The Universal Horror Classic That Blumhouse Isn't Interesting In Remaking

Blumhouse Productions is one of the most successful horror houses in Hollywood, but the studio's remakes and sequels to bona fide spooky classics have proven to be a mixed bag. There have been dull efforts like "The Exorcist: Believer" but also impressive reboots like Leigh Whannell's "The Invisible Man," not to mention David Gordon Green's polarizing "Halloween" trilogy. Despite his company's willingness to resurrect iconic properties, however, some horror classics are apparently off-limits, even for Jason Blum and the gang of ghouls.

While speaking to Den of Geek, Blum revealed why his banner hasn't pressed ahead with plans to reboot the 1935 classic "Bride of Frankenstein," noting that it doesn't align with Blumhouse's frightening vision for the Universal Monsters:

"I don't really know what we would do with it; it's kind of a case-by-case basis. It was always sort of funny or always sort of campy, and I could never get a path to making it like a straight horror movie, and so we didn't tackle it."

Given that Blumhouse has produced hit horror comedies like "Freaky" and "Happy Death Day," it's surprising to learn that Blum is against making a fun "Bride of Frankenstein" movie. That said, it's good to know that Blum doesn't want to cash-in on popular IPs just for the sake of it, as he believes the Universal Monsters should be terrifying. 

Blumhouse's next reboot is a bloody reimagining of "The Wolf Man," which will see Leigh Whannell return to the Universal Pictures monster vaults following the success of "The Invisible Man." In the aforementioned interview with Den of Geek, Jason Blum explained that these are the types of reboots that excite him and drive his studio's vision for scary filmmaking:

"I always thought if 'The Invisible Man' worked, I'd love to try and tackle 'The Wolf Man' and try to do with the Wolf Man what Leigh did with the Invisible Man. And I would describe that as taking the monster and [not] making it a four-quadrant movie for everybody, but returning to its roots, which is a straight horror movie."

Despite being reluctant to make a movie about Universal's monstrous bride, Blum remains interested in making a "Frankenstein" movie someday. Unfortunately, the timing isn't ideal at the moment, as Guillermo del Toro is already helming such a film for Netflix with a projected 2025 release. What's more, Blum's rejection is someone else's gain, as Maggie Gyllenhaal's "The Bride!" will bring some musical flavor to the "Bride of Frankenstein" story when it arrives next year. So, if nothing else, this twisted tale will return to the screen in some capacity.

Whannell's "Wolf Man" is set to open in theaters on January 17, 2025.