The Horror Guys Guide to Universal Studios Shock! Theater - Brian Schell

Shock! Theater

For the decades between 1930 and 1950, the undisputed masters of horror were Universal Pictures. From their early success with Dracula and Frankenstein to the later additions, such as the Creature from the Black Lagoon, Universal has created and popularized more memorable creature flicks than any other studio.

By the time the 1950s had come around, filmgoers' tastes had changed from the supernatural monsters that Universal excelled at to more scientific terrors- atomic horrors, mutant animals, and other, more psychological fears. Not only that, but now films in the theater had new competition- Television.

In 1957, Universal sold a package of 52 mostly-horror films to TV stations around the USA. This package contained many of their greatest horror classics, along with some less-popular films that could round out the package. These films directly led to the invention of TV "Horror Hosts," who were used to introduce and pad out the shorter films. The film package was so successful that a few years later, "Son of Shock!" was released with twenty more films.

This first book includes viewing synopses of ALL fifty-two original Shock! films, including the few non-horror films and even a few gems that are rarely seen today. Each film has some trivia and commentary. By examining each film in chronological release order, we can quickly see how tastes, values, budgets, and even special effects grew through the two decades these films were produced.

[Note: This is the updated 2nd Edition with better editing and new formatting (November 2022)]