The Failed Potential of the Dark Universe 

Del Toro is literally THE perfect guy to do something like this.

If a Robert Eggers' Nosferatu actually happens my film life will be complete. The Witch is one of my favorite movies of all time and he could make something transcendent out of Nosferatu.

For what it is worth, DRACULA UNTOLD was actually a good film and had the potential to go in a fresh direction with the Dracula mythos. Yet, you are correct, The Dark Universe need not be a carbon copy of the MCU or any other action franchise.

The original Dark Universe shocked the world because they never saw the like of it before. It was Gothic, romantic, sinister, poetic, frightening and macabre with humour that evolved from the elements of each story. The original Dark Universe did not have "movie stars" it had actors who gave pathos and meaning to the characters. Most of these were written in the Victorian era, when people were fascinated by the macabre and conflicts of morality. When Hammer made their versions they introduced blood and a sexuality that was more telling than before, and again used actors, not stars. DRACULA: He is cursed with an immortality, the story tells the horror of that, and the penalty ( consuming blood ) that needs to be performed to sustain it. Although thought of as the epitome of evil, he fears God and fears death. FRANKENSTEIN: The point of the story was, why man should not play God, and consequences of when he does. He is so focused on creating life that he doesn't realise how far from humanity he keeps going away from, and that it is he and not his creation that is the monster. THE MUMMY: Being buried alive because he fell in love, he has spent thousands of years of a living hell, that once released nothing can stop his revenge. THE WOLFMAN: Cursed by circumstance out of his control, the story is about him trying to find a cure while trying not to kill the people whom he cares about. To succeed with a Dark Universe, each story has to be organic with a genuine Gothic and unsettling atmosphere. These are human stories, that reflect the frailties of the the human mind. We need to go back to original movies to see why are we still watching them, and will we watch the modern film in 90 years time.

Impressive, I personally thought the dark universe attempts were over after the failure of the mummy and after the invisible man movie. Also I had no idea there were “previous attempt’s” of the dark university before Dracula untold and I still hope that eventually someone , somehow will be able to creat an amazing and well deserved “dark universe “.

Guillermo Del Toro is the PERFECT man to spearhead a Dark Universe....his gothic storytelling about monsters which reveal more about human nature than the monsters itself are the perfect way to make movies about these ancient horror characters....

It is funny that Van Helsing had almost no critical possitive reviews, since the movie does have the best werewolves even now. (compared to the Wolfman and Underworld).

It’d be tough to have a dark universe where all the monsters exist in the same world, maybe the common thread is a family of monster hunters or civilizations that have had encounters with them throughout history and that impacts the future and so on. A lot of potential but you need the right person in charge and you gotta put in the effort

Sleepy Hollow is one of my favorite films, I love its level of horror as someone who isn't a big fan of horror.

Honestly all of these movies have the potential to be truly great modern horror movies. I don't want them to be action movies.

I loved this video. I really hope that a unique iteration of the Universal Monsters makes it and actually succeeds.

Eiko Ishioka's costumes for Coppola's Dracula remain some of THE best film costumes of all time. I don't care if they're historically inaccurate, they are iconic.

Dracula untold was a good movie, in my opinion. I loved it. It is a shame there's no sequel.

2:00 after watching unhinged, I really want A Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Russel crowe film, he was easily the best part about the mummy

The failed Dark Universe doesn’t get talked about enough

I was pretty keen at the time for a Dark Universe but it seems that stand alone films in some kind of franchise continuity is proving to be a successful trend recently.

Penny Dreadful and A League of Extraordinary Gentlemen were wonderful monsterverse crossovers in my opinion. I also enjoyed Dracula Untold and del Toro's Wolfman. Compared with Fraser's Mummy, Tom Cruise's money was terrible though.

I believed in the potential of this universe, and while Dracula untold didnt get that much love, I believed it was a great start. Also if you count del torros wolfman. But Tom cruises mummy derailed it for me and the dark universe as a whole. Still I think it’s a good idea.

Great video man. 👍 It's refreshing to see a different perspective on Dark Universe. Because generally I've seen most people only making fun of it for trying to imitate MCU but they never mention something like what you have talked about here. I hope Universal hires all those amazing Talanted Modern Horror directors that you mentioned and let them make an interesting horror films with higher budget about these iconic characters.

As far as I'm concerned, Universal could still right now pump some money into refining the vfx and Joe Johnston's Wolfman would suddently become a perfect movie.

THANK YOU!!! Del Toro was actually offered the Dark Universe but turned it down due to too much involvement by the studio. But can you imagine if he actually took them up on it??? Oh a girl can dream! I think that sometimes big budgets are a hinderance on movies. The Lost Boys was a low budget movie and because of that, the various parts of the movie (filming, costume, FX, etc) had to get creative and it worked in their favor. With the big budgets, directors think, "throw in a huge CGI set piece" or "this is where we can have a huge battle/chase" and it is for no reason, it doesn't add to the story. Another example is Knives Out, this was a relatively low budget movie but because of the writing and vision of the film, Rian Johnson was able to get big names for the cast and the film was a critical success. Compared to the updated Murder on the Orient Express, it felt like an unneeded update where a cast of great actors were given little to do or had to do what they could with the script that they were given. Out of Dracula Untold and The Mummy with Tom Cruise, I think Dracula Untold is a stronger and better movie. The Monster Films (both Universal and Hammer) were so great because of the connection that the audience made with the monsters; you saw yourself in their struggles and their wants. With the updated Mummy movie and the addition of a female Mummy, I thought this would be a great tale of feminism. A story of a woman who was erased from history or had been turned into a villain due to the narratives spun my male counterparts. (My "fix-it" would have made Amanet take on the power of Set to save her kingdom from a great sickness or an incoming enemy army. With her kingdom saved, she locked herself away to never give Set a corporeal form. However, The Pharaoh had a son and Amanet was erased from history or her Father took the glory that was meant to be hers and instead wrote her off as a power hungry daughter that was punished for not knowing her place. She could wake up in modern day and after being constantly told that she is evil or finding out what was done to her story, she says Fuck it. She becomes the antagonist rather than the villain as she sees that the world has not changed and she will be the one to change it. A little better, no?) Instead, they turned her into a power hungry bitch who could have just killed her family without the help of a God. Imotehp just wanted to be reunited with his love who was married to the Pharaoh, details aside, we have all had or experienced a second hand a relationship like this. The Studio also went immediately in with the shared universe, why not either make the universe shared through the updated and mature story telling like suggested or keep it within the same world. I'll explain, make these various stories all happen through out history to build a sense of time and shared space. Instead of bringing in this secret society in the first movie, put Easter eggs through out each film until you unveil that there was an organization documenting each supernatural instance. Remember in Iron Man, Agent Coulson didn't even say "S.H.I.E.L.D." until the end of the movie. You didn't truly get to see a SHIELD base until The Avengers. So, okay, you introduce a cabal like organization that documents and jails these supernatural creatures. Is it a prequel with its establishment by Abraham Van Helsing or a movie where a descendant joins the organization? Maybe the updated Mummy should have been a period piece, maybe not the 1920's but perhaps the 1960s/1970s when a time of sexual revolution was going on. I think that the Invisible Man is a good film that takes the situation of an abusive/stalker relationship one step further and makes the "how" of the invisible man relatable in the modern era. But there is a part of me that wishes that the Dark Universe worked out because there was potential to change the "cinematic universe" format. The studio wanted to immediately be at Marvel level without having to do any of the work of building the universe. It's the same short cuts that we have seen before. For example, Fox and the Dark Phoenix Saga; the Phoenix has to have its storylines before going to Dark Phoenix. Universal wanted to have 10th movie success on movie 2 of a franchise and that was their downfall.

Modernizing 'The Mummy' by making it a present day-set action movie is to aim it to a sea of same-ness of modern spectacle blockbusters. As if that wasn't bad enough, they missed and rather than float in that sea of same-ness, it drowned.

There is a similar "Dark Universe" tv show out there that's pretty good IMO. PENNY DREADFUL!

Actually loved Dracula untold and I could at least put up with the new mummy movie I wish they'd kept making movies and continue Dracula's story

It's sad because del Toro approached Universal about making The Shape of Water but brought it to Searchlight Pictures after they wanted him to remove all the romance aspects.... Their loss. This is a great video, I'd love to see more big budget, classy horror films like Sleepy Hollow. That has to be the most visually stunning horror film I've ever seen, just incredible.

Imma save you all the trouble.. two words... PENNY DREADFUL

I really liked Dracula Untold. It was pretty cool. Plus, it was basically the live action Castlevania Lords of Shadow movie I’ve always wanted.

I totally agree with you. It would be great to see some of my own old favourite monsters back on the main screen,

They already did a Dark Universe. It was an awesome TV Show called Penny Dreadful

Great video, engaging commentary

This is absolutely perfect!!! I've loved the classic Monsters for a while but have a hard time explaining my frustrations with the Dark Universe. You encapsulated a lot of horror fans thoughts so perfectly for this!

I completely agree. I love the old Universal Monster films. I had them all on DVD as a kid. I'd love to see them given the respect they deserve if they are going to remake/reimagine them. But they have to stay true to what the characters and stories were all about. There is an audience out there that is longing for some 'proper' films, not action ones disguised as horror. I want to see horror films that have characters that you get to know and actually care about. Ones that build up the tension and suspense slowly. I don't want to see action 'horror' or cheap jump scare 'horror' films... That's not what true horror is suppose to be about at all.

The Shape of Water actually started out as a remake of Creature From the Black Lagoon. In 2002, Del Toro was signed on to direct a remake by Universal but they didn't like his idea of the film being from the creature's perspective and him having a love interest so that film never got made

Your rundown of the history of connected franchises was pretty informative, and though I'm quite ready for more superhero stories, awesome video.

Great video man, I personally really wanted the dark universe and still want to happen. I happen to me the few who actually liked "The Wolfman 2010", along with "Dracula Untold 2014", and even "The Mummy 2017". I liked the idea the director had of The Mummy that it's in the same universe as Brendan Frasers movies since we saw the Golden Book of Amun Ra, probably to get less hate of being a reboot, but I still liked the idea. I hope they can get their shit together.

This is an amazing video essay! The content is exactly what I love, the editing is fantastic, and your voice is natural and relaxing. Great job! Also I agree with pretty much all your takes on the great horror directors and the direction these movies should go.

Incredibly well edited. Some of the best I've seen.

Just a comment for the algorithm keep up the good work man. Top notch content as always

Good point! And no... you are definitely not the only one hoping and waiting to see that some day...

Excellent video Daniel!

Your editing is top notch.

There are two good ways to do a dark universe. One, make it Lovecraft’s combined universe. Yes, Lovecraft had a combined universe before those things were cool. His books exist in a shared universe and it could be explored with the right directors and vision. Two, if you want to include the “classic” monsters, make the movies in the Chronicles of Darkness universe. Yes the gothic horror role play games by White Wolf/Obsidian Games. You want to tell the Dracula story again? Tell Dracula as portrayed in Vampire: the Requiem and tell the lead up to the vampiric organization Ordo Dracul that exists in the game. Want to tell a wolf man story with a fresh take? Make a Werewolf: the Forsaken movie, it’s got an original take on werewolves that’s got potential for multiple movies and can tie into the larger universe of monsters. Frankenstein? Here’s why I suggested Chronicles of Darkness and not World of Darkness. Make a Frankenstein movie from the lens of Promethian: the Created (a game that didn’t exist in WoD). The Mummy? Mummy: the Cursed could easily follow a mummy character’s journey across time, starting with their origins in Unknown Irem, and following the monstrous deeds of a mummy and its cult across the ages as the mummy slowly breaks free of the control of the Judges of Ma’at and attains Apotheosis. This has lots of tie in potential with Vampire as well as lots of historical story telling. The Invisible Man? That could easily be a Mage from Mage: the Awakening. More specifically, one of the Maad. Don’t pull a Spawn and just shove the backstory of these genres in the audience’s face with blunt exposition up front either. Let the audience get a show drip of reveals as each story goes along. It’s okay for the audience to be ignorant and not omniscient. Part of horror is the fear of the unknown. I’m telling you, if you want to put the Universal monsters in a combined cinematic universe, then Chronicles of Darkness is the way to go. It also allows the universe to expand in unexpected directions with IPs like Changeling: the Lost, Demon: the Descent, and Hunter: the Vigil.

Superb Editing - I wanted to single that out for this video. I hope my editing gets as good as this.

I know it's sounds a little too pulpy for his wheelhouse, but I would kill to see David Fincher direct a gothic period piece werewolf, mummy, or Jack the Ripper movie. Imagine the clinical noir of Se7en mixed with the visceral adventure of Raiders of the Lost Ark and the timeless, gritty aesthetic of the 1990's universal horror movies. I have a suspicion that this kind of gothic pulp horror fundamentally can't work in a modern setting, it's just too stark, sparse, and sleek. Even The Invisible Man (2020) while intriguing felt limited by it's very contemporary setting and visual palette. My tastes always revert to the foggy moors and archeological expeditions of the past. Also, great video, man.

No lies told! Thank you! ❤️

They have a treasure trove of characters, it would be such a shame if they let it go to waste. This is an awesome video, I’m not sure why this doesn’t have more views.

Bravo! I applauded at the end!

I love the Brendan Frasier Mummy movie. It has that kind of pulpy, retro adventure feel to it. Plus, it's a period piece.

I would LOVE this!!

The list of Dark Universe Movie that i know like from MCU and DCEU if Del Toro can design the monsters and horrors: -Van Helsing. -Dracula Untold. -The Mummy. -The Wolf Man. -The Birth of Frankenstein and his Bride. -The Creatures of The Black Lagoon. -Tales of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. -The Invisible Man. -Sherlock Holmes. -Lupin The World's Greatest Thief. -Captain Nemo and The 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. -The Legend of Tarzan Lord of The Apes. -Solomon Kane. -Esmeralda The Gypsy Sorceress. -Countess Marya Zaleska. -Martin Hesselius The Ghost Detective. -The Phantom of Opera. -The Shrinking Man and The 50ft. Giant Woman. -Sleepy Hollow. -Sun Wukong. -The Curse of Gorgon Medusa. -Mina Harker. -Gods, Monsters, and Mutants. -Attack of The Undead. -Supernatural Secret Service.

Well asking Alex Kurtzman to do it was the first mistake they've made...

This is such an interesting point and I think that for some folks there is a disconnect between these characters now like I thought The Invisible Man was brilliant but how you said since they're one offs there is a disconnect with the history of these monsters. Would be great to see how they could link the movies in some way as they go forward. This also reminded me of the league of extraordinary gentlemen which while some didn't like I enjoyed how it brought such an array of characters like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, invisible man, lady Dracula, Oscar wilde even lol so it would be great to see an updated version with so many of these characters that haven't been given the screen time.

"The horror... the horror... of universal's dark universe." - true fan exhales last breath.

I think one of the major difficulties with trying to adapt Universal's horror properties to the same style as the Marvel and DC superhero movies is the fact that the titular characters in those old films were generally the villains. In films such as Dracula, Frankenstein, Creature from the Black Lagoon and The Mummy, those classical horror characters weren't the heroes, the heroes were the human characters whose role was to either kill them or contain them in order to prevent them from doing harm to the world or to their loved ones. It's pretty hard to build a Justice League with a mashup of characters that are literally the villain from their own films and expect audiences to go along with it.

Excellent video with an excellent subject...MONSTERS!

I did think of an idea for Universal Monsters. It's more of a tv show kinda thing where Dracula wakes up to a modern world where Humans and Monsters Co-Exist, finds his friends have happily adapted to this world and he's trying to convince them once again 'humans bad monsters good' while the monsters are like 'we know humans suck but Monsters are no better'. Just a silly animated comedy, probably adult animated, idk i haven't gotten to that part

Very cool video! I love period pieces, but would also be interested in something updated too. I wonder if that's possible since I think modern tech can diminish the elements of isolation and fear.

I'm a simple man. I see a video uploaded by Daniel Netzel I hit like

This could genuinely be the resurgence of horror we desperately need, if they actually connected respecting artistic vision with a connected universe. It could end up forcing the filmmakers to create new horror techniques and ideas that the genre desperately needs right now. Sadly, they probably won't do it. If in like ten years they haven't yet, don't worry I'll take care of the problem.

you won over my like, great video

The show Penny Dreadful is the perfect template if they ever wanted to reboot the Dark Universe! It's pretty much the Dark Universe but in a TV format.

If anyone is interested in a good example of what a "dark universe" can be, I recommend the series Penny Dreadful. It's a gothic horror show set in victorian London with almost all the classic monsters; fair warning: is a slow burner. Also I'm referring to the first version of the series, the one with Eva Green, avoid the "city of angels" version like the fracking plague.

THANK YOU

I heard Robert Egger's Nosferatu film was based on a high school gym coach titled, "Coach Feratu"

The best way to do a “cinematic universe” with these horror icons is to just say they all take place in the same universe and leave it there. No meetings or anything. Just that they all happen to take place in the same world. So that way the films can all do their own thing and no one needs to compromise their vision.

The dark universe could totally work, if each movie was set in a different era ;example The mummy in late 1890s to early 1900s or the Wolfman during medieval Romania. Have the story based on the hero of thousand faces and why they’re destined to fight their nemesis for all eternity leading up to facing a far greater evil something beyond stars and human understanding.

They should get the dude who did Penny Dreadful to help out. He technically did the Dark Universe in the show.

I'd love a dark universe with horror, but I also really love Darcula Untold and would love a sequel following it, but no other DU attempted movies. So I'm really hoping for both, but still a lot more for DU horror. Especially if they bring back more obscure monsters and maybe even invent new terrifying ones. Maybe you could do a video about inventing new monsters.

Excellent points. I really hope Universal revisits its plans. At this point, I'd love if they'd re-release the old classics in regular theaters. I'd pay good money to see them on the big screen.

Get people that understand gothic or atmospheric visuals onboard, and use directors with a passion for horror and you could truly create a great dark universe. Even Zack Snyder did a better job at horror than whoever directed the Tom Cruise Mummy film. And really great video on this subject!

I, despite me being mid teens, am a huge fan of the Universal Monsters. Have been since 7, still love it even today, and my favorite movie of all time is The Invisible Man. When I heard they were starting a connected franchise, you can imagine 9 year old me more hyped than I was for No Way Home. Unfortunately, at the time, I couldn't watch a PG-13 movie, despite my mom saying I could watch most of them on literally my 10th birthday, more than a month after The Mummy was released. I was still hyped for the rest of the movies. So much so, I kept track of the planned releases. The day their version of Bride of Frankenstein was supposed to come out, I looked up trailers and scenes...only to find nothing. Okay, I figured, maybe they didn't have everything together, but I'm sure they'll be ready. So I waited months and months for the film to be made. It was also around that their version of The Invisible Man, my most hyped up of the bunch, was supposed to come out...but it seemed as if Universal were big procrastinators. April 2019 rolled around, and bored, I watched my first episode of the Nostalgia Critic, Captain America 90s in case you were wondering. It was then I discovered the truth...there are some movies that stink. Eventually, I watched his and Angry Video Game Nerd's review of The Mummy, and it was then I knew the FULL truth. It's now April 19th, 2021, 7:10 PM here in Western New York, and as I write this, I sit there thinking I could've done it more justice, despite never writing a script before, and I've decided based on a fanfic, I would film my own version of the REAL Dark Universe.

I think any Universal Studios, Blumhouse, or any other studio wants should do what Paramount did with the Writers room for the Transformers Cinematic Universe but better and with horror. Also they should get also the writers to get to know with the Directors. I think James Wans should direct one if the horror films. Or even better just create new Iconic monsters for the century and work together and work together to create a shared Universe. Sort of like the Conjuring Universe but with better spinoffs or even do a anthology franchise.

There isn't any script writers, or movie directors with passion for the dark and twisted old school movies and books. What horror truly needs is imagination, and the ability to go into the dark and twisted part of the mind. I cant remember the last time I was actually scared by a movie. I would do anything for a Stephen King, Tim Burton team up for a horror film.

Thank You.

Awesome video, I too wish for a good Dark Universe, I dont know how Dracula untold was to be a starter to the monster universe. I actually liked Dracula untold along with The Wolfman and even The Mummy Remake. The invisible man was fantastic.

Dracula and Sleepy Hollow are one of my favorite horror films. I've always wanted to see more movies like this. Any recommendations?

I completely agree with you. I actually loved Dracula Untold and thought it was a wicked good movie to start the Dark Universe. But, I believe, because they switched the date of release from October 24 a week before Halloween weekend to October 10 due to another bigger movie being released before it and them wanting to get ahead of it by a week the movie suffered. And I don’t think they gave it a good promo campaign, they could’ve done better. But the film was great and I wish they’d make a sequel. They ruined the mummy reboot, which became the Tom Cruise show and not the Mummy show as it was meant to be. But yes I see a lot of potential, hopefully they’ll resurrect the Dark Universe again someday with a new cast and a more solid vision and storyline. Directors, I think, have more power now, thanks to social media where fans can back them up and literally change studio directions to make projects happen. So fingers crossed 🤞!!!

i agree with so much of your stated views and as much as i have enjoyed marvel in the latter years i think end game broke the connection. for so many reasons from actor stuff to pulp to digital stuff getting confused in translation and plain old fatigue. think i only made it a quarter of the way through the last Thor one. love this flag means death and i want more.

I think The Wolf Man would be a good movie to pursue from a more psychological realm. A good Jacobs Ladder meets The Fly or Malignant would be kind of awesome. I would love a film where it toys with your ideas.

I would like to see Eggers do Swamp thing if the studio would allow him to do what he wants

The biggest mistake was turning Tom Cruise into Mummy. I can't see where they could have gone next with that ending.

The Dark Universe failed because Universal put more effort into hyping up the fact that a shared universe was being made than making sure that this shared universe could even get off the ground. The reason why the Marvel Cinematic Universe got made was because the first movie did so well, and they weren't even thinking about a shared universe at the time. At the time, the Nick Fury cameo in Iron Man was just a little wink and nod to the Avengers, instead of a promise that an Avengers movie was actually going to be made. Thankfully, most of these horror characters are public domain, like Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, the Phantom of the Opera, Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, the Invisible Man, etc. So anyone can make their own Dark Universe-style shared universe between the different horror icons and fix what Universal broke. They could even put Count Orlok, the Bat, Dr. Moreau, the Men in Black (the original urban legend, not the characters from the movies and comics) and the various Cthulhu Mythos creatures/deities in there for good measure.

I'd love to see David F Sandberg's take on Creature From The Black Lagoon. Also I'd kinda like to see "The Dark Universe" more as an umbrella for adapting the series as an Anthology series. Maybe get Patrick Stewart or Michael Fasbender to "host" each film in the same way Rod Serling did for Twilight Zone. It'd be different, but why not

SLEEPY HOLLOW IS MY ALL TIME FAVOURITE I SEEN IT IN THE PICTURES 3 TIMES 🔝🔝

Pennydreadful was able to create a beautiful shared universe with a lot of these characters.

Van Helsing is a crazy underrated and underappreciated film.

damn bruh your pc must be latest prototype from Wayne Industries i mean all that editing in my pc would never be possible 😭

Wasnt that Frankenstein movie with Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy in it too?

Im bummed out that we’ll never get this. And it was so perfect and badass I thought of the LEGO monster fighters on how everyone teams up to fight the monsters that would be badass

I feel like they picked the wrong franchises to start the Dark Universe. Like The Mummy is too general a term. When you hear The Mummy, it just sounds like a generic Mummy movie. And there are so many movies with vampires and Dracula that their one doesn’t seem special. They should have started with Frankenstein or Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde. There iconic, have interesting stories you might want to revisit, and have few movies that are so old you would want to a modern take

All universal has to do is watch Trisatr’s 1987 film, “Monster Squad”, To know exactly what to do with classic movie monsters, though this movie maybe outdated, it could still function as a dated instructional videos for those who lost their way around making good classic monster movies. It isn’t bad to update said classic movie monster, just have it line up with a good script.

The Mummy 2017 was actually a good film. So sad it was compared to the Brendon Fraser one even though the original 1930s ones are close to 2017 one.

I highly recommend the studio executives at Universal watch the show Penny Dreadful on tips on how redo the Dark Universe!

Dracula untold best vampire movie imo wish it got a sequel if it ever gets a reboot I’d like Luke even to Star again

I'll be honest, I haven't seen any of the classic monster films, but I have gotten my hands on the books. ( The classic movies were made before I was born and the books were were available.) Going over the books and reading the characters made me realize the monsters were, I think, ment as a cautionary tale of some sort and the consequences that could arise. With these modern monster films, one or two get them spot on or just change the story and characters so much that you barely recognize them. The classic monsters were not sympathetic ( though I'd argue about Frankenstein's monster and the Phantom of the Opera, even though they do horrible things and should pay for those, you could get a sense of why they did them.) And that is what makes them compelling that you want to know more about these characters. The modern movies give that, I'll admit, but they either make them too sympathetic, I.e. good guy wronged by _____ in _____- or make every one else unlikable so we root for the monster. While it could work in a sense, I think the best thing to do is just read the book and make your own guess as to the characters actions

Dark Universe would have been awesome. So much squandered potential. They just need to make good movies with small references to other films, not change the core of the story for the sake of making a shared universe.

I am still dreaming of getting a high budget “at the mountain of madness” adaptation

I'm not entirely sure what the point would be of a shared universe of horror monster characters, at least done in the same style as the MCU. With superheroes, the "they team up to fight greater threats" thing is kind of baked in, it's in more or less every comic book universe, with the Godzilla stuff that whole franchise was built on "lets watch these enormous things fight each other" - but the horror monsters are just that, horror monsters. I don't think there'd be much of a novelty in seeing them on screen together, at least not so much that it'd warrant building a whole universe for it. Personally I'd get a lot more out of just more of these movies actually getting made and made well.

The wolfman remake is one of my fave movies ever

The Invisible Man was really good!