The monster movie is a vintage horror staple that has started to see a comeback in recent years. With films like It, Pacific Rim, and The Shape of Water, it’s clear that they still have their audience. Horror as we know it began with monster movies and creature features of classic cinema.
Before the gore-fests we know today, we had the original icons of horror like Dracula, the Wolf Man, and Frankenstein’s Monster. What changed? These creeps are still household names but haven’t made a big-screen appearance in some time. Here are 10 classic movie monsters that need a resurrection for the silver screen.
Imhotep/The Mummy
Though Universal Studios “attempted” to bring a mummy movie into the modern age, there’s no substitute for the original. Imhotep is the original mummified madman who needs to remind modern audiences of the age of gods and monsters. Though the Brenden Frasier version of the film is iconic, it’s Karloff’s original we need.
The Mummy from 1932 was absolutely chilling and Boris Karloff delivers a hypnotic and sinister portrayal of Imhotep. It’s a movie that’s less about shock and more about atmosphere. With modern movie techniques and the right script, we’d love to see a return of the original undead monster.
Jekyll and Hyde
How long has it been since you’ve seen this pair outside of an English class? Though several flicks and TV adaptations have used Robert Louis Stevenson’s twisted two-faced tale, we haven’t seen a proper feature film in ages. We’ve seen a share of modern versions of the narrative, but we want to take things back to the London fog where it all began.
We need to see a return to classic gothic horror, and this is the film to do it. The image of the hideous Hyde stalking the streets of London has a sort of slasher-movie quality that people tend to forget. It’s time to bring Jekyll and Hyde off the page again.
Quasimodo
Though Disney supposedly has a remake in the works, we’re not sure how much it will take from the source material. The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a different sort of monster movie where humanity is the monster, not the main character. There are several versions of this trope, but Quasimodo is one of the most famous.
Quasimodo is not a villain, but to the eyes of the world, he’s a monster. It’s a story many viewers can get behind. With modern makeup effects, we could see a new face for the hunchback and have a film as large and grand as Notre Dame itself.
The Creature from the Black Lagoon
With the phenomenal success of The Shape of Water, we think it’s time the original Gill Man got some much-needed attention. If you haven’t seen the original film, it’s actually one of the scariest features in the Universal Monsters series. If ever a monster needed a modern retelling, it’s this green guy.
Out of all the Universal Monsters, the Creature is perhaps the most predatory. Where something like a werewolf is driven by a curse, the Creature is a biological creation who hunts and behaves as an animal would. It would certainly make for an interesting thriller for modern audiences.
The Wolfman
We’re not talking about your typical garden-variety werewolf here, we’re talking about the original lycanthrope. Though it did get a remake featuring Benicio Del Toro in 2010, which is actually pretty good despite the reviews, it’s been some time since we’ve seen him. Modern werewolves owe so much to this guy, but they seem to have forgotten.
We believe if the werewolf story were taken back to its cursed and mystic origins, we’d get something more akin to what the original was. Fantasy-horror flicks have been slightly out of popularity recently, so what better time to bring them back than with a classic.
Dracula
No more modern interpretations, no more romanticized chick flicks/teen screams. We need a Dracula that goes back to his monstrous roots. What people forget is that the tale of Dracula is a horror story first and a gothic romance second. Vampire films today would surely make Bram Stoker and Bela Lugosi turn in their graves.
Though Dracula Untold gave us a taste of the original monster, we need a Dracula flick that is 100 percent horror. We want to see the decrepit castle crypts, Renfield in the asylum, and the hunt led by Dr. Vanhelsing. Bring back the days before vampires sparkled.
Frankenstein’s Monster
Yet another classic monster from the realms of literature, the world of monster movies needs a new, preferably more faithful adaptation of Frankenstein. Considered the catalyst of the sci-fi genre, it needs an appropriate film adaptation. Though the film Victor Frankenstein served as a sort of tribute to the genre, it wasn’t exactly the best representation of the source.
James Whale’s version is the gold standard for classic monsters movies, but we’d love to see a version of Mary Shelley’s story brought to life with modern methods. A blend of both the classic film and the literary masterpiece would be ideal, maybe even shot in black-and-white. Right now, we can only dream.
Martians/Alien Invaders
There was a time in film history when alien invaders were the scariest thing to come from beyond the stars. Since then, alien invaders have been the subject of more action-heavy films instead of the fearsome sci-fi flicks of old. Movies like Independence Day wouldn’t exist without War of the Worlds.
Think about it, how would the human race fair against a race of creatures far more evolved than us. We need to see an alien film that harkens back to horror and classic sci-fi. It’s been far too long since we’ve been warned of cosmic horrors and been told to watch the skies.
The Invisible Man
Though Blumhouse is reportedly concocting a remake, the Invisible Man has been out of films for quite a long time. With the exception of films like Hollow Man, the concept has been somewhat dormant for years. We need to see a return of the mad-scientist angle made famous by the great Claude Raines.
It’s easy to turn the Invisible Man into a psychotic slasher who can’t be seen or caught, but we’d much rather see a complex sci-fi narrative with elements of black comedy for good measure. Hopefully, Blumhouse doesn’t take the easy way to adapt this character.
The Phantom of the Opera
Not since Joel Schumacher’s adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical have we seen a proper representation of this pioneer of the horror genre. Made infamous by Lon Chaney’s makeup and portrayal, the Phantom was at one time the scariest creature to crawl from the horror genre. Then he got romanticized and made into a Broadway star.
A proper Phantom film would feature more scares and less show tunes. The musical is fantastic, but what the world needs is a proper adaptation of the novel by Gaston Leroux. It’s a grotesque love story with a murder mystery tying it all together. What more could a monster movie need?
