The new docu-series Behind the Monsters takes a deep dive on the origins and outsized pop culture influence of six of the most famous monsters of modern horror: Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, Candyman, Chucky and Pinhead. I am in! Check it out!
🔪 From killers to killer icons. Check out the trailer for the new @Shudder documentary BEHIND THE MONSTERS. Coming this October! pic.twitter.com/VL1SMQPWxV
— FANGORIA (@FANGORIA) September 30, 2021
The trailer shows horror innovators creating their monsters, and their monsters’ legacies. The fans, the press, the ever-present evangelists condemning the films, the naysayers predicting the movies bombing are all teased in the trailer. From choosing William Shatner’s face from the movie mold made for The Devil’s Rain (1975), to Tom Savini having to create his first serial killer, this series is going to have us pulling out all the classics to watch them with our newly-informed noggins.
One of my favorite pieces of Michael Myers lore is that several of the Shatner masks were purchased in a store by members of the Halloween production team and ended up using them for Michael Myers. I always thought it was a genius move to have the monster have a strong resemblance to a trusted character like Captain Kirk. We get to hear all about it!
Shudder describes the show as such:
“Each of the series’ six episodes will focus on a single horror character, and feature interviews with horror experts and the writers, directors and actors from the original films that made each character the stuff of genre legends. Other experts from the within genre set to appear throughout the series include Drac & Swan Boulet (The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula), Horror Noire documentary writer and producer Ashlee Blackwell, The Last Podcast on the Left hosts Ben Kissel and Henry Zebrowski, Blumhouse producer Ryan Turek and filmmakers Jeffrey Reddick (Final Destination), April Wolfe (Black Christmas, 2019), David Bruckner (Hellraiser reboot), and filmmaker and drag artist Peaches Christ.”
- The six-part docu-series will dedicate an episode to each of the horror characters including:
&•& Candyman, featuring interviews with the original Candyman director Bernard Rose and stars Tony Todd and Virginia Madsen and Candyman (2021) Director Nia DaCosta.
&•& Chucky, with interviews with Child’s Play (1988) creator/writer Don Mancini, director Tom Holland and star Catherine Hicks, along with the voice of Chucky, Brad Dourif himself.
&•& Jason Voorhees, including interviews with long-term Jason actor Kane Hodder and special effects legend Tom Savini.
&•& Michael Myers, featuring interviews with actor Nick Castle from Halloween and the new Halloween films from Blumhouse, as well as Halloween (2018) stunt actor James Jude Courtney.
&•& Freddy Krueger, including interviews with A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and Wes Craven’s New Nightmare(1994) stars Heather Langenkamp and Lin Shaye, as well as Special Effects Designer Jim Doyle, and who wouldn’t expect an appearance from Robert Englund who is still a great lover of the genre and character.
&•& Pinhead, including an interview with Hellraiser actor Doug Bradley and others.
Behind the Monsters is executive produced by Phil Nobile Jr., Kelly Ryan and Mark Shostrom. Get your horror history lesson spoon-fed to you by the horror masters themselves. AMC’s horror streamer, Shudder, will premiere its weekly show, Behind the Monsters, October 27.