“It’s morbid. No one wants to see that sort of thing,” is what Carl Laemmle, the head of Universal Studios told his son Junior in 1931. He was referring to Frankenstein, which he thought unworthy of cinema. He had already begrudgingly allowed Junior to produce Dracula, but he attributed its monumental success to a one-time uke. Fortunately, Frankenstein was a hit, and Laemmle was proved wrong again. Universal had been into horror films since 1923, but these atmospheric newcomers, in uenced by European cinema, were markedly di erent. Tod Browning’s suave, erotic vampire and James Whale’s melancholy Monster were indeed disturbing and morbid for 1932 audiences, but that did nothing to deter their appetite. Cinema bookings were prolonged across America, and some theatres ran films around the clock to meet demand.
Universal was to follow up with other films, soon becoming a trendsetter in American horror. This revival presents seven of the films, remastered in state of the art 2k. To watch these films today, rendered timeless by their ingenious craftsmanship and artistic sensibility, is an in nitely pleasurable experience.

“It’s morbid. No one wants to see that sort of thing,” is what Carl Laemmle, the head of Universal Studios told his son Junior in 1931. He was referring to Frankenstein, which he thought unworthy of cinema. He had already begrudgingly allowed Junior to produce Dracula, but he attributed its monumental success to a one-time uke. Fortunately, Frankenstein was a hit, and Laemmle was proved wrong again. Universal had been into horror films since 1923, but these atmospheric newcomers, in uenced by European cinema, were markedly di erent. Tod Browning’s suave, erotic vampire and James Whale’s melancholy Monster were indeed disturbing and morbid for 1932 audiences, but that did nothing to deter their appetite. Cinema bookings were prolonged across America, and some theatres ran films around the clock to meet demand.
Universal was to follow up with other films, soon becoming a trendsetter in American horror. This revival presents seven of the films, remastered in state of the art 2k. To watch these films today, rendered timeless by their ingenious craftsmanship and artistic sensibility, is an in nitely pleasurable experience.