SCREAMING STREAMING REVIEW - SHUDDER'S BEHIND THE MONSTERS (EPISODES 1-3)
What makes a horror icon? Is it familiarity, number of sequels in a franchise, an actor, or is it some mixture of all the above and more? No matter what the criteria, I think the majority can agree that icons are created without the intention of becoming that way. In fact, they are made that way by folks like fans and the filmmakers that bring those stories to life. Furthermore, icons are few and far between and not minted regularly. Some obvious examples are the Universal Monsters. From Lugosi’s Dracula to Karloff’s Frankenstein’s Monster these actors took literary ideas and made them real (along with lots of help from the crew) in a way that has shaped, and persisted, for almost a century. Enter SHUDDER’S BEHIND THE MONSTERS, a new series that focuses on modern horror icons by combining interviews with fans, creators, actors, and more to establish what makes these horror icons so memorable and how they came to be. In the first three episodes we will talk about how deep SHUDDER goes, and if that is deep enough!
HOW IS IT?
We were fortunate enough to get an advance look at the first three episodes in the BEHIND THE MONSTERS series aptly focused on Michael Myers (HALLOWEEN), Candyman (CANDYMAN), and Chucky (CHILD’S PLAY). To say that SHUDDER is coming out swinging is an understatement. The entire six-episode series will cover three other modern horror icons (hint: all of the remaining three have, or had, longer documentaries on SHUDDER) and I’m assuming will follow a similar format and length. The episodes we were able to review were on average about 40 minutes in length and are mostly narrated by the various folks being interviewed in each episode. The interviews include cast members, crew, writers, directors, producers, horror influencers, and of course fans. Overall, the format is absolutely perfect for the material. I personally prefer it when documentary-esque shows like these don’t have a central narrator, and let the voices of the folks contributing guide the talk track. These are compact episodes as well, so if you’re in a crunch for time they can be squeezed in on a lunch break, but I’ll come back to the show’s length in a moment.
As far as the choice of icons, it’s hard to argue with the first three on this list. They are also some of the icons who do not have long franchise retrospectives like NEVER SLEEP AGAIN or CRYSTAL LAKE MEMORIES, so it was nice to have a single overview in one place, for the most part. While I may bemoan the fact that so many films and TV shows drag on longer than they should, I have a soft spot for documentary style films. For a franchise like HALLOWEEN with over 12 movies, one can hardly expect to get a satisfactory amount of information in roughly 45 minutes (to be fair, the Michael Myers episode was longer than the other two). For someone who is completely unaware of Michael Myers and the HALLOWEEN franchise, this would be a wonderful appetizer, but I suspect that SHUDDER’S fan base has passed the point of introduction and is craving something more in the weeds. The same could be said of the Chucky episode, where there are at least 8 films in one franchise, a remake, and now a TV show. Candyman has the fewest entries in the series, but not surprisingly had the most interesting episode since it highlighted familiar voices from the wonderful HORROR NOIRE documentary (also on SHUDDER) and went into the differences between Barker’s short story and what we saw in the 1992 film onward. Suffice to say, I was left wanting more which isn’t a bad thing.
While it’s safe to say that I really enjoyed these, I think there are a few things that could be improved as the series continues. As mentioned before, these would benefit greatly from a lot more detail, particularly icons that have such a long franchise history. While it doesn’t have to be the multi-hour experience taken by NEVER SLEEP AGAIN or CRYSTAL LAKE MEMORIES, at least a couple hours would suffice to get a little more in the weeds. I realize that these episodes are meant to focus on the characters and not as much the films, I don’t see how you can have one without the other. Another hopeful suggestion is that the series branches out beyond the staples of the genre. It will come as no surprise to anyone who the first six episodes are focused on, but there are many other icons who deserve their fair share of limelight such as Leprechaun, Norman Bates, Leatherface, and maybe even kaiju like Godzilla. It’s a testament to SHUDDER that my constructive feedback is basically asking for more, and I hope that folks enjoy this enough to justify more episodes being produced.
LAST RITES
BEHIND THE MONSTERS gives modern horror icons their moments to shine, and while it may leave those hungry for details wanting a bit more it doesn’t disappoint. Whether you’re a new fan or old there is bound to be something you can learn about your favorite horror characters and the mark they left on the world!
THE GORY DETAILS
BEHIND THE MONSTERS is written and directed by GABRIELLE BINKLEY and ANTHONY URO, executive produced by PHIL NOBILE JR., KELLY RYAN and MARK SHOSTROM, and produced by STAGE 3 PRODUCTIONS.
Where can you watch it?
SHUDDER’S BEHIND THE MONSTERS the new original docuseries, which takes a deep dive on cinematic horror icons, premieres on the horror streaming service on Wednesday, October 27
