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.
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.
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.
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.
Perhaps the most recognizable horror icon, Freddy Krueger's one-liners and merchandise has proven to be enjoyed by horror and non-horror fans alike.
A look at the accidental creation of a machete-wielding avatar of conservative 1980s morality - one that, absent a new entry, a fiercely loyal fan base has taken to resurrecting on their own.
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.