Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster (2021)

September. 17,2021

7.6

| Documentary

Watch Now

Subscription

Rent / Buy

Beginning just before his debut as Frankenstein’s creation, this documentary compellingly explores the life and legacy of a cinema legend, presenting a perceptive history of the genre he personified. Karloff's films were long derided as hokum and attacked by censors, but his phenomenal popularity and pervasive influence endures, inspiring some of our greatest actors and directors into the 21st Century – among them Guillermo Del Toro, Ron Perlman, Roger Corman, and John Landis, all of whom and many more contribute their personal insights and anecdotes.

...

Watch Trailer

Cast

Boris Karloff as Self (archive footage)

[2024] The Last Repair Shop [2023] The History of Cinema [2022] Boris Karloff: The Rest of the Story [2021] Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster [2014] Monster Madness: The Golden Age of the Horror Film [2013] Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored

Sara Karloff as Self

[2022] Boris Karloff: The Rest of the Story [2021] Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster [2014] Monster Madness: The Golden Age of the Horror Film [2010] A History of Horror [2009] Deader Country [2005] Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy

Guillermo del Toro as Self

[2025] Surrealistic Nightmares: An In-Depth Look at Walloon Horror Cinema [2024] Dario Argento: Panico [2024] Leonardo da Vinci [2023] George Pal: Un Marciano De Hollywood En Argentina [2023] Hideo Kojima: Connecting Worlds [2023] Temple of Film: 100 Years of the Egyptian Theatre

Reviews

Ensofter

2021/09/17

Overrated and overhyped

Stellead

2021/09/18

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

KnotStronger

2021/09/19

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Lachlan Coulson

2021/09/20

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.