office, it was then decided that 2017’s The Mummy would then become the new launching point. Well, that didn’t work either, as the Tom Cruise-led adventure film crashed and burned just as brutally as Dracula Untold. The situation was even worse for The Mummy though, as Universal had gone all-in on their cinematic universe plan for the film. The Mummy branded a fancy title card that declared it a part of the "Dark Universe" and the studio had announced stars for several of its follow-up films. Javier Bardem was to play Frankenstein's Monster, Johnny Depp would be The Invisible Man and Russel Crowe was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The Mummy attempted to set up this whole monstrous universe, with Crowe even appearing as Jekyll/Hyde in the film, but the movie was so focused on world-building that it forgot to tell a cohesive and interesting story to ground it all.

Part of what made the Dark Universe fail so spectacularly is that it was a fundamental misunderstanding of what the Universal Monsters are. The Mummy took a grand blockbuster-adventure epic approach to the character, and the result was that the movie felt like a cheap rip-off of most of the popular superhero films of the time. It fell victim to some of the exact same issues that haunted Dracula Untold. Plus, for a movie about a monster, it didn’t really try to be scary at all. Universal wanted the Dark Universe to be their next big franchise, but without a solid foundation to build on, the entire concept collapsed in on itself before it had even gotten off the ground.

The original Universal Monster movies may have been vaguely connected, but they never attempted to thoroughly establish an overall canon or mythos to everything. They were just fun monster movies that happened to have a couple recurring characters. They did eventually crossover with each other in what Universal dubbed the “Monster Rallies” films, which consisted of 1943’s Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, 1944’s House of Frankenstein and 1945’s House of Dracula. But the original films were not built with the intention of creating a larger franchise. They were just trying to be good standalone movies, and that’s one of the many reasons why they worked.

Leigh Whannell’s 2020 take on Invisible Man is an incredible film that deserves way more attention than it gets. The movie is a modern re-interpretation of the Invisible Man story, and Whannell made the smart decision to make the film more of a genuinely scary movie rather than a science fiction or adventure film. The Invisible Man is terrifying at times, and the story of the film is one that is both a thrilling and anxiety-inducing exploration of grief, gaslighting, and revenge. The film builds such a tense atmosphere that it is able to terrify its audience with something as simple as a shot of an empty hallway.

The Invisible Man worked better than Dracula Untold and The Mummy because it had a great story that was worth telling. It simultaneously adapts and pays homage to the original story while still being a legitimately new and refreshing take on the concept. Whannell understood what made the property successful in the first place, and instead of trying to re-invent it from the ground up, he took what worked and then built upon it and reshaped it to fit a modern context.

If Universal wants to build their classic monsters into the bankable brand they used to be, their highest priority needs to be telling good stories. Take notes on what made the movies and characters so popular to begin with, and then bring those ideas into a modern context without getting too caught up in what future sequels or spin-off movies may be. It looks like the next Universal Monster to receive a new film will be the Wolf Man. Ryan Gosling is signed on to play the character, with director Derek Cianfrance on board to helm the project. So far, this project also seems to be its own standalone project, so fingers crossed it will strike the same successful vein as The Invisible Man.

The Invisible Man made $143 million at the worldwide box office. That may not seem like much, and it could be construed as a failure when compared to the $217 million Dracula Untold made and the $409 million that The Mummy brought in. However, in reality, The Invisible Man was significantly more successful at the box office than either of those films, and it likely would have done even better if it hadn’t been kneecapped by the global pandemic that shut the world down only a month after its release. The differentiating factor between The Invisible Man and the likes of The Mummy is the film's budget. Whereas Dracula Untold cost $70 million and The Mummy had a budget of $125 million, The Invisible Man was made for a mere $7 million.

The Universal Monsters were one of the first really successful film series in the history of Hollywood. From Dracula to The Bride of Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, The Wolf Man, and more, Universal's classic monster movies of the 1930s and ‘40s are some of the most recognizable and influential films of Hollywood’s Golden Age. The iconic status that so many of these cinematic monsters have achieved has solidified their place as a mainstay in the industry, with new iterations and reinventions of the characters consistently hitting the screen in the near-century since their introduction.

As blockbuster films have become more and more the norm for cinema screens across the country and around the world, Universal has attempted to adapt their monsters into big-budget adventures that appeal to the desires of modern audiences. The results of these efforts have been pretty mixed, and although the studio has had big ambitions for these characters in the past, at the moment the Universal Monsters all just appear to be collecting dust on a shelf.

These classic characters deserve better than that. Whether we like it or not, today’s cinematic landscape (at least in the eyes of studios and general audiences) is all about big franchises and how much money they make. The Universal Monsters have the ability to be a big success in the 21st century; here’s how to achieve that.

Abandon the Dark Universe concept

The Dark Universe has become one of the biggest cautionary tales of franchise filmmaking of the last decade. Universal believed that they could build their classic monsters into a cinematic universe reminiscent of that of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 2014’s Dracula Untold was intended to be the beginning of this universe, but when that movie failed at the box office, it was then decided that 2017’s The Mummy would then become the new launching point. Well, that didn’t work either, as the Tom Cruise-led adventure film crashed and burned just as brutally as Dracula Untold. The situation was even worse for The Mummy though, as Universal had gone all-in on their cinematic universe plan for the film. The Mummy branded a fancy title card that declared it a part of the "Dark Universe" and the studio had announced stars for several of its follow-up films. Javier Bardem was to play Frankenstein's Monster, Johnny Depp would be The Invisible Man and Russel Crowe was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The Mummy attempted to set up this whole monstrous universe, with Crowe even appearing as Jekyll/Hyde in the film, but the movie was so focused on world-building that it forgot to tell a cohesive and interesting story to ground it all.

Part of what made the Dark Universe fail so spectacularly is that it was a fundamental misunderstanding of what the Universal Monsters are. The Mummy took a grand blockbuster-adventure epic approach to the character, and the result was that the movie felt like a cheap rip-off of most of the popular superhero films of the time. It fell victim to some of the exact same issues that haunted Dracula Untold. Plus, for a movie about a monster, it didn’t really try to be scary at all. Universal wanted the Dark Universe to be their next big franchise, but without a solid foundation to build on, the entire concept collapsed in on itself before it had even gotten off the ground.

The original Universal Monster movies may have been vaguely connected, but they never attempted to thoroughly establish an overall canon or mythos to everything. They were just fun monster movies that happened to have a couple recurring characters. They did eventually crossover with each other in what Universal dubbed the “Monster Rallies” films, which consisted of 1943’s Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, 1944’s House of Frankenstein and 1945’s House of Dracula. But the original films were not built with the intention of creating a larger franchise. They were just trying to be good standalone movies, and that’s one of the many reasons why they worked.

Learn from The Invisible Man

Leigh Whannell’s 2020 take on Invisible Man is an incredible film that deserves way more attention than it gets. The movie is a modern re-interpretation of the Invisible Man story, and Whannell made the smart decision to make the film more of a genuinely scary movie rather than a science fiction or adventure film. The Invisible Man is terrifying at times, and the story of the film is one that is both a thrilling and anxiety-inducing exploration of grief, gaslighting, and revenge. The film builds such a tense atmosphere that it is able to terrify its audience with something as simple as a shot of an empty hallway.

The Invisible Man worked better than Dracula Untold and The Mummy because it had a great story that was worth telling. It simultaneously adapts and pays homage to the original story while still being a legitimately new and refreshing take on the concept. Whannell understood what made the property successful in the first place, and instead of trying to re-invent it from the ground up, he took what worked and then built upon it and reshaped it to fit a modern context.

If Universal wants to build their classic monsters into the bankable brand they used to be, their highest priority needs to be telling good stories. Take notes on what made the movies and characters so popular to begin with, and then bring those ideas into a modern context without getting too caught up in what future sequels or spin-off movies may be. It looks like the next Universal Monster to receive a new film will be the Wolf Man. Ryan Gosling is signed on to play the character, with director Derek Cianfrance on board to helm the project. So far, this project also seems to be its own standalone project, so fingers crossed it will strike the same successful vein as The Invisible Man.

Keep It Small

The Invisible Man made $143 million at the worldwide box office. That may not seem like much, and it could be construed as a failure when compared to the $217 million Dracula Untold made and the $409 million that The Mummy brought in. However, in reality, The Invisible Man was significantly more successful at the box office than either of those films, and it likely would have done even better if it hadn’t been kneecapped by the global pandemic that shut the world down only a month after its release. The differentiating factor between The Invisible Man and the likes of The Mummy is the film's budget. Whereas Dracula Untold cost $70 million and The Mummy had a budget of $125 million, The Invisible Man was made for a mere $7 million.

After taking into account marketing and other related costs, Dracula Untold and The Mummy likely made very little profit, if any, at all. So, while The Invisible Man may not have pulled in as much cash as its two monstrous predecessors, the film managed to deliver a significantly better return on investment for Universal. Not only was The Invisible Man a far better film than those two, but it was far more financially successful. The clear lesson for Universal here is to not let these monster movies get too big and out of hand with their budgets. If Universal can produce these movies as smaller and more thought-provoking thrillers, rather than the major blockbusters they’d been trying to, then the Universal Monsters could get back to being the successful brand they once were.

Thankfully, The Wolf Man looks like it will take this same approach. It was Jason Blum and his studio Blumhouse Productions that worked with Universal on The Invisible Man and kept the film at such a low budget. Low-budget horror films have been Blumhouse’s bread and butter since the company launched in the early 2000s. They have an excellent track record in horror, with films such as Paranormal Activity, Insidious, Sinister, The Purge and Get Out all under their banner. Low-budget horror is kind of Blumhouse’s thing. The most the company has spent on a horror movie’s production is $20 million (Halloween Kills and Glass), so it’s safe to say that The Wolf Man likely isn’t going to be a big-budget blockbuster.