Behind the Monsters
No horror icon came out of a filmmaker's first draft fully formed. There were early drafts, wrong turns, experimentation. Once made flesh (or latex), there's presentation, impact, audience response and legacy. Each of these steps that nudge a horror creation toward the annals of legend will be explored in Shudder's BEHIND THE MONSTERS. Each episode examines a horror icon who has broken free of the confines of the film from which it was born and become the stuff of legend.
- 2021-2021
- 1 season
- Shudder
- Documentary, Horror
No horror icon came out of a filmmaker's first draft fully formed. There were early drafts, wrong turns, experimentation. Once made flesh (or latex), there's presentation, impact, audience response and legacy. Each of these steps that nudge a horror creation toward the annals of legend will be explored in Shudder's BEHIND THE MONSTERS. Each episode examines a horror icon who has broken free of the confines of the film from which it was born and become the stuff of legend.
Season 1 Episode Guide
6 Episodes 2021
Episode 1
Michael Myers
Wed, Oct 27, 2021 45 mins
A cheap film shot in 21 days changed the landscape of horror, made several careers, and gave one actress an iconic role that she's tweaking 42 years later.
Episode 2
Candyman
Wed, Nov 3, 2021 36 mins
The genre's first black slasher showed up in 1992, rich with subtext about racial tensions in American history. In 2021, he's coming back--and is perhaps the most relevant horror icon imaginable.
Episode 3
Chucky
Wed, Nov 10, 2021 32 mins
What started as a nasty spin on 80s consumerism flourished over three decades into an unlikely progressive horror property that refuses to get back on the shelf.
Episode 4
Freddy Krueger
Wed, Nov 17, 2021 43 mins
In 1984 Wes Craven saw the slasher boom filling screens and took it to the next level by leaving reality behind. Other slashers carved through teen bodies; Freddy invaded their minds.
Episode 5
Jason Voorhees
Wed, Nov 24, 2021 45 mins
The producers just wanted to rip off HALLOWEEN. What happened instead was the accidental creation of a machete-wielding avatar of conservative 1980s morality.
Episode 6
Pinhead
Wed, Dec 1, 2021 48 mins
Emerging from a low budget independent film, this character who was simply called "Lead Cenobite" would become the undeniable symbol of pleasure and pain and the icon of the Hellraiser franchise.
