Summary
Fans are returning to the world of Universal monster movies with Leigh Whannel’s reboot ofThe Wolf Manon July 18, 2025. Movies such asDracula,The Wolf Man, andFrankensteinhelped turn the titular monsters into icons that remain part of pop culture almost a century later.
Universal, as well as other studios, have helped sustain the longevity of the iconic monsters by revamping them generation after generation. This has resulted in reboots that have taken them in drastically different directions, with some ending up as disappointments, while others have gone down just as famous or more famous than the originals.
10The Mummy (1959)
Hammer Pictures Were Giant Love Letters To Universal
Bringing together Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing again after theirDraculamovie, Hammer Pictures’The Mummytakes the concepts of the first two Universal movies and fuses them. Christopher Lee stars as the mummy known as Kharis, but the true villains are the ones who use ancient magic to control him into murdering others.
Hammer’s version was praised for maintaining the slower pace of Universal’s The Mummy, but taking on the slasher horror approach of its sequel, with Lee and Cushing being effective leads. The resultis an eerie Victorian-era horrorthat featured more brutality and eeriness than most horror movies at its time, something Hammer became known for with its reboots.
9The Invisible Man (2020)
Blumhouse Took The Universal Monster In A Realistic Direction
After the disappointing direction of the 2017 version ofThe Mummy, Universal rebooted their monsters yet again with Leigh Whannell’sThe Invisible Man. Rather than a larger-than-life monster movie,The Invisible Mantook a step back and focused more on the horror aspect of being stalked by an invisible killer.
Blumhouse and Whannel took a page out of their previous haunting movies and portrayed Adrian Griffin less like an eccentric killer, and more as a dark presence in his ex-wife’s life. This makes the build-up to his more over-the-top actions pay off, as Leigh Whannel was praised for his more realistic take on this famous monster, with Elisabeth Moss giving a strong performance as Cecelia.
8The Curse Of Frankenstein
Unlike most takes on Mary Shelley’s classic novel, Victor Frankenstein does not regret his actions in Hammer’sThe Curse Of Frankenstein. Instead, the doctor, played by Peter Cushing, is a relentless and unapologetic mad scientist willing to do anything to accomplish his goals. It raises the classic query of who is the real monster in the Frankenstein story, the creature or the scientist.
InThe Curse Of Frankenstein, the creature is portrayed by Christopher Lee and, just like inThe Mummy, he is an intimidating presence and helps give more character by making the monster look as if he’s always struggling or in pain to move. On top of it all, Hammer’s fingerprints are all over the film, with shockingly gory kills for the time and a dark atmosphere.
7Van Helsing
The Action-Packed Monster Mash That Is Cheesy But Fun
Instead of horror, Universal further embraced the action-adventure blockbuster route after the success ofThe Mummyin 1999. This time, Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, the Wolf Man, and Mr. Hyde all crossed over inVan Helsing,starring Hugh Jackman as the titular monster hunterand Richard Roxborough as an enjoyably over-the-top Dracula.
Back in 2004, critics were not kind to Van Helsing due to its more cheesy direction, but it has since become a cult classic. The action is fun, the urban gothic aesthetic would go on to inspire many other movies and video games around the time, the monsters were all given the proper chance to shine in a shared universe, and many of the special effects still hold up for an early 2000s movie.
6Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
Kenneth Branagh Faithfully Adapted The Book As An Epic Drama
Those looking for a Universal monster movie faithful to the book would enjoyMary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Kenneth Branagh is the star and director of the film, which focuses more on the man rather than the monster, showing the trauma that inspired his desire to create immortal life, but also a deeper exploration into his regrets in creating him.
However, the creature itself also gets to be the star of a large portion of the story with a strong performance by Robert De Niro. Like his creator,Mary Shelley’s Frankensteinportrays the monster more tragically, showing the heartbreaking and villainous sides of the character as he gradually evolves upon resurrection, which fans of the book appreciate.
5Horror Of Dracula
Christopher Lee Changed Dracula Portrayals Forever
While Bela Lugosi revolutionized portraying Dracula on the big screen, many fans believe that Christopher Lee perfected it with his much darker and sinister performance inHorror Of Dracula. He effectively portrayed the character as a charming count of a castle, but when he switches to being a monstrous vampire, Lee becomes terrifying in the role.
Director Terence Fisher famously filled every scene inHorror Of Draculawith an ominous Victorian atmosphere that filled every scene with dread that enhanced Dracula’s presence. This style of horror would be an inspiration formany of the famous Castlevania gamesby Konami. It was also the first monster movie to feature Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing together, with the latter portraying Abraham Van Helsing gracefully.
4Hollow Man
Kevin Bacon Is Terrifying As An Invisible Killer
With top-notch special effects,Hollow Mantells a story that was never shown in Universal’sThe Invisible Man, with the genius doctor turning himself invisible. Kevin Bacon is the star as Sebastian Shaw, and he makes it very believable as the audience watches his descent from an eccentric but brilliant scientist to a bloodthirsty killer with a god complex.
Hollow Man is a movie that wasn’t a massive hit when it came out but slowly gained a cult following that appreciated the special effects used to make Kevin Bacon truly look invisible and some bloody kills. Going from an introspective origin of a villainto more of a slasher movieallowed Kevin Bacon to show off just how talented he is at playing dark villains.
3The Wolfman (2010)
Benicio Del Toro Shines In The Bloody And Brutal Retelling
Benicio Del Toro stars as one of Universal’s most tragic monsters in The Wolfman, with Lawrence Talbot beingforced to transform into a werewolfevery full moon. However, there are twists and turns in this version, which help it stand out from the 1941 film and help it feel fresh while maintaining what people love about the original, including Del Toro portraying the werewolf as well.
Where The Wolfman truly shines, especially in the unrated cut, is its transformations that mix practical and digital effects and how the Wolfman slaughters its prey.The Wolfmanis one of the goriest Universal monster movies, and they add to the tragedy of Lawrence, which Del Toro portrays well, showing a good man not wanting to hurt anyone but being cursed to do so.
2Dracula Untold
The Dracula Movie That Showed The Potential Of The Dark Universe
Seemingly taking direct inspiration fromCastlevania: Lords Of Shadow,Dracula Untoldportrays the Prince Of Darkness as more ofan anti-hero who becomes a vampireto protect his people. Luke Evans plays Vlad The Impaler, and it is the closest thing to Dracula being like a superhero and that’s not to its detriment; he was initially meant to be theIron Manof a shared universe of monsters.
With the ability to create constructs made of bat swarms, super speed, strength, and other powers,Dracula Untoldis a dark epic without losing the fact that he is a monster. Dracula is still a villain in the end, but he is the necessary evil and his transformation into a vampire is another cult gem that found its footing later on streaming rather than in theaters.
1The Mummy (1999)
Chills And Thrills Made For An Iconic Brendan Fraser Movie
The movie that helped turn Brendan Fraser into a famous star,The Mummy, went on to spawn a trilogy, an animated series,and movie-licensed video games. It was a massive hit for Universal that embraced the adventure side of things, while still featuring just enough horror elements to make it a well-balanced monster movie, something that Universal continued to try replicating for years.
Brendan Fraser turned Rick O’Connell into an iconic hero, but Arnold Vosloo is often considered the definitive version of the titular Mummy, even more than the beloved Boris Karloff. Imhotep’s godlike powers and his multiple undead forms cement him as a famous villain, which is only enhanced by the great production design and direction.
