   Dracula: The Legacy Collection (2004) But there's a rarely acknowledged upside to this system: gigantic corporations can put their moneymuscle behind very cool things, when the timing is right and it contributes to the bottom line. Universal, the gigantic-est of all evil giants, sometimes wields its power in ways that leave me awestruck. They swallowed up Motown, which cynical critics saw as a horrifying end to a beautiful era … yet, Motown CD reissues have subsequently become a thing of great majesty! A two-disc Deluxe Edition of I Want You by Marvin Gaye??? Hell yeah! So let the giants shit out all the contrived crowd-pleasers they want, if it's gonna help bankroll cool shit like Deluxe Editions. The Universal Monsters Legacy Collection DVDs were issued as a blatant tie-in to the theatrical release of Van Helsing, which initially made me totally skeptical. After all, Universal had previously put out the classic monster movies as well-packaged DVDs about five years ago, only to take them out of print. For awhile I wondered whether I had missed the boat on those, having been reluctant to buy 70-minute old monster movies at $20 a pop. Plus, the lesser-but-still-interesting sequels were never available. So imagine how thoroughly I shat my pants when I discovered that not only were these new editions better packaged, but they are all 2-disc sets that contain the original Dracula, Frankenstein, and Wolf Man movies, but all the sequels as well! At only $25 per (easily available for less seemingly everywhere! Does this make me want to see Van Helsing? Not really … but I like these Legacy Collections so much that I almost feel like I should, just to hold up my end of the deal. Because Universal has shown that it's possible to fuel the manipulative marketing pipeline while also pleasing the connoisseurs. Now, of course these movies are inescabably hokey – they're not the dark, brooding, atmospheric chillers that old-school critics (and sadly old-fashioned fans) would have you believe. They vacillate wildly between surprisingly cool and utterly campy, from moment to moment. And they get worse as the franchises limp along … though to me, that is sometimes for the better. Is The Ghost of Frankenstein a good movie? No! Do I like it? Yes! And so it is with all of 'em. There is something about these movies, which were the 30s and 40s equivalents of box-office bullshit like Gothika, that has dated so charmingly that I just love to be ensconced by them. I actually feel safe when I watch old Universal "horror" films. The Dracula box contains the 1931 original along with the '31 Spanish version (arguably a cooler movie), Dracula's Daughter from 1936 (which has a nicely suspended vibe), Son of Dracula (1943), and the low-point high point of Universal's Monster era, House of Dracula (1945). The Frankenstein box contains the original ('31), the superior Bride of Frankenstein ('35), Son of Frankenstein ('39), The Ghost of Frankenstein ('42; one of my faves for some reason), and the riotous House of Frankenstein from 1944. The Wolf Man box contains The Wolf Man ('41), Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man ('43; at one point my #1 fave old monster flick), Werewolf of London ('35), and, yes, the complete horseshit of She-Wolf of London ('46). This box is a bit hodgepodgier because the werewolf franchise was so definitely the Wendy's of Universal's horror world. This shit's going to keep me occupied for so many hours, I may have to use a couple of phony sick days and just submerge. I've seen almost all the movies before, but now, as they say, "She's got a new hat!" Then I'll have to use another few sick days to watch 'em again with commentary by the nerds who would do commentary on such films, and the bonus documentaries. Maybe I'll even become invested enough to see Van Helsing. Thank you, Universal. You may jerk off on our faces a lot, but when it comes right down to it, you always wipe off the come.
Review by La Fée |