When once they were modern villains for audiences, the Universal Classic Monsters have since become pop culture icons. Several attempts have been made to revitalize these monsters from the past. But despite some success like The Invisible Man (2020), others have not fared so well such as The Wolfman (2010) and The Mummy (2017). Nothing has truly replicated the experience of the original Universal Classic Monsters, so perhaps it would be wise not to watch modern adaptations. Instead, just like the monsters themselves, watch films from the past to truly enjoy their wrath and pathos.

Drácula (1931)

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Tod Browning’s film adapted from Bram Stoker’s tale of vampirism is far more well known than the Spanish version made by George Melford. It’s essentially the same film, almost a complete duplicate. Almost. The American director was hired by Universal Pictures to produce the film for a Spanish-language audience. Once considered a lost film, it has now been properly preserved in the Library of Congress.

Shot at night after a day’s worth of material was completed on Browning’s film, Melford and his production had the opportunity to make alterations. The end result was telling. Drácula was longer in its runtime than Browning’s film, with added scenes never seen in the English-language one. It was more sensual, with the costuming much more revealing on actress Lupita Tovar, who played the Spanish counterpart to Mina. The film also enjoyed several stylistic flourishes in its cinematography. Whereas in Browning's film the introduction of Count Dracula involved the camera being static, the sequence was completely altered in the Spanish-language film. Instead, the camera dollied forward so smoothly and dream-like towards the Count, it was as if the camera was under his spell. But more importantly, how different was the Spanish actor who played the titular villain compared to Bela Lugosi?

Carlos Villarías did not outright copy Lugosi’s performance. Villarías went for more charm when interacting with the characters, compared to Lugosi’s colder approach. Villarías also made Lugosi’s performance seem much more subtle as the Spanish actor gave an unhinged aspect to the Count, with his wide eyes only getting wider in each scene.

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The New Invisible Man (1958)

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Directed by Alfredo B. Crevenna, this Mexican film took great inspiration from the Universal Pictures sequel, The Invisible Man Returns, rather than the 1933 original. Invisibility was given in a serum to a man wrongfully convicted of a murder. Of course, the serum proved anything but helpful, ultimately driving the man insane. Right away, there were no surprises for audiences as to what to expect. Various images in the opening credits sequence had the Invisible Man in clothes while none of his body is seen. In the case that English-language audiences might have been confused with this film’s connection to Universal Pictures, another helpful title was given, Invisible Man in Mexico.

Director Crevenna made a career of churning out Mexican schlock films with colorful titles. For audiences who wanted more horror, there was The Incredible Faces of Dr. B (1963) about a mad scientist that drank the fluids of his victims' brains with the hopes of achieving immortality. And for audiences who didn’t want to be too unsettled, there was Neutron vs. The Maniac (1964), which involved a masked wrestler tracking down a killer at a sanitarium.

The Strange Case of the Man and the Beast (1951)

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If you got the hint from the title, this one featured Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in an early non-English adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson novella. Filmed in Argentina, this version included a storyline where Dr. Jekyll started a family before his dark past as Mr. Hyde resurfaced.

Italian actor Mario Soffici, who lived in Argentina for most of his life, played the dual role. He was significantly older than most variations of the character, giving the role a sense of maturity. He also directed the film and he had quite the resume. Soffici had previously directed Prisoners of the Land (1939), a seminal film in Argentine cinema. One of the screenwriters of The Strange Case of The Man and the Beast, was Ulyses Petit de Murat who also had a hand in penning Prisoners of the Land. For a keen eyed viewer, one might notice a notable aspect to the film was its cinematography. It was very influenced by the deep shadows of German Expressionism as seen in earlier monster flicks such as Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.

The Mark of the Wolfman (1968)

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While Lon Chaney Jr. was forever linked to his performance as the hairy beast in Universal Pictures The Wolf Man (1941), so too was Spanish actor, Paul Naschy, in his own take on the character. And like Chaney Jr., Naschy went on to portray the character of werewolf Count Waldemar Daninsky in a series of films. But while Chaney Jr. only did four sequels, Naschy went on to appear in twelve films as the werewolf Count, with eleven accounted for and one believed a “lost film,” although many have even disputed that it existed at all.

None of the films in the Hombre Lobo series had a continuing storyline which linked the previous installment to the following sequel and each entry gave a new origin story to how Naschy’s character became a werewolf. What might also be confusing was the alternate title to the first film, Frankenstein’s Bloody Terror, despite having nothing to do with the character of Frankenstein. No doubt it was a promotional tactic to get more butts into the theater seats.

The Aztec Mummy (1957)

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This Mexican film began the first of a trilogy that centered around Popoca, the Aztec Mummy. It’s safe to say they were less prestigious films and more popcorn flicks, with the third installment given the outrageous title of The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy. Even more incredulous, the whole trilogy was filmed in 1957.

A more unique aspect to the story compared to the Universal Pictures film, was that Mexican audiences had a closer connection to what they saw on screen. In The Mummy (1932), English archaeologists encountered Boris Karloff’s ancient Egyptian high priest on foreign land. In The Aztec Mummy, the main cast of characters were from the very region where the ancient undead came back with fury. Don’t miss out on the sequel, where a Mexican wrestler took on the role of a crimefighter.

The Spirit of the Beehive (1973)

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While the monster of Universal Pictures Frankenstein (1931) was a tragic figure, it wasn’t until the 1970s that it became a symbol of Spain’s dark past. Director Victor Erice made The Spirit of The Beehive during the final years of the Francoist regime, a dictatorship under the rule of Francisco Franco which began all the way back in 1939.

For over three decades, life under the Francoist regime was restrictive and horrid. When it slowly started to allow films to be made, all in an effort to clean its negative image, the “Francoist aesthetic” was applied to many of these films. Artists had to be careful in how they expressed their frustrations and filmmakers found they could use a mix of fantasy and allegory as critique. Director Erice went about doing just that with The Spirit of the Beehive. Haunting and melancholic, this was an arthouse film with a restraint far different from the tone and pace of the films usually associated with the Universal Classic Monsters. It followed a small girl named Ana who lived in an isolated village during the early years of the Francoist regime. When she catches a screening of Universal’s Frankenstein, she becomes fascinated with the hulking, tall, grunting creature. So much so, she goes out to find it.

The gothic monster does make an appearance in very similar makeup as the Universal Classic one and when it happens, it is steeped in symbolism. Erice’s film has been labelled a masterpiece of Spanish cinema and it is still heavily influential today, most notably with director Guillermo del Toro and his two films, The Devil’s Backbone and Pan’s Labyrinth.

Howl of the Devil (1987)

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It wasn’t enough for actor Paul Naschy to be in a whole franchise of films dedicated to the Wolfman. He went on to do this hybrid of slasher-meets-monster flick and the actor’s love for these monsters was on full display. Naschy dressed as an assortment of classic and gothic villains. There was the Phantom, Mr. Hyde, his werewolf Count from the Hombre Lobo series, and even Frankenstein’s monster.

An isolated mansion was featured. Black magic was a prominent plot device. And if that wasn’t enough, a mysterious black-gloved killer is brought in, clearly taken from the bloody Italian giallo films. Over-the-top and practically delirious, Paul Naschy was nothing but passionate for the monsters of the past and this film was his loveletter.

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