Author: Joel Fisher

William Henry Pratt was born in England in the latter part of the 19^th century. He grew up knowing that he looked different from other boys as he had Indian heritage, but he also knew that his passion for acting would take him far. Moving to Hollywood, he changed his name to Boris Karloff and after a few bit parts he got his big break and his career started to move along quite nicely.

Then one day he auditioned for the role of The Monster in James Whale’s Frankenstein and the rest is cinema history. Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster is a documentary exclusive to Shudder which tells the story of his life, right from his early days down to the last days of his career on stage and screen which lasted 60 years.

Probably best known for playing Frankenstein’s monster and the titular role in The Mummy for real horror aficionados, Karloff’s place in cinema was firmly cemented. Thankfully though, the documentary doesn’t merely dwell on his most famous roles and instead looks at his career overall as an actor and the range he had beyond the iconic monsters.

Taking interviews with such directors as Peter Bogdanovich, John Landis and Guillermo del Toro, The Man Behind the Monster shows that through his performances and his work that he was so much more influential than anyone could imagine. There are also conversations with other actors such as Ron Perlman, who some could say similarly disappears into his roles as Karloff did, and Dick Miller who knew Karloff personally.

There are even snippets of interviews with Karloff’s daughter, Sara to fully round out an actor who most may only know for one role.

Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster is a well-researched and satisfying documentary that goes through Karloff’s career, showing very detailed depictions of what he was like as a man whilst off the stage and at home as well.

Horror fans may delight at knowing more about such a prolific actor who has paved the way for the way we see horror today. However, the documentary shows that what they may know only scratches the surface as to what made the man behind the monster.

Camille Meadows (Suki Waterhouse) is a troubled teen, therefore the best thing to do with her is to send her to a girl’s boarding school with a mysterious past. She’s met by Mrs. Landry (Marina Stephenson Kerr), the headteacher of the school and she immediately sets out the ground rules.

Although that’s not before Camille grills her about a student that mysteriously died at the school not that long ago. The legend that’s come from that death says that the spirit of the girl who died there still haunts the hallways, so Camille wants to know what she’s getting into.

She then meets the other students who she’ll be spending time with. However, they don’t really want to get to know her and it soon becomes clear when Camille fights her ground that she’s not there to make friends.

Then one night one of the girls finds an enchantment that will summon a ghost and seeing as the school has recently acquired one, they give it a try. Unfortunately, there is indeed something there and it’s willing to talk to them, but they may not like what it has to say. From that moment on the girls at the boarding school are bumped off one by one as they try and figure out whether Moaning Myrtle really has come to kill them or whether it’s something more sinister. Unfortunately, the truth isn’t all that better.

Seance is a supernatural slasher from writer/director Simon Barrett. Having previously been involved with writing horror movies as V/H/S and You’re Next, you may have thought that Barrett would know what he’s doing when creating a horror masterpiece. Sadly, this doesn’t seem to be the case when he’s in the director’s chair.

The whole film just feels lazy and uninspired; from the script, the characters and even the actors recite their lines like they don’t care. Then there’s the reveal of the villain which comes across as the least intimidating villain in all of film history, one that every member of the audience could be confident that they could take out themselves.

Seance is not good on paper and even worse on screen, perhaps Barrett should stick to just doing what he does best

Kaylee (Kali Reis) is a former champion boxer who has seen better days. She had to stop boxing due to an injury and is working as a waitress to make ends meet. She also has a lot on her mind, never really being able to get over the disappearance of her sister, Kaylee is desperate to know the truth and is willing to do anything to get there.

Then one day she hears about how she could get close to the men that made her sister disappear and soon finds herself in the middle of the sex trafficking ring that her sister fell into. In the search for her sister Kaylee is about to find out exactly what lengths she will to go to in order to save her sister.

Catch the Fair One is a crime drama written and directed by Josef Kubota Wladyka from a story by Kali Reis. A film particularly noteworthy, not only for the lead being a woman with Native American heritage, but because of Reis’ passion for bringing this story to the screen.

There is a temptation to compare Catch the Fair One to other films in this genre, particularly with Taken as it is seemingly the exact same plot. However, having a female lead and not a white male makes for a refreshing stand point.

Whereas other films, may be criticised for being all style and no substance, Catch the Fair One shows the depraved and realistic side of what women are subjected to when they are treated like objects. It also shows a nuance in the violence that Kaylee takes part in herself which has levels of regret and consequences. Nobody gets away clean without breaking a sweat in this one.

However, what starts out as something grittier and raw as Kaylee puts herself in the shoes of her sister and other victims like her, ends up becoming something more akin to the films it’s trying to diversify from. Kaylee is no one-woman-killing-machine, but the final act does have a fair amount of cliches.

Catch the Fair One is an often told story from a unique perspective, but despite a good lead performance, the plot becomes a little too formulaic.

Kerrie (Laura Bayston) owns a café, it’s a quiet place and as it’s nearing the end of the day and there aren’t any customers then she starts to clear up and get ready to close for the night. That’s when Harry (Larry Lamb) comes in; sharply dressed with a swept back haircut and a rather intimidating demeanour. Startling Kerrie who’s dancing to music while she finishes up her working day, he insists on being served. So, she gives him what he ordered and continues what she was doing.

However, Harry is a sociable sort and although his manner is quite abrupt and perhaps lacking tact, he asks Kerrie about her life, her family and her son. What unfolds changes Kerrie’s perceptions of the mysterious elderly gentleman and her life forever.

Old Windows is an intriguing short film written by Laura Bayston and directed by Paul Holbrook. Set in a dingy café which could be anywhere in Britain, Bayton’s script takes two people who may or may not have met before. putting them together in a somewhat tense, but revealing situation.

Both actors play their parts well, with Lamb taking over, becoming a man whose straight-talking attitude may have been due to a life of disappointment. Bayston also makes the audience feel for her in such a short space of time, slowly revealing what is perhaps the reason as to why she’s so guarded.

Audiences may immediately decide what they think about Harry, Kerrie or both of them, but as their conversation goes along then they may start to wonder who these characters are. They may especially take notice when Harry starts asking so many questions about Kerrie, some of which some people may find to be too intrusive to ask somebody you just met.

However, Old Windows although short, is still a story that asks a lot more questions than it answers and as the story develops, it may make the audience speculate on what’s really happening. Is Harry a kindly old man with a blunt manner or is he something more special to Kerrie and her son?

The best way to decide is to seek out Old Windows for yourself

Father Jozsef (Robert Bronzi) has a troubled past. He’s done some terrible things in the name of the church and he has demons he finds hard to control. Then one day, Bishop Canelo (Steven Berkoff) tells father Jozsef about a house whose residents are harbouring a demon that has infected one of their family members.

So, Father Jozsef heads off to the family home where he not only finds a family dealing with demonic possession, but with dark secrets and a troubled past of their own. As Father Jozsef tries to cure the family of their supernatural problem, he soon finds that it will be easier said than done.

Exorcist Vengeance is a supernatural whodunnit with one particular element that stands out among the rather generic characters and plot. That is that actor Robert Bronzi has taken it upon himself to make himself look like 70’s film icon, Charles Bronson. So, for those who are unaware of Bronson’s work then he may just get away with it, but for those who know then it’s a weird experience.

It’s also a bewildering choice considering that Bronzi doesn’t have anywhere near the same acting talent that Bronson ever had.

It feels like the film was entirely designed in order to trick audiences into believing that there was once an Exorcist knockoff starring Charles Bronson as a gun totting priest, just so that people who initially won’t believe it will be proven wrong. However, that’s not the only unusual and frankly pointless element of the film.

Since The Exorcist was first released there have been many imitators. Whereas the special effects may have got better, the stories and basic premise have stayed the same. This is also highlighted in the film because it seems that as far as the possessed go, there’s no attempt to make them scary or do anything other than what’s already been seen before.

If you want to try and fool your friends into thinking that Charles Bronson did indeed make a subpar Exorcist movie where he wore a cross in the same way he fired a gun then go ahead. However, if you do then you’ll be wishing that it had been done a lot better.