2012 Directed by Kevin McTurk
The Narrative of Victor Karloch is a Gothic Victorian horror short film that uses 30 inch tall rod puppets, traditional shadow puppetry (woodcuts designed by Eisner award winning graphic novel artist Gary Gianni), and rear projected elements to present the adventures of Victor Karloch, an alchemist,scholar and ghost hunter, as he battles the supernatural forces of the Unknown.
USA
USA
USA
THANK YOU EVERYONE for the kind reviews for The Narrative of Victor Karloch. It was my first puppet film and a bit rough around the edges, but it still holds a special place in my heart as the starting place for my puppet filmmaking career.
The fact that I'm only the third person to log this film on Letterboxd - and the first to review it - is an absolute shame. This is an absolutely vital, incredible short film (about fifteen minutes) by Kevin McTurk and Ryan Murphy.
In a similar vein to their more prominent, but still criminally underseen, the Mill at Calder's End, the Narrative of Victor Karloch tells a great pulp adventure/horror story using brilliant puppetry with unique style in an unwaveringly confident voice.
McTurk creates a strikingly beautiful world in which a young man discovers what horrors lurk at the bottom of the sea. This is a painstakingly incredible movie on a technical level, and while the low budget shows a…
Honestly there’s so much love and beautiful craftsmaship in every frame that it’s hard to rate this objectively.
It's no THE MILL AT CALDER'S END, but this is another superior and wonderfully spooky short horror film from Kevin McTurk, using almost entirely puppets and miniatures. I can't wait to see what this guy can do with a feature-length film.
Was excited to find this streaming on Kanopy - terrifically fun with a perfect cast.
K is for on Kanopy (The Narrative of Victor Karloch)
Expertly done puppety at the top of its craft coupled with a very compelling horror tale make this a perfect Halloween watch.
#FilmAlphabet V76
Pretty solid puppet animation and ghost story.
A bit more work and I can see this being a series.
Also Elijah and The Brain is now a song in my head cannon.
Kevin McTurk’s first short in the handmade puppet dreams series curated by Heather Henson, Jim Henson’s youngest daughter. The short film focuses on a story along the lines of 20,000 leagues under the sea meets Lovecraft using puppets and well known actors as the voices. The creativity is top notch. It’s creepy, atmospheric and a marvel to watch. And I loved the fabric ocean.
2 of 5 Kanopy credits
The puppets are creepy, the miniatures are nicely done, it's visually compelling, and the story is strong.
This was a really good gothic horror short.
