True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Comprehensive documentary produced for cable-TV's Turner Classic Movies, narrated by Kenneth Branagh, covers not only the history of Universal Studios (their humble beginnings as a factory of B-level fright films right up through the 1930s), but also the silent pictures which inspired the classic monster movies we know today as well as the offshoots made by other Hollywood studios, such as RKO's "King Kong". Priceless interviews with science-fiction writer Ray Bradbury, actors James Karen, Gloria Stuart, Lupita Tovar, Gloria Jean and Nina Foch, and Boris Karloff's daughter Sara give both a tantalizing glimpse of activity on the Universal lot and also the impressions, inspirations and childhood experiences of watching "Dracula", "Frankenstein" and "The Wolf Man" in movie theatres. A must for film buffs!

This is a great documentary chronicling all of the major Universal Horror releases from the 1930s, plus all of the major actors and directors of the period. It's obviously made by people with a great love of the genre, and the affection shines through at every moment. The documentary consists of a number of people sharing anecdotes (it's surprising how many of the actresses - Gloria Stuart, Fay Wray, etc. are still alive) interspersed with loads of clips from the best bits of the films. About half of the stories I had heard already through general reading, but there are a wealth of lesser known snippets among them too.While the film clips highlight all the expected best bits from things like Dracula, FRANKENSTEIN, THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, and THE WOLF MAN, there are also a number of lesser-seen moments too. For example we get to see test footage of a green Frankenstein monster, plus many clips from a lot of rare silent films starring Lon Chaney from the 1920s which are great to watch. Other, less talked-about films are discussed like THE BLACK CAT and THE RAVEN. Author David J. Skal pops up to talk about his love of the films, along with actor James Karen, author Ray Bradbury, Sara Karloff, Forrest J. Ackerman, and scriptwriter Curt Siodmak. UNIVERSAL HORROR is a reverential documentary which has been put together nicely, never outstays its welcome, and really makes you appreciate all those old horror films.

. . . jotted down 22 pages of notes about it (in the ball park of how many GONE WITH THE WIND would merit). The primary commentators for this 1998 feature-length documentary running 95 minutes, 22.13 seconds are sci-fi author Ray Bradbury, POLTERGEIST actor James Karon, film historian David Skal, TITANIC actress Gloria Stuart, KING KONG actress Fay Wray, and film historian George Turner. 1931 Dracula cast member Carla Laemmle, niece of Universal Studio's founder Carl Laemmle, makes an appearance, along with Karloff's daughter, Sara, and "Eva" from the 1931 Spanish version of Dracula, Lupita Tovar. Three dozen classic horror films are referred to, with clips included from most. Some of these still available flicks are not even from Universal, such as THE OLD DARK HOUSE (1932). This is a good resource for young people whose horror knowledge may begin with Freddy, Jason, and Michael--or, heaven forbid, with Jigsaw! It can teach them the A, B, C's of early horror, such as the original Fab Four: Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, The Mummy, and The Wolf Man. Every film buff needs to see this feature at least once.

This documentary looks back at the era of the horror movies produced by Universal Studios. Starting with the silent classics, we are told the story behind Phantom of the Opera, Dracula through to the later horrors of The Wolf Man etc. With clips of the films, stills from the period and interviews with those involved directly, experts, fans and relatives of the original stars talk about the films and the stars of the period.Having recently seen several Universal classic horrors (the only good thing about the 'holiday' of Halloween) I was interested enough to watch this documentary about the Universal era. The film is interesting and will engage anyone with a passing interest in the films but not those who already have a good working knowledge of them. This is because the film skims over the surface, talking generally about the main people and films but never really going into great detail about any one of them. What it does well is to look at a lot of films – I had heard of/seen most of them but there were one or two that were unknown to me and interested me for that reason. The sweeping approach just about works because there is enough in the way of anecdotes and stories to just about make it feel constantly informative, and I assume that the film is aimed at an audience famialr with the films but not to the point where they will know anything beyond what is on screen.Usually when a documentary rolls out relatives of dead stars I start to shudder but here it works pretty well. The various daughters etc are only sparingly used, and more time is given over to Branagh's informative narrator, stars of some of the films and the various 'experts' all contribute well. Of course the clips take up most of the running time (again something that may bother those very familiar with the films) but the contributions tend to play over well without feeling too obtrusive.Overall an interesting film but one that will only really appeal to fans of the films that have not taken their interest beyond just seeing the film. With such a big subject to cover in a short time, very little detail can be given on any one aspect; hence well-informed fans will feel that this documentary is too simplistic. However for me, and the majority of viewers I'd guess, this was an interesting film that used clips and interviews well with just enough interesting stories and snippets to make for a memorable little film.