I was in two minds whether Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster would be a good watch or not. This nearly one hundred minute documentary charts the legendary horror actor's film output from start to finish. Along the way you get no end of excerpts from recorded interviews, as well as behind the scenes footage and some of his most iconic moments from film and stage.
This follows a traditional format of having talking heads, that of notable people from the industry talking about the focus of the documentary. I fully expected this to be full of people I had no idea about, and while there are film critics and other industry people I didn't recognise, things start off strong with Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water, Chronos), someone who pops back up on multiple occasions. He is joined by others, including Joe Dante (Gremlins, The Howling), John Landis (An American Werewolf in London), Roger Corman, as well as actor Ron Perlman (Season of the Witch). It is clear from what these people say that Karloff actually deserved the legendary status he has achieved over time. I of course have seen Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein, as well as later films of his such as The Black Cat and The Sorcerers but never really appreciated him as a well rounded actor. Watching this documentary has made me want to check out some of his other films, of which there are plenty. I also didn't realise he was the narrator for the classic animated film How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
His most famous role is in Frankenstein, a character that has never been bettered than when he did it. Nearly everyone describing a Frankenstein's Monster like creature is sure to describe Karloff's character, the one with bolts in the neck and a squared head, this just shows the impression he has made on public consciousness. Outside of films however Karloff did a variety of things, from being the host of a Twilight Zone style show called Thriller, to performing on Broadway. The man suffered for his art, literally, with his later years suffering arthritis still not hampering his passion for acting. Over his long career it was interesting how he kept becoming relevant on and off over the decades, seemingly each new decade he would suddenly get a resurgence in popularity.
As enjoyable as the documentary was there was one small complaint with the terrible green screen that makes the talking head sections look a bit amateurish due to the jagged hairlines that occur as a result of this. This was my biggest fault as otherwise I found this all to be really well done. Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster has been released on DVD/Blu-ray as a special limited edition collectors version of the 2021 documentary which features over 140 minutes of additional footage. This includes a newly produced two hour documentary Boris Karloff: The Rest of the Story, as well as featurettes Meeting Boris Karloff and Ron's Story.
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