The Classic Universal Horror Confab

Recently I got into a discussion with some friends regarding the classic Universal horror slate. The specific debate being - which was the best film? The easy money answer is always BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, but I like to say THE INVISIBLE MAN, which I think is better in a few ways (though possibly not all ways).

I thought it might be fun to bring an expanded version of this conversation to the Corner (if such a thread already exists, I apologize, I could not locate it).

I have very fond childhood memories of going to the library in Edina, MN and holing up in the video rooms with Universal monster flics while my mom looked for books. So I'd love to hear other people's thoughts, musings, and stories.

Favorite film? Favorite monster? Why? (Personally I love CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, but always thought the Creature was kinda meh beyond his amazing costume design. Conversely I love the Phantom of the Opera, but didn't like the Claude Raines version.) What are other great films outside the "classic monster" canon? Like THE OLD DARK HOUSE. Etc.

I figured there had to have been a thread at some point. The combo of my own incompetence and the fickle nature of CHUD's search engine yielded nothing for me, alas.

I think BRIDE gets extra love because its idiosyncratic stuff made it more accessible to none-horror types, especially with later generations less willing to view older films within their proper contexts. It was the only Universal monster movie they showed us in film school.

Regardless of which is better or worse, I think it's interesting to look at both those Whales' FRANKENSTEIN films and - like a SPIDER MAN / SPIDER MAN 2 situation - see what aspects of the character Whales liked most. Is there an earlier horror-comedy than BRIDE?

Now why didn't that come up when I searched "universal horror"? I've got to get better at this.

Is there a way to delete a thread?

Well, as I have no idea how to delete a thread, this shall remain it seems...