Bram Stoker's literary monster is arguably also the most famous movie monster of all time. Influencing vampire tales from "Nosferatu" to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," the tale of Vlad the Impaler's transformation into the immortal vampire Dracula has been told on screen dozens of times. For what is arguably the most famous version, interested viewers should check out the remastered version of Tod Browning's 1931 classic, starring Bela Lugosi and with a brand new score by composer Phillip Glass.
Originally created by Mary Shelley as a parable about the dangers of science run amok, Frankenstein's monster is another of Universal Pictures's 1930's stable of monsters. Like Dracula, Frankenstein's story has been told numerous times in film, from the Hammer Studios version with Christopher Lee to Kenneth Branagh's version starring Robert DeNiro. It is arguably James Whale's 1931 version starring Boris Karloff that has left the most indelible impression on film history, to the point of being parodied by Mel Brooks in "Young Frankenstein."
Getting a big budget remake in 2010, the tragic story of Lawrence Talbot, a man bitten by a wolf and now doomed to turn into a werewolf every full moon, has paved the way for almost every werewolf movie since. Released in 1941 by Universal Pictures, and starring Lon Chaney, Jr., "The Wolf Man" laid the foundation for werewolf lore in movies. "The Howling," "An American Werewolf in London," and even the werewolves of "Twilight" owe a debt to Talbot's tale.
While the 1930's gave filmgoers arguably the biggest influx of famous monsters, the 1980s is a close second. Of the 1980s monsters, perhaps none is more famous than hockey-masked killer Jason Voorhees. The subject of twelve films, beginning with the original "Friday the 13th" in 1980, Jason has become a foundation of modern horror cinema.
With "A Nightmare on Elm Street," director Wes Craven gave movie goers a new monster to fear, one who stalked them not in life, but in their dreams. Freddy Krueger, the nightmare-inducing killer with a horribly scarred face and a glove with knives for fingertips, soon became as famous as his contemporary Jason. With seven films and a glossy remake due in 2010, Freddy is rightfully one of the most famous movie monsters of all time.
The new wave of movie monsters in the 1980's arguably began with John Carpenter's 1978 film "Halloween." The movie introduced the film world to Michael Meyers, a modern version of the bogeyman. Carpenter combined Hitchcockian techniques with an un-killable monster to create a film that paved the way for the 1980s slasher movie explosion and is still an influence on horror movies today. Fans can also check out Rob Zombie's 2007 remake.