‘Behind The Monsters’ Series Will Dig Into The History Of Horror’s Biggest Icons
As AMC’s genre-centric streaming service, Shudder is already packed full of horror, blood, and monstrosities. But soon, the spine-tingling streamer’s library will be joined by some of horror’s biggest icons in a new documentary series calledBehind the Monsters.
Deadline has learned that Shudder ordered six episodes of the docuseries that will focus on some of the most well-known killers from horror history: Michael Myers, Jason Vorhees, Freddy Krueger, Chucky, Pinhead, and Candyman. Each episode will be dedicated to one of the seemingly immortal slashers of the silver screen.
These are horror characters who have been around for decades, and they’ve been breathlessly discussed for just as long in a variety of documentaries and genre chronicles. Is there anything new left to learn about these slashers who keep returning for sequels, reboots, and remakes? Shudder seems to think so.
Perhaps the motivation behind this new docuseries is educating the next generation of horror fans who didn’t grow up with the originalHalloween,Friday the 13th,A Nightmare on Elm Street, etc. Even though almost all of these characters have been rebooted or sequel-ized in recent years, there are likely plenty of youngsters out there in need of a horror history lesson that takes a closer look at their origins and rise in pop culture prominence.
What to Expect from Behind the Monsters
Executive produced byPhil Nobile Jr.(Editor-in-Chief of Fangoria),Kelly Ryan, andMark Shostrom, the series will feature interviews with some of the writers, directors, and actors from the original films that made each character a horror legend. Plus, various experts on horror and cinema will be brought in to provide even more commentary, such asHorror Noiredocumentary writer and producerAshlee Blackwell,The Last Podcast on the Left’sBen KisselandHenry Zebrowski, Blumhouse producerRyan Turek, and filmmakersJeffrey Reddick(Final Destination),April Wolfe(2019’sBlack Christmas),David Bruckner(The Night House, the upcomingHellraiserreboot), and filmmaker and drag artistPeaches Christ.
If the series follows in the footsteps ofHorror Noire, longtime horror fans will find something refreshing in this deep dive into some of the genre’s most beloved franchises. At the very least, most of these slashers have plenty of movies to provide ample material that can be explored in a refreshing way.
Here’s what we know about each of the episodes so far:
Unless Shudder is holding back some surprises, it feels like these episodes are missing some key talent to thoroughly dive into the history of these characters. Then again, there are always archival interviews that can be used to beef up the production, and hopefully we’ll get more of a modern perspective from the filmmakers and pop culture experts appearing in the series.
The series will premiere a few days before Halloween onOctober 26, 2021, and new episodes ofBehind the Monsterswill roll out weekly after that.
