Classic Monsters are a group of characters that encapsulates the dozens of original Hollywood films released during the 1920s to the 1950s and also includes more modern movie monsters. These films encompass a great many genres from horror to fantasy and romance, but all incorporate a horror character, and are intended to thrill or scare the audience. The first film was a silent film version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which was released in 1923. The films that followed were cinematic representations of popular horror stories. This included Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, The Wolf Man, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. They were hugely popular in movie theaters during the first half of the twentieth century.
The first monster movie was The Golem, it was released in 1915 and directed by Paul Wegener and Henrik Galeen. The Golem was a German silent film and the first to include a monster. The film was shortly followed by Nosferatu (1922), Die Nibelungen (1924), and Dracula (1931).
The Universal Monsters include Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, The Phantom of the Opera, The Wolf Man, and The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Other Universal Monsters include Ygor, the Bride of Frankenstein, and Mr. Hyde. Universal Monsters consists of the horror villains that come together for a shared goal and mission.
The period of time when the classic Universal monster movies take place depends on the movie, but most take place between the late 1800s and the early 1900s. The classic Universal monster movies create a shift in reality and as a consequence the time period they take place in is uncertain.
