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Horror History: Watch Vintage Doc Chronicling Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff Rivalry
“Karloff did not deserve to smell my shit.” – Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi, Ed Wood.
One of the things Tim Burton’s Ed Wood touched upon was the relationship between horror icons Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff, and like mostly everything Burton brought to the screen in the 1994 film, that particular subplot had much basis in reality. Along with the 1931 releases of both Dracula and Frankenstein, Lugosi and Karloff both became household names, but in the wake of their initial success, it was Karloff who went on to be the bigger star.
Lugosi, well, he wasn’t exactly happy about that.
After playing Dracula, Universal offered the role of the bolt-necked monster to Bela Lugosi, but the actor turned it down on the grounds that he was above being covered in makeup to the point of being completely unrecognizable. With Lugosi out, Karloff stepped in, taking over the role Lugosi turned down and, as a result, becoming an even brighter Hollywood star than Lugosi.
And that’s just the beginning of a rivalry that lasted until the day Bela Lugosi died. But rather than me telling you the story, I wanted to share with you a vintage mini-doc that covers the Lugosi-Karloff rivalry in great detail. The fascinating doc was released on VHS back in the ’90s, and I tracked it down on YouTube in its entirety.
A fitting watch today of all days, as Bela Lugosi was born on this day in 1882!
While you wait for Alien: Romulus, the folks over at Devilworks have cooked up their own slice of “mockbuster” fun with Alien Hunt, and we’re debuting the trailer here on BD this morning.
This brand-new sci-fi horror from director Aaron Mirtes (The Bigfoot Trap, Painted in Blood) is set for its US premiere on May 14, and you can find it on digital thanks to Devilworks.
You can exclusively watch the official trailer for Alien Hunt below, which looks to combine elements of Alien and Predator. This particular “mockbuster” has very little interest in hiding its inspirations, with the alien designs plucked straight out of H.R. Giger’s beautiful brain. Hey, if you’re going to pull from other movies, might as well take from the all-time greats!
In Alien Hunt, “On a hunting trip in the wilderness, a group of siblings discovers an abandoned military outpost on their land, but is it what it seems?
“Their trip takes a sinister turn when they find themselves facing off against a relentless army of extra-terrestrial beings. Suddenly, the hunters become the hunted.
“The formidable squad of alien soldiers will stop at nothing to wipe out the enemy and in an all-out, brutal battle for survival, it’s kill or be killed in Alien Hunt.”
Barron Boedecker (Escape Pod, The Bigfoot Trap), Brent Bentley (The Perfect In-Laws, Haunt Season), Deiondre Teagle (The Visitor, Painted in Blood, Death Ranch), Chelsey Fuller (The Bigfoot Trap, The Silent Natural), Jesse Santoyo (A Nashville Country Christmas, Potter’s Ground), and Adam Pietripaoli (The Bigfoot Trap, The OctoGames) star.
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