Top 10 Universal Monster Movie Reboots, Ranked

Key conclusions

• Universal monster movies live up to their legacy through upgrades that offer new directions and modern twists.
• Hammer Pictures' reboots, such as The Curse of Frankenstein and Blumhouse's The Invisible Man, present uniquely terrifying approaches to iconic monsters.
• Films such as Van Helsing and The Mummy (1999) marked the transition from horror to action-adventure films appealing to a wider audience.

Fans return to the world of Universal's monster movies with Lee Vanello's reboot A wolf man Jan 17, 2025 Movies like Dracula, A wolf manand Frankenstein helped turn the titular monsters into icons that remain a part of pop culture nearly a century later.

Universal, like other studios, helped maintain the longevity of iconic monsters by updating them generation after generation. This led to reboots that took them in drastically different directions, with some ending up as disappointments and others becoming as famous or more famous than the originals.

10 The Mummy (1959)

The Hammer pictures were giant love letters to Universal

• Release date: December 16, 1959
• Director: Terence Fisher
• Starring: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Yvonne Furneau, George Pastel

Together again Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing after them Dracula film, Hammer Pictures' Mummy takes the concepts of the first two Universal films and combines them. Christopher Lee stars as a mummy known as Harris, but the real villains are those who use ancient magic to force him to kill others.

Hammer's version was praised for maintaining the slower pace of Universal's The Mummy, but adopting the slasher horror approach of its sequel, which featured Lee and Cushing as effective leads. The result was a grisly Victorian-era horror that had more gore and gore than most horror films of the time, which Hammer became known for through his reboots.

9 The Invisible Man (2020)

Blumhouse turned the universal monster into a realistic direction

• Release date: February 24, 2020
• Director: Leigh Whannell
• Cast: Elisabeth Moss, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Aldis Hodge, Storm Reid

After the disappointing direction of the 2017 version MummyUniversal rebooted their monsters again with Lee Whannell Invisible man. Instead of a larger-than-life monster movie, Invisible man took a step back and focused more on the terrifying aspect of being stalked by an invisible killer.

Blumhouse and Whannell took a page from their previous haunting films and portrayed Adrian Griffin less as an eccentric killer and more as a dark presence in his ex-wife's life. The build-up to his more over-the-top action pays off with this, with Lee Vanello being praised for a more realistic take on this famous monster, and Elisabeth Moss giving a great performance as Cecilia.

8 Curse of Frankenstein

The mad doctor is as scary as the monster

• Release date: June 25, 1957
• Director: Terence Fisher
• Cast: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Hazel Court, Robert Urquhart

Unlike most versions of Mary Shelley's classic novel, Victor Frankenstein has no regrets about his actions in Hammer Curse of Frankenstein. Instead, the doctor, played by Peter Cushing, is a relentless and unforgiving mad scientist willing to do anything to achieve his goals. This raises the classic question of who is the real monster in the Frankenstein story, the creature or the scientist.

U Curse of Frankensteinthe creature is portrayed by Christopher Lee and, as in the Mummyit's intimidating presence and helps add more character by making the monster look like it's constantly struggling or in pain to move. To top it all off, Hammer's fingerprints are all over the place, with shockingly gory kills for the time and a dark atmosphere.

7 Van Helsing

Packed with monster action, but fun

• Release date: May 7, 2004
• Director: Stephen Somers
• Starring: Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, Richard Roxborough, David Wenham

Instead of a horror film, Universal moved towards an action-adventure blockbuster after the success of Universal. Mummy in 1999. This time, Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, the Wolfman and Mr. Hyde have moved into Van Helsingstarring Hugh Jackman as the titular monster hunter and Richard Roxborough as the delightfully over-the-top Dracula.

Back in 2004, critics weren't kind to Van Helsing due to its slicker direction, but it's since become a cult classic. The action is fun, the urban gothic aesthetic would inspire many other films and video games of the time, all the monsters were given their proper chance to shine in the shared universe, and many of the special effects still hold up. Film of the early 2000s.

6 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Kenneth Branagh faithfully adapted the book as an epic drama

• Release date: November 4, 1994
• Director: Kenneth Branagh
• Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Robert De Niro, Helena Bonham Carter, Tom Hulse

Those looking for a true-to-the-book Universal monster movie will love it Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Kenneth Branagh stars and directs the film, which focuses more on the man than the monster, showing the trauma that inspired his desire to create immortal life, but also a deeper exploration of his regrets about creating it.

However, the creature itself also becomes the star of much of the story thanks to a good performance by Robert De Niro. Like its creator, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley portrays the monster in a more tragic way, showing the soulful and villainous side of the character that gradually develops after the resurrection, which fans of the book appreciate.

5 Horror of Dracula

Christopher Lee forever changed the image of Dracula

• Release date: May 8, 1958
• Director: Terence Fisher
• Cast: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Melissa Stribling, Michael Gough

While Bela Lugosi revolutionized the portrayal of Dracula on the big screen, many fans believe that Christopher Lee perfected it with his much darker and more sinister performance in Horror of Dracula. He portrayed the character effectively as the charming earl of the castle, but when he transitions into the role of a terrifying vampire, Lee becomes terrifying in the role.

Director Terence Fisher filled every scene perfectly Horror of Dracula with an ominous Victorian atmosphere infusing every scene with terror that enhanced Dracula's presence. This style of horror would be the inspiration for many of Konami's famous Castlevania games. It was also the first monster movie to co-star Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, with the latter portraying Abraham Van Helsing with finesse.

4 An empty man

Kevin Bacon is terrifying as the invisible killer

• Release date: August 2, 2000
• Director: Paul Verhoeven
• Cast: Kevin Bacon, Elizabeth Shue, Josh Brolin, Kim Dickens

With top-notch special effects, An empty man tells a story that has never been shown at Universal Invisible manat the same time, the brilliant doctor became invisible. Kevin Bacon stars as Sebastian Shaw and makes it very believable as the audience watches him go from an eccentric but brilliant scientist to a bloodthirsty killer with a God complex.

The Hollow Man is a film that wasn't a huge hit when it was released, but slowly developed a cult following with fans who appreciated the special effects used to make Kevin Bacon truly invisible and some gory murders. Going from an introspective villain background to a slasher film allowed Kevin Bacon to show just how talented he is at playing dark villains.

3 The Wolf Man (2010)

Benicio Del Toro shines in a bloody and brutal retelling

• Release date: February 12, 2010
• Director: Joe Johnston
• Starring: Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt, Hugo Weaving

Benicio Del Toro plays one of Universal's most tragic monsters in The Wolf Man, and Lawrence Talbot is forced to turn into a werewolf every full moon. However, this version has twists and turns that help it stand out from the 1941 film and help it feel fresh while still retaining what people love about the original, including Del Toro as a werewolf as well.

Where The Wolf Man really shines, especially in the unrated version, is his transformations, which combine practical and digital effects, and how the Wolf Man kills his prey. Wolf is one of the scariest monster movies in the Universal universe, and they add to Lawrence's tragedy, which Del Toro portrays well as a good man who doesn't want to hurt anyone, but is cursed to do so.

2 Dracula Untold

A film about Dracula that showed the potential of the dark universe

• Release date: October 10, 2014
• Director: Gary Shore
• Cast: Luke Evans, Sarah Goddon, Charles Dance, Dominic Cooper

It seems to draw direct inspiration from Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow, Dracula Untold portrays the Prince of Darkness more as an anti-hero who becomes a vampire to protect his people. Luke Evans plays Vlad the Impaler, and it's the closest Dracula comes to a superhero, and that's not a bad thing; originally it was supposed to be Iron man of the general universe of monsters.

With the ability to create constructs with a pack of bats, super speed, strength and other powers, Dracula Untold is a dark epic without losing sight of the fact that it is a monster. Dracula is still a villain in the end, but he's a necessary evil, and his transformation into a vampire is another cult gem that later found its footing in broadcasts rather than theaters.

1 The Mummy (1999)

Thrills and thrills are made for Brendan Fraser's cult film

• Release date: May 4, 1999
• Director: Stephen Somers
• Starring: Brandon Fraser, Rachel Weisz, Arnold Vosloo, John Hannah

The movie that made Brendan Fraser a big star, Mummyspawned a trilogy, animated series, and video games under the film license. It was a huge hit for Universal, embracing the adventure side of things while still having enough horror elements to make it a well-balanced monster movie, something Universal has continued to try to replicate over the years.

Brendan Fraser turned Rick O'Connell into an iconic character, but Arnold Vosla is often considered the definitive version of the titular Mummy, even more so than the beloved Boris Karloff. Imhotep's godlike powers and his many undead forms establish him as a famous villain, which is only enhanced by the excellent design and direction.