Classic Movie Monsters Done Right!

Frankenstein’s Monster

Movie: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

While there’s no arguing how monumental performance that Borris Karloff gave as Frankenstein’s Monster, he really didn’t capture the tortured mind that Shelly told of in her novel. That’s why I’m going with Robert De Niro in the 1994 film from Kenneth Branagh. In it, De Niro was a man forced to come back to life at the hands of a scientist who wanted to play God. The problem is that once some is dead, what comes after that? Do they have a soul? A purpose? A life? These are all questions that Victor should have asked himself before forcing life into his Creation because once this cat’s out of the bag there’s no turning back. Of all the classic movie monsters, this is the one that struggles the most with his humanity and De Niro soon finds himself filled with relentless rage as the idea of being forced back into the world to live his life as a monster. Rather than take up cross fit though, he finds a better outlet for his rage and sets his eyes on his monstrous creator.

Honorable Mention: Young Frankenstein

How could you not love this horror-comedy from the incredibly brilliant Mel Brooks?

Vampires

Movie: Fright Night (2011)

I knew it was going to be hard to pick just one incarnation of these classic movie monsters. After all, I did a whole list of vampire movies just a few weeks ago, so I know there have been dozens of takes on these creatures. For me though, the remake of Fright Night nailed exactly what I imagine modern vampires to be. Jerry seemed like just any other good looking new guy in a neighborhood. Beneath is all though lurked a monster that hunted humans and kept his prey alive long enough to get everything he needed from them to survive. Not only that but he was simply a subspecies of vampire that lived mostly in caves and buried themselves to avoid the sun. While so many modern movies make them out to be either monsters or tortured souls, Jerry was an apex predator that accepted what he was. Sure there were rules he had to play by, but Jerry had been around for so long that he knew all the loopholes to make him a truly terrifying vampire.

Honorable Mention: 30 Days of Night

Vampires don’t glitter and they don’t play nice. This film captured the monster aspect of these creatures perfectly and turned them into the stuff of nightmares.

Zombies

Movie: 28 Days Later

There’s no arguing that George A. Romero is the father of these modern classic movie monsters, but that doesn’t mean he was the end all be all when it came to them. There have been dozens upon dozens of films since Night of the Living Dead, and the one that really scared the crap out of me was 28 Days Later. In this imagining from Danny Boyle, the zombies were more like rabid animals infected with one of the most contagious diseases ever seen on cinema. While the slow lumbering ones might have sheer numbers, avoiding them, for the most part, doesn’t seem like a problem. However, when they’re racing after you and climbing over everything in their path, suddenly the zombie apocalypse doesn’t seem quite as fun. Since Boyle’s vision of the monsters we’vs seen similar versions in World War Z and Dawn of the Dead.

Honorable Mentions: Night of the Living Dead and Return of the Living Dead

In this case, George A. Romero’s original vision is still one of the absolute best in Night of the Living Dead. However, the blood-filled horror comedy Return of the Living Dead gives the creatures mildly functioning minds which allows for plenty of chilling laughs.

Of course, I’m sure there are a lot of you who might not agree with the picks I’ve made for this list. If so, be sure to leave a comment below and I’ll be happy to take a look at any movies you might want me to check out. I’d also love to hear what your favorite entries from this list might be as well. In the meantime, be sure to check out this article from time to time in the future, because as newer and better versions of classic movie monsters hit the big screen, I’ll be sure to update it!