Editorials
The Man Behind Frankenstein’s Monster: Boris Karloff
In the wake of the recent announcement of Universal and Blumhouse developing an Invisible Man movie with Leigh Whannell at the helm, talk has begun anew of Universal’s Classic Monsters’ revival. It only makes sense to revisit the original films and the horror icons that made them so enduring, and even more fitting to begin with one of the most memorable screen horror icons, Boris Karloff. Known above all as Frankenstein’s monster, Karloff was a prolific actor and horror mainstay behind countless memorable horror movie roles spanning decades.
Born William Henry Pratt on November 23, 1887, Boris Karloff is actually a stage name he created during his work in theatre. Once he made his way to Hollywood, he racked up 80 film credits, from silent films to westerns and everything in between, before director James Whale cast him as Frankenstein’s monster in 1931’s Frankenstein – a role Bela Lugosi had passed on when he realized the lengthy makeup process involved. Between the makeup designed by Jack P. Pierce, the four-inch platform boots, and the back brace, Karloff was unrecognizable and his performance devoid of dialogue. Marketing left his name off the billing in promotional materials, and a question mark was used in place of his name in the opening credits. In other words, no one expected Frankenstein to launch Karloff into stardom the way that it did. He was 43 at the time.
The following year he reteamed with Whale for The Old Dark House, a horror comedy about five travelers trapped in a creepy Gothic mansion for a night due to a storm. Wry humor meets atmosphere, Karloff played Morgan, the mute butler who gets a bit mean when he drinks. He was given top billing at the titular character in MGM’s The Mask of Fu Manchu, and then played the mummy Imhotep in The Mummy, another hit for Universal that solidified Karloff’s stardom. Though he had parts in non-horror films, horror had officially become his primary genre of work. He also appeared in Universal Classic Monster films The Black Cat, The Raven, The Invisible Ray, Night Key, Son of Frankenstein, Tower of London, and reteamed with Whale in Bride of Frankenstein throughout the ‘30s.
In 1944’s monster crossover film The House of Frankenstein, Karloff got to play the villainous mad doctor instead of the creature. Most of his horror work in the ‘40s, though, were for RKO Pictures under producer Val Lewton: The Body Snatcher, based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s short story, Isle of the Dead, and Bedlam. In the aftermath of World War II, horror’s popularity waned and thus Karloff’s work in horror during the ‘40s was also light.
Luckily, horror exploded again in the ‘50s, and with it came roles in The Strange Door, The Black Castle, Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Island Monster, Voodoo Island, Corridors of Blood, and more. The ‘60s began with The Terror, The Raven, and most notably Mario Bava’s Black Sabbath, an anthology that saw Karloff introducing the various tales as well as being featured in the vampire segment “The Wurdalak”.
He voiced the role of Baron Boris von Frankenstein in stop-motion animated Mad Monster Party?, and the Grinch in How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, which ensured that Karloff became an iconic presence for both Halloween and Christmas. There was also no shortage of roles for Karloff when it came to playing occult professors and scientists, notably in The Sorcerers, Alien Terror and Die, Monster, Die! But one of his best, and most overlooked performances was among the last in his long career- that of aging horror film star Byron Orlok in 1968’s Targets, a meta horror film that sees Orlok on a collision course with a crazed sniper when he agrees to one final public appearance at a drive-in theater.
When Karloff passed away at the age of 81 on February 2, 1969, he had 207 acting credits under his belt. It’s an impressive feat all his own, but even more so when considering that the age at which he played Frankenstein’s monster and the heavy lifting the role required of him seriously injured his back and surgery later on. The arduous makeup process for Frankenstein and The Mummy gave Karloff plenty of time to reflect on safe working conditions, leading him to become one of the founding members of the Screen Actors Guild. His work in horror, the humanity he imbued in his monsters, his legendary iconic characters, and his passion for acting still makes him one of Hollywood’s greatest giants, even today.
While we can’t wait to see what Whannell brings with a new take on The Invisible Man, it also seems apt to look back and salute the original grandfathers of horror, too.
It’s been 75 years since The Thing From Another World first warned us to “watch the skies”, and filmgoers have done just that by showing up to multiple instances of extraterrestrial contact on the big screen. This makes sense, as a recent CBS news poll estimated that 63% of Americans believe in intelligent life on other planets, and the ongoing disclosure movement aims to raise that number with each passing day.
With Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day leaving many genre fans hungry for more alien footage (preferably of the spooky variety), today I’d like to share a list recommending six underrated alien invasion thrillers for your viewing pleasure. After all, regardless of whether or not you believe that we’re alone in the universe, it can be fun to dream about the worst-case scenario if our cosmic neighbors ever decide to visit.
For the purposes of this list, we’ll be focusing on lesser-known invasion stories rather than the popular extraterrestrials of franchises like Alien and Close Encounters of the Third (or even Fourth) Kind. That being said, don’t forget to comment below with your own alien favorites if you think we missed a particularly thrilling movie.
While it won’t be featured in this article, I’d highly recommend checking out Dean Alioto’s UFO Abduction/The McPherson Tape if you’re up for some ufology-inspired found footage thrills.
With that out of the way, onto the list!
6. The Arrival (1996)
Not to be confused with Denis Villeneuve’s Academy Award-winning Amy Adams vehicle about learning to communicate peacefully with extraterrestrial life, David Twohy’s The Arrival is a much more straightforward (but no less entertaining) genre romp where Charlie Sheen faces a global conspiracy involving hostile alien invaders.
It’s not exactly up there with Close Encounters or even Independence Day, but Twohy’s conspiratorial thriller plays out like an exceptionally fun episode of The X-Files that I’d recommend to sci-fi/horror fans who don’t mind a little bit of wonky CGI and 90s excess alongside their alien thrills.
5. Extraterrestrial (2014)
The Vicious Brothers made a name for themselves with the success of 2011’s Grave Encounters, but that was far from the Canadian duo’s only collaboration. And while it’s not exactly a fan favorite, I always point out 2014’s Extraterrestrial as one of their most underrated projects simply because I agree with the filmmakers’ opinion that there aren’t enough ‘cool alien abduction movies’ out there.
Admittedly, the majority of the picture functions like a run-of-the-mill creature feature with paper-thin characters and familiar horror tropes, but I’d argue that the cosmically-terrifying final act elevates the experience to new and memorable heights. The movie also boasts great performances by both Michael Ironside and Emily Perkins – a combination that more than makes up for the occasionally janky CGI.
4. Alien Raiders (2008)
Director Ben Rock has gone on record lamenting how his John-Carpenter-inspired creature feature was forcefully renamed from Supermarket to the painfully obvious Alien Raiders (a change which likely resulted in many potential viewers skipping out on the experience), but the new title doesn’t change the fact that this single-location thriller is something of a hidden gem.
Taking place entirely within a supermarket, Alien Raiders tells the story of an ensemble of customers and employees who are taken hostage by a group of armed men looking for something far more dangerous than an easy payout. I won’t get into details in order to avoid spoiling the experience, but I’d highly recommend this criminally underseen flick to fans of John Carpenter and the Resident Evil games.
3. Phoenix Forgotten (2017)
You’d think that a Ridley-Scott-produced retelling of one of the most infamous real-life UFO sightings of all time would have a bigger following, but I rarely see Justin Barber’s Found Footage period piece brought up during discussions about extraterrestrial-focused horror movies.
This is a huge shame, as Phoenix Forgotten is just as spooky as it is convincing, with this well-researched dive into the Phoenix Lights incident benefiting from surprisingly believable special effects as well as an appropriately horrific finale.
2. Communion (1989)
I wouldn’t blame you for disregarding Whitley Strieber’s controversial book about his alleged close encounter as sensationalist slop, but I’d argue that Phillipe Mora’s 1989 adaptation of these events is much better than the source material. After all, the movie works as a standalone piece of speculative fiction while also benefiting from an incredible performance by the one and only Christopher Walken!
Mora’s take on Communion may not be particularly scary, but the film is still an unforgettable character study regardless of whether or not the abduction really happened. Not only that, but the flick also paved the way for plenty of future sci-fi stories where the extraterrestrial invaders aren’t as evil as they initially appear.
1. Altered (2006)
Originally envisioned as a Sam Raimi-style horror-comedy titled Probed, Eduardo Sánchez (of The Blair Witch Project fame) eventually realized that it would be much more interesting to turn the film into a serious exploration of the emotional aftermath of a traumatic abduction incident.
That’s how we got Altered, a clever inversion of the standard abduction narrative that follows a group of troubled friends as they capture and experiment on an alien in order to enact revenge for their own abduction years prior.
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