The Core Universal Monster Movies Ranked Worst To Best

“To a new world of Gods and Monsters!”

Bride of Frankenstein is clearly the most polished of the eight essential Universal monster movies, on a technical level; but it's the film's dark humour, sincerity and surreal otherworldliness that make it the overall stand-out. It wouldn’t be a stretch to call it the best horror sequel ever made (if not, then it certainly comes in at a close second to Dawn of the Dead). In fact, Bride of Frankenstein is one of the all-time greatest and most important American films of any genre. Had it been up to James Whale, there wouldn't have been a sequel; he thought he had exhausted the potential of the source material with the first film.

Jack Pierce’s make-up design is vastly improved on from Frankenstein; it shows great attention to detail, and even goes through multiple regenerative stages as the creature is subjected to more hardship and abuse. But what really makes the monster a stronger presence in Bride is that he is no longer mute: he is philosophical and articulate. As with the unfazed little girl playing by the pond in Frankenstein, Bride has a mirroring scene of outsider interaction in the blind hermit’s cottage. This is arguably the best scene in any of the Universal monster movies.

The best way to illustrate how Bride is so much grander than its predecessor is to compare the big reveals of the two creations. In Frankenstein, Karloff isn’t revealed right away during the famous “it’s alive!” scene. We first see him a while later, accompanied by no music or dramatic fanfare; it's simply a slow turn to the camera, and some jump-cuts. The big reveal of Elsa Lanchester’s Bride, on the other hand, is anything but understated.