Special Features

Bonus features on The Mummy (1932) 4K UHD:

  • Mummy Dearest: The Horror Tradition Unearthed
  • He Who Made Monsters: The Life and Art of Jack Pierce
  • Unraveling the Legacy of The Mummy
  • The Mummy archives
  • 100 Years of Universal: The Carl Laemmle Era
  • Trailer gallery
  • Feature commentary with Paul M. Jensen
  • Feature commentary with Rick Baker, Scott Essman, Steve Haberman, Bob Burns and Brent Armstrong

Bonus features on Bride of Frankenstein 4K UHD:

  • She’s Alive: Creating the Bride of Frankenstein
  • Bride of Frankenstein archive
  • 100 Years of Universal: Restoring the Classics
  • Trailer gallery
  • Feature commentary with Scott Macqueen

Bonus features on Phantom of the Opera (1943) 4K UHD

  • The Opera Ghost: A Phantom Unmasked
  • Production photographs
  • 100 Years of Universal: The Lot
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Feature commentary with Scott Macqueen

Bonus features on Creature from the Black Lagoon 4K UHD

  • Creature from the Black Lagoon (3D Version)
  • Back to the Black Lagoon
  • Production photographs
  • 100 Years of Universal: The Lot
  • Feature commentary with Tom Weaver

Review

This set includes four upgraded releases, most of which were available in a half-dozen other DVD and Blu-ray releases. The Mummy (1932), Bride of Frankenstein and Creature from the Black Lagoon all had Legacy Collections (along with Wolf Man and Dracula) released around the same time as Stephen Sommers’ Van Helsing. Those comprehensive sets included the original classics and related sequels — most of which were severely diminishing returns but fun to explore. The only exception was 1946’s Phantom of the Opera, which was only included in the larger set with every Legacy Collection. With the 4K releases, Universal has shifted to yearly four-film sets, starting with the most famous. Last year saw Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), The Wolf Man (1941) and The Invisible Man (1933). This year includes Bride of Frankenstein, The Mummy, Creature from the Black Lagoon and Phantom of the Opera.

There isn’t much to say about these films that hasn’t been said before, and better, by scholars and critics over decades of appreciation. I’m a big fan of Bride and Creature; I find The Mummy tedious, and this version of Phantom is a moot point in comparison to the film it’s ostensibly remaking. I already own all of the legacy collections (except for Phantom), and honestly, the restoration work on these does not make them significantly better additions to a Universal Monsters collection than the previous releases. These are the gems of the franchise, but part of what makes those series so fun is diving into the sheer, capitalistic breadth of them.

Given the focus on just the classics, it’s really hard to imagine what a Universal Monsters 4K set looks like next year. Will they dive outside of the marquee monsters and upgrade some of the more niche pictures, like Murders of the Rue Morgue? Will they just start releasing sets of generally lousy sequels? I talk big game, but I’d absolutely buy a set with Dracula’s Daughter, Revenge of the Creature, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man and Son of Frankenstein. I guess we’ll see in 2023!