Theme park spotlight: Universal Epic Universe’s Dark Universe

An occasional series exploring Universal Orlando Resort’s 2025 theme park expansion Universal Epic Universe.

Of the five new theme park worlds opening at Universal Epic Universe on May 22, lovers of the macabre will drool over the Dark Universe.

Taking its cue from the 150-year history of Universal Studios bringing the most classic of monsters to the silver screen, the Dark Universe beckons attendees to walk through a massive, electrified portal into the Bavarian village of Darkmoor, an homage to the original home of the 1931 movie “Frankenstein,” co-starring that famous monster.

Within the environment, they can have a literal “bite” to eat at the vampire-themed restaurant Das Stakehaus and get a ghoulish makeover at the Darkmoor Monster Makeup Experience. They can even walk through a secluded wagon camp and ride the Curse of the Werewolf spinning coaster that rips through the dark forest at nearly 40 miles per hour while avoiding a pack of howling beasts.

However, perhaps the horrifying highlight of this dark park will be the interactive multimedia experience “Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment,” which takes possible victims deep into the labyrinths of Frankenstein Manor, where Dr. Victoria Frankenstein (the great-great-granddaughter of Henry Frankenstein) conducts unholy experiments.

Ms. Frankenstein’s hubris in trying to sway guests to marvel at her brilliance at controlling monsters leads to a demonstration of her scientific powers gone wrong and the release of a familiar group of legendary creatures.

The current lineup is a collection of icons worthy of outing in their historical light as well as in comparison to their current iteration in the Frankenstein Manor:

Frankenstein’s Monster: As noted, the 1931 horror film “Frankenstein” directed by James Whale, introduced actor Boris Karloff as the monster with makeup effects provided by legendary artist Jack Pierce. The Darkmoor Frankenstein offers a tip of the bloodied skull cap to Karloff’s version, a green-skinned and elongated face (also think his animated appearance in “The Groovie Ghoulies”) but with a sutured body similar to the 2004 film “Van Helsing’s” version of Frankenstein.

Dracula: The blood-sucking ghoul debuted in 1931 under the direction of Tod Browning and was portrayed by the legend Bela Lugosi in the self-titled “Dracula.” Universal Epic Universe’s version ramps up the scares with a pale, purplish-skinned vampire with extended fangs reminiscent of Hammer Films’ Christopher Lee and Richard Roxburgh’s “Van Helsing” (2004) and adds hair stylings close to Chris Sarandon’s vampire in “Fright Night.”

Wolf Man: Lon Chaney Jr. wore the fur in George Waggner’s 1941 film “The Wolf Man,” which again featured Pierce’s make-up applications. The creature conjured in Darkmoor, with black fur and a shortened snout, most resembles Benicio Del Toro’s portrayal, especially in posters, of Universal’s expensive 2010 remake of its classic with appliance effects created by Academy Award winner Rick Baker.

Creature from the Black Lagoon: In 1954, a black-and-white horror film from director Jack Arnold revealed a terrifying amphibious humanoid that went on to star in a pair of sequels. The Dark Universe brings the green-gilled man to life in a faithful reproduction of his original appearance, with a wider and more rounded mouth filled with rows of sharpened teeth. This creature is the scariest of the bunch.

The Phantom of the Opera: Lon Chaney Sr.’s silent portrayal of the deformed tutor from 1925 remains the benchmark for delivering the frightening potential of author Gaston Leroux’s character. Universal Epic Universe has yet to reveal his new look, but officials have reported his massive organ will shoot flames 3 feet high while synced to the bone-chilling music as the Phantom tinkles the ivories in Frankenstein Manor.

Bride of Frankenstein: Director Wale and Karloff returned in 1935 to present a horror sequel that gave the famed monster a mate and the audience a near heart attack from the female creation. Universal certainly has a template to craft her resurrection in the Manor. Reference back in 2020 to Halloween Horror Nights’ “Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives” that featured the reanimated creature now as a scientist with a lab coat; and her appearance last year in the house “Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines” as a vampire hunter wrapped in bandages (akin to her movie version). Both offered the bride an electrified beehive hairdo.

The Mummy: Karloff resurrected the Ancient Egyptian high priest Imhotep in director Karl Freund’s 1932 black-and-white classic. Fans are waiting for a look at Universal Epic Universe’s mummy, but let’s hope he mixes the reanimated, emaciated and bandaged corpse delivered by Karloff with the rotting creature shown to audiences in the 1999 adventure film “The Mummy.”

What will undoubtedly set the entire Experiment apart is the presentation of 14 animatronic figures, which its creators boast are the most technologically advanced ever developed.

Memories surely will be triggered from a Dark Universe visit, especially by hard-core devotees to Universal’s theme parks, by the history of family-friendly monstrous entertainment within its oldest theme park, Universal Studios Florida.

When not focused on the terrifying Revenge of the Mummy roller coaster or the park’s vaulted Halloween Horror Nights during the year, attendees once upon a time were found in an attraction and restaurant that catered to an appreciation of the monster class.

First, fond memories were had at Beetlejuice’s Graveyard Revue, that ran from 1992 to 2016 (replaced by the woeful “The Fast and the Furious” ride) that offered a theatrical rock and roll music-filled show featuring songs and dancing by Dracula, the Frankenstein Monster, Wolfman, Bride of Frankenstein, the Mummy and the Phantom of the Opera’s daughter Phantasia.

Next, the Classic Monsters Cafe (replaced by Minions-style cafe in 2022) offered a standard fare of pizza, pasta, chicken and sandwiches for more than two decades. It stood out for the decor in themed dining room areas that included movie monster posters, clips from classic monster films playing continuously, props and display cases holding full-sized versions of icons such as Wolf Man, Frankenstein’s Monster, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, extraterrestrials from “This Island Earth” and giant spiders from “Tarantula.”

Universal Orlando Resort has undoubtedly set the benchmark for celebrating the monster horror genre in films for decades, and Universal Epic Universe’s Dark Universe should faithfully carry on that tradition.

One can only imagine what imagineers are planning for the Halloween season in Darkmoor.

• Universal Orlando Resort’s Universal Epic Universe theme park includes the worlds The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, Super Nintendo World, How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, Dark Universe and Celestial Park. It opens on May 22.

• Jacquie Kubin contributed to this report.