Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster
Where to watch: Prime Video/VOD
For many of us, old horror is still the best horror, and there’s arguably no more recognizable figure in horror history than Boris Karloff wearing Jack Pierce’s unforgettable Frankenstein‘s monster makeup. Don’t have time to properly dose yourself with the kind of spooky season atmosphere you can only truly find in those old Universal horror movies? This new documentary is the perfect way to get your fix. Spanning the full scope of Karloff’s career, from his early start as a heavy in silent pictures to his glory days as an enduring monster and even bringing the Grinch to animated life, Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster is the easiest and spookiest history lesson you’ll get this year.
Brand New Cherry Flavor
Where to watch: Netflix
There’s body horror and then there is “graphically vomiting kittens” body horror. Netflix’s Brand New Cherry Flavor is very much in the latter camp. This series from Nick Antosca (Channel Zero) follows Lisa Nova (Rosa Salazar), a hotshot indie filmmaker who catches Hollywood’s eye. When Lisa’s creepy producer steals her film for turning down his unwanted sexual advances, Lisa turns to the supernatural world for revenge in the form of local witch Boro (Catherine Keener). Brand New Cherry Flavor is a short, grotesque, and utterly compelling horror tale about actions and their consequences.
Candyman
Where to watch: VOD/theatrical
Almost 30 years after the first Candyman film, co-writers Nia DaCosta and Jordan Peele build atop the legend of the original Candyman, embellishing it and making it their own like any good slumber party guest sharing the gruesomest bits. They also unpack the cruel implications behind the increasingly sorrowful Candyman archetype. He’s not just one vengeful spirit, but many; the face of an entire history of Black men being persecuted and murdered. It gives new texture to the exquisite sorrow of that famous Philip Glass theme, and it also is the foundation for a truly ghastly slasher movie. DaCosta, who directed this Candyman before pivoting to Marvel, has a more ruthless, grotesque eye than Peele and she goes for the jugular in the goriest new spectacle this Halloween.
