5 Star

The Horror Legend.

From writer, director, producer Thomas Hamilton (Leslie Howard: The Man Who Gave a Damn, Leslie Howard – The Mystery of Flight 777) and Karloff fan Ron MacCloskey (Karloff and Me) bring us the definitive story of horror’s most unfamiliar face. The name is synonymous with the horror genre. With a sixty-year career, there is a lot to talk about and Boris Karloff: The Man Behind The Monster is full of what people and himself thought about his career, his films and his personal life.

Boris Karloff: The Man Behind The Monster is the full career of the horror film legend, from the moment he became noticed in Frankenstein (1931) to Fear Chamber (1971) and all the way back to when he was on stage in Canada as an extra to the leading man.

His career is discussed by those who knew him, were inspired by him and those that studied his career. From Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water), Caroline Munro (The Golden Voyage of Sinbad), Ron Perlman (Hellboy), Christopher Plummer (Hector and the Search for Happiness), Peter Bogdanovich (Paper Moon), John Landis (The Blues Brothers), Ian Ogilvy (We Still Kill the Old Way) to his daughter Sara Karloff who has spent her life with the fans of her fathers body of work, which she is much appreciative of.

There isn’t anything I can say other than this is the one to watch if you are already a fan of this screen legend, or you are just venturing into the great silver screen horror history, this is the documentary to watch. A man, a mouldable face, and so many characters that will have you hiding behind the cushion.

Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster is available Exclusively on Shudder