The Deep Meaning of the Universal Monsters 

The curious thing about "the Other" when applied to the Creature from the Black Lagoon is that it's a double subversion of the idea. On the one hand, the Gill Man is "the Other" because he's humanoid, but clearly not human; he's some sort of strange amphibious twist on what we know to be human. On the other hand, the humans are "the Other(s)" because they are the ones invading the Gill Man's home and messing things up. To him, the film is a home invasion story.

Awesome exploration of how the Universal Monsters were situated with some prevailing cultural ideas and how we can still see them now. Not to even mention how significant they were for contemporary filmmaking, which sets the stage for so many other of our popular stories. I would be interested to see what you think about how these attempts to revive these characters have gone, mainly because they are seen as failures. I wonder how changing these stories from their original meaning to fit the MCU mold caused them to fail? At least, that seemed to be the case. Awesome video!

I absolutely love this and your channel! I just finished undergrad with a theology degree and minor in cinema, so I feel like you’re a kindred spirit :-) You’re spot on about the otherness in the classic horror films, and the care that directors like James Whale consistently showed their monsters. The interactions between the blind man and the monster in Bride of Frankenstein (my personal favorite) especially stand out to me as a way that the church should exist in the world. I’m also very interested in the way that the Biblical apocalyptic genre functions parallel to stories like the Universal classics. Just as the book of Revelation reminds us not to shun the strangeness in our world and religion-a butchering of one of David Dark’s ideas-Halloween makes us take ourselves less seriously as we step into a stranger’s shoes. At any rate, happy Halloween!

Unlike some horror films today, the Universal monsters I grew up with presented a very Christian world view. While evil is powerful and terrifying, the power of God is always supreme. Dracula must flee from the cross, Maleva uses Christian ritual to help the Wolfman. I would like you to do a video on just one film in particular: "Dracula's Daughter" 1936. This film illustrates everything you said perfectly.

For someone who is a believer in God but also drawn and intrigued by the dark, spooky, unknown this video is top tier I love halloween and horror , I really enjoyed your take on the topic!

Thanks for finding theological and religious significance in these classic horror films, in horror in general, and in Halloween. This is a breath of fresh air from casual dismissal by many conservative Christians. I have been exploring these issues for years at the TheoFantastique blog and various books. Keep up the good work.

Are u familiar w the Marshall McLuhan quote, “Technology forces us to live mythically” I think about this often in light of the rise of modern myths like superheroes as well as monsters It’s a little different from what you’re saying, however the sentiment is not that different. As an author my best stuff always intersects at what I call myth and mud. Fiction allows us to explore in ways that philosophy and even religion won’t, or at least, doesn’t allow. At least in my experience I’m not a Christian. But I grew up in church and went thru a deconstruction of my own but anyway, I appreciate your thoughtful approach

You nailed it. Everyone will eventually try to engage with stories and myth to re-enchant the world with some spirit even if they don't believe it.

Great assessment - enjoyed it!

If the universal monsters are ever rebooted in the future, I hope studios take Godzilla minus one as the inspiration for how to do this. This means lower budgets, better scripts, don’t show the monsters too much, make the characters LIKABLE, use PRACTICAL EFFECTS, and keep the focus on the horror.