The best Universal classic monster movies
The top 3 according to 46 votes from people: Bride of Frankenstein (1935) · Dracula (1931) · The Invisible Man (1933). (Updated Nov 9, 2023.)
Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy, the Wolf Man and the Gill-man: Universal's monster films ranked, based on SlashFilm, Den of Geek and David Vining's definitive ranking.
Top 10
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1
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
James Whale's sequel: scary, funny and romantic.
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2
Dracula (1931)
Bela Lugosi and the start of the world's vampire obsession.
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3
The Invisible Man (1933)
Claude Rains wrapped in bandages, by James Whale.
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4
The Wolf Man (1941)
Lon Chaney Jr. as Larry Talbot.
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5
Frankenstein (1931)
Boris Karloff's creature and the film that made Universal the monster studio.
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6
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
The most entertaining monster mash of them all.
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7
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
The Gill-man and the underwater sequences.
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8
Son of Frankenstein (1939)
Karloff's last turn as the monster, with Lugosi as Ygor.
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9
Werewolf of London (1935)
The first feature-length werewolf film.
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10
The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
Lon Chaney's unmasking, the silent ancestor of the cycle.
Candidates
They don't make it into the top 10… yet. Vote for them to move them up.
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11
The Mummy (1932)
Karloff as Imhotep, awakened in Egypt.
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12
Drácula (1931, Spanish-language version)
Shot at night on the same sets, with Carlos Villarías.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
Is something missing?
Comments (1)
Bride of Frankenstein at #1 is the correct answer. Elsa Lanchester is on screen for like 3 minutes and she's iconic.