It's been a while since I've posted on here, mainly because I've been busy (not really though), but something has been bothering me recently that I can't help but rant about it. That is, of course, the Dark Universe. As most of you may know, the 'Dark Universe' is Universals attempt to reboot all of their classic monster movies in one shared cinematic universe a la Marvel. On paper it could work, it should work, but after the abomination that was last years The Mummy, it's clear that the powers that be are a little clueless when it comes to the Golden Age of horror. It's because of this that the dark universe is now up in the air, which is a shame for those of us looking forward to seeing Frankenstein's Monster and Dracula square off against each other on the big screen. While we wait for the seemingly doomed franchise to come out of hiatus however, I would like to draw your attention to a little TV show called Penny Dreadful.
Airing from May 2014 to June 2016, Penny Dreadful followed a group of individuals combating dark forces such as witches, vampires, and demons on the streets of Victorian London. It was created by American screenwriter John Logan and starred big name actors such as Eva Green, Timothy Dalton, and Josh Hartnett. Most notably however, the series featured a number of characters borrowed from classical Gothic fiction, including Victor Frankenstein, Dorian Grey, and even Count Dracula himself. The series took some of these famous characters and subverted our expectations of them, making for an entirely unique, yet simultaneously familiar experience. The series featured many characters that were made famous in Universals classic monster movies, some of which did not feature in classical literature themselves. Here are where Penny Dreadful and the Dark Universe overlap:
Dracula
Perhaps the most heavily-borrowed-from source in Penny Dreadful was Bram Stoker's seminal vampire novel Dracula, particularly in seasons 1 and 3. First of all, Mina Harker (Olivia Llewellyn) features as something of a supporting character in season 1, after being abducted by a pack of sinister vampires. It is this that prompts her father Malcom (Dalton) and friend Vanessa (Green) to begin their supernatural investigations, thus setting the series in motion. Mina may not be as big a player as she normally would be in the Dracula mythos, but her role is significant nonetheless.
Another Dracula character present in the first season is Dr. Abraham Van Helsing (David Warner), a haematologist who, like Mina, plays a much smaller role here than in the novel. While it was a shame to see so little of both characters, it allowed our expectations to be somewhat subverted, and took a drastic turn from the familiar formula that we're used to in Dracula adaptations.
While the first season features a number of bloodthirsty vampires, The Count himself does not appear until the third and final season. Here, he is played by Christian Camargo, and takes on the guise of a zoologist named Alexander Sweet in order to seduce Vanessa. His origins are altered in this incarnation, making him the brother of Lucifer who fell to Earth and was forced to feed on the blood of the living. Camargo's Dracula is as charming and sinister as ever, yet he retains that sense of loneliness and isolation that is often associated with the character. Dracula's appearance in the final season had been teased for quite sometime, and he made for the perfect final protagonist before the series finally came to an end.
Frankenstein
Victor Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway) is a major character in the series, who remains reasonably close to his novel counterpart, albeit much more arrogant. He is coaxed into helping our protagonists, despite wrestling with some personal demons of their own. These manifest themselves in the form of The Creature (Rory Kinnear) who is much more in line with Mary Shelly's depiction of him. While he is still somewhat sympathetic, much like Boris Karloff's portrayal, he retains that vengeful streak against Victor and often intimidates his creator into doing as he says.
Kinnear was a particular standout of the series for me, managing to capture that sympathetic essence of the creature while putting his own spin on the character as well. It soon became clear, however, that the show owed an equal amount of its influence to Universals original monster movies as well, taking elements from The Bride of Frankenstein in the second season. Billie Piper's character, Bronagh Croft, eventually becomes the bride at the beginning of the second season when her corpse is used by Frankenstein for his monster mate. While the original bride had little screentime, Piper's iteration became much more well-rounded and developed as the series progressed. She proved herself to be a devious, and often deadly foe, while simultaneously becoming the series' badass feminist icon. If the Dark Universe ever does go ahead, then it can definitely take a few pages out of Penny Dreadful's book when dealing with the bride.
The Wolfman
Unlike a lot of the classic Universal monster movies, The Wolfman was not based on any particular work of fiction, but that didn't stop the aul hairy lad from making an appearance in Penny Dreadful. In the season two finale, it was revealed that regular character and American gunslinger Ethan Chandler (Hartnett) was in fact a werewolf the whole time. On top of that however, it was later revealed that Ethan's real name was in fact Ethan Lawrence Talbot, and as most horror fans know, Lawrence 'Larry' Talbot was the name of the Wolfman in the original Universal film. This further tied the world of Penny Dreadful in with the world of Universal's monster movies, and made the series feel much more like what the Dark Universe should be in theory.
The third season brings Ethan back home, much like in The Wolfman (although here he is American instead of Welsh), and focuses on the conflict between him and his father Jared (Brian Cox). It was an interesting move for John Logan to borrow elements from The Wolfman, considering that it wasn't based on a piece of literature itself. However, it was a welcome development that managed to expand this small-screen monster universe.
Dr. Jekyll
Dr. Henry Jekyll and his evil alter ego Mr. Hyde never actually got their own solo film in the original run of Universal monster movies. Regardless however, Jekyll has become associated with the pantheon of movie monsters nonetheless, and Russell Crowe even took on the role in last years The Mummy (while he pulled out his best Danny Dyer impression for Hyde).
In the third season of Penny Dreadful, Jekyll is an Anglo-Indian doctor working at bedlam hospital, who went to University with Victor Frankenstein. Unfortunately we never caught a glimpse of the villainous Mr. Hyde, although Jekyll's fierce temper was alluded to on several occasions and in the final episode, he inherits the title of 'Lord Hyde' from his father. It was something at least, and it allowed an opportunity for another classic monster from literature to join the universe of Penny Dreadful, even if it was a minor role.
The Mummy
Speaking of minor roles, this role was so minor that it was merely reduced to a throwaway line at the end of season three. There were countless references to Ancient Egyptian mythology throughout the series, generally coming from the shows eccentric Egyptologist Ferdinand Lyle (Simon Russell Beale). While we unfortunately don't get any sort of mummy action throughout the course of the show, there is an extremely important throwaway line in the final episode that hints at the existence of yet another classic movie monster within the Penny Dreadful universe. We last see Lyle preparing to leave London for his trip to Egypt, where he is set to attend the opening of the tomb of Imhotep. Imhotep was of course the antagonist of Universal's original mummy movie, played by Boris Karloff, and gained later fame in the 90's remakes played by Arnold Vosloo. It was a nice little Easter Egg for fans of classic monster movies, and in a way it further expanded the Penny Dreadful monster universe.
Penny Dreadful borrowed elements from Gothic literature and classic monster movies to create a shared 'dark universe' all of its own. With clever world building and detailed writing, the show gradually expanded its universe and incorporated more familiar faces as the series progressed, resulting in what the 'Dark Universe' should more or less look like. It payed just as much attention to its monsters as it did its human characters, and gave them just enough depth and development to grab out interest and invest us in these characters. Along with that, the show managed to balance well-choreographed action sequences with a brooding atmosphere of terror, making for a series that was just as fun as it was scary.
If those behind Universals 'Dark Universe' want their franchise to succeed, then they need look no further than Penny Dreadful, and if you haven't watched the show I would highly reccommend it.
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