Shudder Series Behind the Monsters Digs Deep Into Six Icons of Horror
AMC just acquired horror streaming assistance Shudder has been giving more bang for your buck and it looks like their current addition to their extensive horror documentary library is getting on to make many genre fans pleased. Entitled Behind The Monsters, Deadline reported that the actual series has been ruled by Shudder to feature six episodes dedicated to the greatest characters to have slashed and severed their way through theatres, and while more are likely to follow, they are kicking off with six of the largest names in horror: Michael Myers, Jason Vorhees, Freddy Krueger, Chucky, Pinhead, and Candyman.
Each of the blood-splattered demons of horror will get their incident, and while they have all been around long enough to have featured in multiple “making of” documentaries and memoir series’, Shudder believes that there is still more to be told about the innovation and the inspiration behind the six most creative monster serial killers in history. For any horror fan, there is always more to understand and see, and having stared at some of Shudder’s previous original documentaries, they often don’t come any more all-out and in-depth.
While substantial horror fans have developed being haunted by these personalities, there may not be much that we don’t know about them, but there is an entirely new era that may not be fully conscious of where most of them started. Jason and Freddy haven’t been seen on screen in over a decade thanks to numerous legal justifications, while there have been reboots of Chucky and Halloween in the last few years and now takes on Hellraiser and Candyman incoming, so now is probably as good a time as any to give a prolonged history lesson to those believing that these new incarnations are where it all started for these 30-40-year-old abominations.
Like many of Shudder’s documentaries, the sequel will feature interviews with writers, directors and stars of the original movies that created these characters, as well as various experts and fans including other filmmakers, podcast creators, biographers and horror writers who will discuss the characters and their impact on movie history across the decades. Shudder’s Horror Noire series is a likely template for the series, and everyone will likely find something out that they didn’t know before when the deep dive goes deeper than any other documentary would dare.
The non-exhaustive list of participants across the six episodes looks like this:
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.
The exclusive episode of the series will arrive on Shudder on October 26, just in time for Halloween, with new episodes publishing weekly after that.