In 2025, the Halloweenies are celebrating the storied legacy of the Universal Monsters. Dracula, Wolf Man, Frankenstein, his Bride, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, the Invisible Man… all will be covered. In fact, each monster is getting their own month, giving the Halloweenies plenty of time to dig deep into their respective origins and chart their influence over the past century and some change.
Last month, the gang booked a night at The Lion’s Head Inn to unravel the sordid and wild discoveries behind James Whale’s 1933 Hollywood wonder The Invisible Man starring Claude Rains. This month, however, they’re hitting 88 mph and traveling back a 100 years to the salad days of Universal as they search the cellars for 1925’s silent blockbuster The Phantom of the Opera.
Topics include: the torturous journey from page to set to critical consensus to multiple cuts that may or may not even exist anymore; the equally pretzeled history involving the director’s chair and Rupert Julian, Lon Chaney, Ernst Laemmle, and Edward Sedgwick; how the Phantom brand has evolved over the last century, and much, much more.
Stream the episode below or subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and RSS. New to the Halloweenies ? Catch up with the gang by revisiting their essential episodes on past franchises such as Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Scream, The Evil Dead, Chucky, and Alien! This year it’s all Universal, all Monsters. Which creature is next? Grab your goggles!
You can also become a member of their Patreon, The Rewind , for hilariously irreverent commentaries (eg The Texas Chainsaw Massacre , Gremlins , Jaws ), one-off deep dives on your favorite rentals (eg Killer Klowns from Outer Space , Invasion of the Body Snatchers ), and even spinoffs like their recent run Fortune & Glory: An Indiana Jones Podcast .
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The post The History of the Universal Monsters: 1925’s ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ Still Scares a Century Later [Halloweenies Podcast] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.
