Monsters Dvd Collection

[Baldomero Prado]

Fromthe makers of Daimajin comes a trilogy of terror ripped from the pages of Japanese folklore, with ghosts and monsters from ancient myths and legends brought to life through stunning special effects, alongside an epic, big-budget reboot of the series from a modern-day master of the macabre.

In the first film in the trilogy, 100 Monsters, a greedy slumlord's attempts to forcefully evict his tenants invite the wrath of the titular spirits when a cleansing ritual is botched, with terrifying results. The second film, Spook Warfare, tells the tale of an evil Babylonian vampire inadvertently awoken by treasure hunters, and a brave samurai that teams with the yokai to defeat the bloodthirsty demon. In the final film, Along with Ghosts (released only 12 months after 100 Monsters), the yokai are roused to defend a little girl on the run from deadly yakuza.

Decades later, none other than Takashi Miike (Audition) helmed The Great Yokai War, a loose remake of Spook Warfare that used cutting-edge digital effects to renew the franchise for a new generation. In it, a young boy is given a grave responsibility: to band together with a group of yokai to defend humanity against a vengeful and powerful demon that has sworn retribution against modern-day Japan.

Gods and Monsters CollectionGeneralRelease DateMay 26, 2015OtherSteam MarketGods and Monsters CollectionThe Gods and Monsters collection is an exclusive weapon collection introduced as part of Operation Bloodhound. This collection is based on themes from ancient Greek mythology.

The first film, Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters (1968), sees a corrupt land owner plotting to tear down a local shrine and halfway house; a plan that will see people down on their luck thrown out onto the street. Even worse, he intends to build a brothel on the site of the shrine to increase profits. To celebrate his plot, and to attract a powerful ally and investor, the land owner holds a Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai ceremony, where tales are told about various monsters. However, he fails to perform the proper cleansing ceremony at the end, allowing the monsters to come to life. Angered that the land owner is hurting people, and that he intends to desecrate a temple, the Yokai set out to punish him.

The third film, Yokai Monsters: Along With Ghosts (1969), is much more in line with the first film, with the titular monsters going back to being a vengeful force that barely appear in the film. The plot focuses on a young girl whose grandfather is killed by a local gangster. Having been told to seek out her father in another town the girl sets out to find him, but is persued by the criminals who believe she may have taken a document that could implicate them. Along the way the girl is aided by a wandering samurai, as well the occasional ghostly Yokai, who target the criminals.

It centres on a young boy named Tadashi (Ryunosuke Kamiki), who discovers that the world of Yokai not only exists, but that he is the Kirin Rider, a chosen warrior who can help to stand against the evil demonic force that is changing Yokai into mechanical monsters , and who plans on destroying the human world. Teaming up with a group of Yokai, including the Kappa and a beautiful water spirit, Tadashi sets out to save the world from the demon.

Following screenings of the films on television in the 1950s, several household products and toys were made based on the likeness of the Universal characters starting appearing in the 1960s. In the 1990s, it became priority for Universal to promote their back catalogue with packaging that presented the film as a series. This led to releasing VHS editions of their older horror film properties between 1991 and 1995 as a themed-line. These releases were the first time the characters were officially marketed together as the "Classic Monster" banner. These released of the line was followed by new films based singular monsters such as Stephen Sommers' The Mummy (1999) and others featuring various Universal monster characters, such as Van Helsing (2004).

Universal's early horror films were adaptations of work from familiar authors and texts to give their films a prestige appeal. These included Dracula (1931), whose success led to the production of other works such as Frankenstein (1931).[2][3] Frankenstein's ending was changed by studio head Carl Laemmle Jr., who wanted Universal to be able deploy key characters from the film into subsequent Universal productions.[3] Following the release of other Universal films such as The Mummy (1932) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935) there was a dry spell of horror films.[4][5][6][7] Universal only returned to the style following a successful theatrical re-release of Dracula and Frankenstein which led to new works starting with Son of Frankenstein (1939).[4][5][6]

Universal would only introduce a few new monsters in the 1940s, with the most famous being Lon Chaney Jr. as The Wolf Man.[8] The decade had Universal's horror output include many remakes and sequels, with films often directly reusing old sets, footage, and narratives to replicate moments in their earlier horror productions.[9]

Universal's first transmedia properties were from the 1940s and 1950s with the films Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), House of Frankenstein (1944) and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948).[10] In these films, the monsters from the studio's earlier films "team up" against various characters. Author Megan De Bruin-Mol suggested that the Universal Classic Monsters films exist as a loose mash-up, which allowed for Dracula to exist and be watched separately from Frankenstein but allowed their characters to be systemically and consistently brought together and developed in other films and media.[11] These productions made were often crossovers and sequels, such as Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), House of Frankenstein and several occurrences in comedy films of Abbott and Costello meeting the monster starting with Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein and ending with Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955).[11][12] De Bruin-Mol wrote that this approach from Universal was for commercial marketing terms, as it would establish the company as the "real" home of horror and that their films contain a world where potentially all monsters may dwell.[13] The sole new monster movies Universal produced in the 1950s were the Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) and The Mummy (1959) which was co-produced with the British Hammer Film Productions.[14]

Towards the 1960s the Universal monsters grew beyond film and became more consistently transmedial. Initially, this began in 1957 when Universal struck a ten-year television deal with Screen Gems to distribute 52 of their own titles.[14] These television screenings and the films being included on Mel Jass' Mel's Matinee Movie (1958-1979) would also prove to be popular, with the director Stephen Sommers, director of The Mummy (1999) stating that his introduction to the series was on Jass's program.[15] Universal became part of Music Corporation of America (MCA) in 1962. By 1964, Universal Studios tours would eventually include appearances from Frankenstein's monster.[16] Several products based on the characters from Universal's film series were released, ranging from plastic model kits, Halloween masks, figures, plush dolls, toys, drinking glasses, coloring books and postage stamps. While some of these objects bare similarity to the actors who portray them, others are more generic interpretations.[17] Other mediums featured the Universal monsters in tandem, such as Bobby "Boris" Pickett's 1962 popular song "Monster Mash" and the television series The Munsters (1964) which was based on the Universal characters likeness.[16]

In 1990, Universal was part of a merger between Matsushita, now known as Panasonic, and several other corporations. Between 1991 and 1995, Universal released VHS home video editions from their catalogue of horror films. This was the first time these films were packed together as "Classic Monster" line with a newly designed logo.[16] Prior to this home video series, the Universal films that featured multiple monsters were called "Super-Shocker[s]" or "monster rallies".[18] Louis Feola was the head of Worldwide Home Video for Universal Studios said the most important thing was the packaging of their sales, and that it "probably our single biggest priority and has been for a number of years", and that it was key to make the series of films "look like a line".[19][20] He added in a 1999 interview that creating the series was to "reinvigorate and re-market" the Universal catalog, specifically with their series of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, The Phantom of the Opera, The Wolf Man, and The Mummy.[20]

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