A while back, we told you about a tribute film to one of the greatest contributors to the horror genre in Boris Karloff. KREATING KARLOFF (produced, directed by Conor Timmis, who also stars as Karloff) sets out to recreate and document scenes from Karloff Universal horror classics FRANKENSTEIN and THE MUMMY. Timmis dropped Fango a line to update the status of the Legion Films’ production.
Filming on the Tripeg Studios soundstages has been completed, with distribution aimed for this October, according to Timmis, who feels that the project went without a hitch. “My expectations were surpassed! I couldn’t have gotten a better cast and crew even if I had millions of dollars at my disposal. The stars were in alignment for this.”
As for the scenes which were recreated, Timmis said that the scenes of Im-Ho-Tep’s confrontation with Muller (originally played by Edward Van Sloan), the meeting with Helen (originally played by Zita Johann) and Im-Ho-Tep and the visit by Helen to the Mummy’s psychic pool before and after the ancient Egyptian flashback were the ones selected from THE MUMMY. Scenes from both FRANKENSTEIN and BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN were also shot.
The DVD set for the film, which Timmis expects to be finished this summer, will cover the entire evolution of the project, including extensive cast and crew interviews, bloopers, commentary, behind-the-scenes footage, a mini-bio covering the life of Boris Karloff and the black-and-white screen tests for the fans. Once the film itself is completed, it will be taken to Sara Karloff, Boris’ daughter, and then Universal Studios with the intention of getting a biopic of Karloff made, in which Timmis hopes to star in. Ambitious? Yes. But hey, when a moment like this comes along, it’s really hard to not think of doing it.
For the entire article, which goes into the makeup Timmis had to endure, as well as the rest of the casting and more pics from the film, head here.