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I love a lot of the best horror movies , and I feel like we’re in a true renaissance when it comes to the genre. Case in point, Leigh Whannell, who directed one of the most interesting horror movies in the past few years with his remake of The Invisible Man , which we gave a stellar review . His next movie is the upcoming Wolf Man , and in a recent interview with Empire (via Syfy ), Whannell disclosed which Universal Horror icon he would like to cover next if he got the chance.
I won't spoil his answer here, but I will go over other possible Universal Horror icons I would love for him to handle next if he didn't get the opportunity to do his dream gig. The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (1923) In my recent article where I discussed my love for the 2010 The Wolfman movie , I openly confessed that I had never watched the original, 1933 The Invisible Man with Claude Rains. That said, I have seen the 2020 remake by Leigh Whannell.
One thing I love about that movie is that it takes the basic premise (a man finds a way to turn himself invisible, and then torments people – I read the novel, you see) and modernizes it. It looks like he is doing the same thing with the upcoming Wolf Man (even adding in a touch of body horror for good measure). Well, since modernizing horror classics seems to be Whannell’s jam, I’d love to see his take on The Hunchback of Notre Dame , which feels like it has to be rooted in its 15th century time period, but I’d love to see if Whannell could set it in a modern-day setting.
The story of a hunchback who aids a woman who’s being romantically pursued by the nefarious brother of the archdeacon, a version was produced during Disney's renaissance period , and it was pretty dark for a G-rated movie. So, I could only imagine what it would be like in Whannell’s hands. I could imagine a Quasimodo-like figure being tortured, Saw -style, only for said figure to turn the tables on his captor.
I don’t know. I just think it would be cool to get a modernized take on this classic story, and believe Whannell would be the perfect guy for the job. CINEMABLEND NEWSLETTER Your Daily Blend of Entertainment News The Phantom Of The Opera (1925) Speaking of The Invisible Man , one thing I loved about Whannell’s approach was that he handled the subject of an abusive relationship, and wrapped it up in the narrative of a horror story.
I don’t want to see him retread familiar territory, but I would love to see how he could tackle The Phantom of the Opera , which is about the ultimate possessive relationship. Except, unlike Whannell’s Invisible Man , where the protagonist’s boyfriend was as toxic as humanly possibly, the Phantom is an example of toxic reciprocity, in which the Phantom thinks he deserves the love of a young singer just because he’s been working to promote her career (by killing people). Not only that, but the young singer’s boyfriend tries to rescue her, and the Phantom traps him in a room and tries to kill him.
Can you see where I’m going with this? I would love to see a modern take where the singer gets captured, but fights back, just like Elisabeth Moss ’s character in The Invisible Man . Not only that, but I could see the Phantom, who is often romanticized as a mysterious figure, being more of an incel creep in this version. Not only that, but since Whannell helped create the Saw franchise, I could see the room where the Phantom tries to kill the singer’s boyfriend being really messed up, just like in Saw .
Come on, Whannell. Please make THIS movie next. It’s begging to be made! Frankenstein (1931) I’m pretty sure that people who never even read the famous Mary Shelley novel, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus are now perfectly aware that Frankenstein is the name of the doctor and not the famous monster.
But, how interesting would it be if we got a Frankenstien movie and never even got the monster, but instead, learned that the doctor himself was the monster by the way he intentionally killed people just so he could use their bodies for science? Okay, maybe I’m getting a little ahead of myself here. For those who don’t know, Frankenstein is the story of a doctor who exhumes graves and cobbles together body parts to create a human being. The creature escapes his confines, though, and accidentally hurts some people at first, before intentionally hurting some other people later.
Citizens revolt and go after the creature. Classic stuff. It’s been reinterpreted quite a bit, such as the recent Lisa Frankenstein , which some of our staff had very strong feelings about.
I’d love a modern take on the story, and it could ditch the Frankenstein title altogether, and just stick with The Modern Prometheus . I think if people weren’t expecting “the monster,” to show up, then a similar, but vastly different story could be told. Plus, Whannell is a lot more creative than I am, so I’m sure he could come up with a far better idea for a new Frankenstein movie than I just came up with.
The Mummy (1932) Now, The Mummy is interesting. The 2017 Tom Cruise version is infamously seen as both the start and the end of Universal’s proposed Dark Universe . Not only that, but Whannell’s The Invisible Man is somewhat seen as the spark that reignited the Universal Monsters, with Wolf Man being another step toward bringing these characters back to the big screen (I for one, also enjoyed The Last Voyage of the Demeter , which our very own Mike Reyes thinks could have saved the Dark Universe if it had replaced The Mummy at the start).
But anyway, if anybody could bring back The Mummy , I’m pretty sure Whannell could. Because honestly, I think a lot of people still have the action-packed Brendan Fraser movies in their heads when they think of The Mummy , and the Tom Cruise movie didn’t help, as it was also an action flick. However, how about we go back to the horror roots? The 1932 movie is essentially a love story, as a mummy is brought back to life, and he tries to bring back his love, and ends up killing people along the way.
The modern versions have spun these off into adventure territories, but I want a good old fashion spooky version, with Whannell at the helm. Make it gross, make it spooky, make it however you want. Just please make it, Mr.
Whannell! The Invisible Woman (1940) Lastly, how great would it be if Whannell bookended his Universal Horror contributions with The Invisible Woman ? Now, the original movie is more like a comedic romance film than a horror movie, but I’d really love to see him approach the subject matter. In the original film, a woman gets fired from her job, and once invisible, goes back to teach her former boss a lesson (among other events). But, what if she kills him by accident? And, I don’t know, what if she liked killing him? I love the idea of a woman on the loose who is killing people.
..just because.
I don’t need her to get back at men who wronged her. I’d just like to see a female serial killer movie, but she’s invisible. I think this could be an interesting counterpoint to his first Universal Monster movie.
Again, Whannell is a lot more inventive than me, so I’m sure he could come up with a more interesting idea, but how great would it be if he turned this silly movie into something haunting and unforgettable, just like The Invisible Man ? For more news on other upcoming Blumhouse horror movies , be sure to swing by here often!.
