6. The Mummy
The Universal Horror films of the 1930s are the pinnacle of horror films. Despite, the fact that some of the scares may seem dated today the films are a testament to how much atmosphere and visuals is a central part to filmmaking. Dracula still brings to mind Bela Lugosi coming down the steps, speaking slowly and deliberately in his Hungarian accent. Frankenstein has the Monster interacting with a little girl throwing flower into the pond. These images and scenes are still haunting to this very day close to eight decades later. The Mummy does not have that scene that stands out in my memory and I have seen that film more recently than the other two. Boris Karloff does bring an ominous presence to the film as he is also afforded a more complex character. But, the fact that Universal Pictures obviously treated these films as nothing more than B-movie cash grab is quite obvious with its stilted dialogue. The film become more like a melodrama as the moments of terror is quite limited, even more so than Dracula, which is that films constant complaint. A lot of horror movie does not stand up to time but The Mummy especially so.