People who know me, know that I’m a Monster Kid through and through. I don’t remember a time when I didn’t love monsters.
Thinking back, it certainly started with a love of dinosaurs and quickly moved from there to imaginary creatures, especially those on TV and ones I probably first saw in toy stores: The Classic Universal Monsters.
Those monsters appeared in a series of monster/horror films starting in 1931 with Bela Lugosi’s Dracula (though you could date it to silent Lon Chaney, Sr., films) and running through until about 1960. Superstars in the series include Dracula, the Frankenstein Monster, Bride of Frankenstein, the Wolfman (originally Wolf Man), the Mummy, and Creature from the Black Lagoon, among others.
Every so often, Universal puts out another monster film, or a remake of an old one. The Invisible Man is the latest in this venerable “series,” but before that, Universal tried to cash in on the MARVEL Cinematic Universe’s successes, by creating their own Dark Universe. Sadly, it didn’t really happen, and — just before The Invisible Man (2020) came out — Derek M. Koch brought together me, and filmmakers Christopher R. Mihm, and Joshua Kennedy together for a marathon roundtable podcast on what we thought went wrong, and what Universal might do differently to revive their beloved monsters. You can listen to that epic show here:
Monster Kid Radio #461 – Revamping Universal’s Dark Universe.
Interestingly, with the success of the small-budget Invisible Man and the announcement today of a Dracula film, it actually seems like Universal is taking our advice — whether they actually heard it or merely came to the same conclusions themselves. I have hope this is the start of something monster-good!
And speaking of epic and monsters, Derek and I also participated in the 10th Anniversary show for Rod Barnett and Troy Guinn’s NaschyCast — examining the films of Spanish monster auteur-star Paul Naschy (a.k.a. Jacinto Molina), creator of El Hombre Lobo (the wolfman) You can listen to that even longer podcast below:
NaschyCast #62 – 10th Anniversary talking El Hombre Lobo (the wolfman).
Or, I suppose you could skip around and find the parts that Derek and I did — but, really, I’d recommend listening to the whole thing. It’ll inform and excite you if you’re a Naschy fan, and if you’re not — it may just turn you into one!
And on the subject of excitement… Watch for a new, thrilling monster project announcement from me in the very near future!
Hopefully, these two podcasts will keep you busy until I can tell you what I’m talking about!
Remember, you can support this and all my other writing work, including Frost Harrow, Dr. Cushing’s Chamber of Horrors, and more, by joining my Patreon for a buck or two a month. Thanks!
