MONSTER MANIA (1997) ***

Elvira, Mistress of the Dark introduces this hour-long special devoted to classic monster movies.  Jack Palance acts as host (he appears on a colorful mad scientist lab set) and narrates over clips of films from various eras.  While there are some obvious exclusions, they do manage to cover a lot of territory in a short amount of time.  Palance discusses films from the silent era (Thomas Edison’s Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Nosferatu), the ‘30s (Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, etc.), the ‘40s (The Wolf Man, Return of the Vampire, The Phantom of the Opera, etc.), the aliens of the ‘50s (It Came from Outer Space, War of the Worlds, Invaders from Mars, etc.), Hammer horror (Horror of Dracula, The Mummy, The Curse of Frankenstein, etc.), the Poe adaptations of the ‘60s (House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Masque of the Red Death, etc.), the ‘70’s (The Omega Man, The Exorcist, The Omen, etc.), spoofs (The Phantom of the Paradise, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Young Frankenstein, etc.), Sci-Fi monsters (Alien, Predator, The Fly, etc.), slashers (Halloween, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street), and the revival of classic monsters from the ‘90s (Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Wolf, etc.)  There are also segments devoted to Lon Chaney, how television in the ‘50s introduced monster movies to a new generation of fans, and the merchandising of classic movie monsters. 

Originally airing on American Movie Classics (back when they actually showed movies that were American classics), Monster Mania doesn’t exactly break any new ground.  If you’ve seen similar documentaries/clip show packages, you’ll probably be familiar with all the titles being discussed.  They also resort to using clips from trailers to save money.  That’s not the worst thing in the world as the trailers are fairly iconic in their own right (like Bela Lugosi presiding over the preview for Mark of the Vampire).  I did find it odd that they showed clips of Dracula’s Daughter but not Bride of Frankenstein. 

While Monster Mania may be far from the definitive classic horror documentary, it remains a fun trip down memory lane.  Palance’s sincere intonation adds gravitas to the proceedings, although he isn’t above making a quip every now and then.  (Like when he calls The Wolf Man “the scariest and hairiest monster of all time!”)  Besides, I never pass down an opportunity to see Elvira, especially in something like this, even if it’s only briefly.