Behind the Couch

2011 Dirs. Luca Boni and Marco Ristori Another month, another zombie flick; Eaters: Rise of the Dead follows the tried, tested and arguably tired formula of pitching a small band of apocalypse survivors against the marauding undead. Somewhat typically, it opens with a montage of news footage documenting the spread of a mysterious virus, a zero birth rate, the threat of nuclear intervention from governments and the fall of civilisation as we know it. When we pick up with the main characters Alen and Igor (Guglielmo Favilla and Alex Lucchesi), post-apocalypse is full-steam ahead. They are two of a number of survivors hiding out in an abandoned building outside the city. Shades of Romero’s Day of the Dead echo through these scenes as the group; largely made up of military men, tussle with boredom and fatigue, while a shady scientist searches for a solution. In terms of the zombie movie, Italy really jumped on the band wagon after George Romero’s seminal classic, Dawn of the ...

Unfolding in the spring of 1890, ' Oscar Wilde And The Vampire Murders ' is the fourth instalment in Gyles Brandreth’s series featuring writer/poet/wit/dandy/philosopher Oscar Wilde as a highly sophisticated, eloquent and, in typical “Wilde” fashion, self-indulgent sleuth. Aided in his investigations by fellow literary luminaries Arthur Conan Doyle, Bram Stoker and his eventual biographer, Robert Sherard, the Philosopher of Aestheticism finds himself irrevocably embroiled in a series of nasty murders, the grim details of which suggest they were carried out by a vampire… Amidst the lavish locations and copious amounts of Perrier-Jouët decadently guzzled by Wilde and co, is an irresistibly macabre mystery which will undoubtedly please those who enjoy classic murder-mystery whodunits in the vein of Agatha Christie or indeed, Conan Doyle’s own Sherlock Holmes. To read my full review, head over to Fangoria . The following review was published on Fangoria.com in June 2011 Os...

1981 Dir. J. Lee Thompson In the run up to her 18th birthday, Ginny (Melissa Sue Anderson) begins to experience bizarre blackouts and fragmented flashbacks of a traumatic event. To make matters worse, someone begins murdering her close circle of friends in morbidly inventive ways. Is Ginny responsible for the murders during her mysterious blackouts? Could the killer be someone from her past? Why is she unable to remember a significant event from the previous year? Ginny must work fast to figure out what's going on and unmask the killer before it's too late… Released in the wake of the success of Halloween and Friday the 13th , Happy Birthday To Me is a typical example of the myriad slasher movies unleashed during the early Eighties. With every new title (usually referencing an anniversary or holiday or significant calendar date) the main focus of the slasher film, as established by Friday the 13th , was to drape its plot around a series of inventive death scenes; boa...

2011 Dir. Wes Craven Ten years have passed since Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) survived violent attempts on her life by the ‘Ghostface Killer.’ She has rebuilt her life through writing about her experiences in a newly published self-help book. Returning to her hometown of Woodsboro on the anniversary of the original massacre to promote her book, she is reunited her with old friends, bumbling cop Dewey (David Arquette) and ruthless reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox). However, her return sparks another killing spree, suggesting someone else from the past seeks a reunion with her; albeit a reunion sodden in blood… The legacy of Scream is undeniable. A smart, suspenseful and scary deconstruction of the slasher film, it was hugely successful because it was not only a taut and terrifying thriller, but also a savvy commentary on the horror genre, particularly slasher movies. In its wake of self-awareness, ironic humour and biting reflexivity, horror was never the same again. A...

1982 Dir. JS Cardone Hugely influenced by Italian horror cinema, particularly in its doomful mood and nightmarish illogicality, obscure slasher The Slayer seems to draw from the same well of horror as the work of Fulci and Argento; where any semblance of logic and coherence is overshadowed by atmosphere and mood. Struggling visual artist Kay (Sarah Kendall), her husband, her brother and his wife all head off on vacation to a rugged, deserted island retreat. Once there, the already anxious Kay can’t help feeling she’s been there before. Her mounting sense of dread and paranoia peak when her companions are stalked and slain, one by one of course, by a mysterious assailant who seems to have haunted Kay’s dreams from childhood.  Director Cardone builds tension and menace from the outset with the slow-burning story unfurling gloomily to establish vague character dynamics, and the miasma-gorged location serving to wring every drop of foreboding dread from proceedings. No humour is...

This month’s reviews were brought to you courtesy of Caliza (‘barrel aged’), a lush cabernet sauvignon and tempranillo blend from Spanish wine company, Viña Albali. A smooth and medium bodied wine made from selected cabernet sauvignon and tempranillo grapes from the Castile La Mancha region, Caliza displays a mild strawberry with a hint of cherry flavour, which has been aged in oak for several months, adding a lovely, well, ‘oaky’ finish. Established in 1952, Félix Solís (the parent company of the Viña Albali brand) grow their grapes in harsh climatic conditions (up to 40C in summer and as low as -15C in winter). If it’s simple and mildly flavoured accompaniment with my movie watching last night is anything to go by, it works quite well with dark and moody David Fincher thrillers like Se7en (the oaky, tannin finish is wonderfully complemented by Morgan Freeman’s dulcet tones and the washed-out colour palette) and, providing your housemate doesn’t make you flick over halfway...

With his dazzlingly shot and sadistically violent directorial debut The Bird with the Crystal Plumage , Dario Argento built on the giallo blueprint laid down by Mario Bava in the groundbreaking The Girl Who Knew Too Much and Blood And Black Lace ; effectively kick starting the popularity of the giallo movie in early Seventies Italian cinema. A slew of films combining art-house aesthetics and exploitative sex and violence followed suit. This month sees the release of his chic and savage debut on blu-ray, courtesy of Arrow Video , who have once again really gone all out to give cult movie fans a package to celebrate. Head over to Eye for Film to read my review of Argento's debut and the host of Arrow Video's tantalizing, jaw-dropping extra features - which ensure this release is a MUST for fans of Argento and giallo all'italiana...

1982 Dir. Lucio Fulci Lucio Fulci ’s The New York Ripper has a reputation as a misogynistic Video Nasty. Throughout its running time the audience is subjected to all manner of abhorrent and depressing violence – pretty much solely directed at women. These scenes are loosely lashed together by a convoluted ‘murder mystery’ narrative, in which a hard boiled, burnt out New York cop (Jack Hedley) attempts to track down the titular ripper, who has been butchering sexually confident women with wild abandon. Fulci relegates the detective story aspect of the film to the background, focusing more on the killer’s sadistic, frenzied exploits, to push his set-piece driven narrative forward. Indeed, tension is often broken by the tonal change when we switch to the police procedural scenes, as our detective and various bumbling cops just stumble from one convenient clue to the next, with little logic or reason. To say the scenes of violence live up to their disturbing reputation is a vast u...

2011 Dir. Guillem Morales Julia (Belén Rueda) and her twin sister suffer from a degenerative disease that will eventually leave them blind. When her sister's body is found hanged in the family basement, everyone but Julia assumes that she died by suicide. As she begins her tender-footed investigation to determine the true cause of her sister's death, Julia is sure that she is being watched, but she cannot see her observer. Is it a distorted result of her failing eyesight or is she only imagining things? Or could it be that the man she believes is watching her every move is invisible? Increasingly isolated after an operation – a last ditch attempt to save her sight - Julia’s nerves are fraught and her psyche seems to be completely unravelling. Is it merely her imagination getting the better of her, or is her sister’s mysterious killer now toying with her too? Julia’s Eyes is a dark and engrossing thriller that initially looks set to unravel as a vaguely supernatural spo...

Now in its fourth year and going from strength to strength, Paracinema is a New York based, independently produced magazine specialising in the appreciation of films that fall outside of mainstream cinema. Written by fans for fans, each issue features in-depth studies of titles from genres such as horror, exploitation, cult, Asian, giallo and B-movies. Within the vivid, exquisitely designed pages of issue 12 you’ll find features such as The Man From Australia: Falling Without a Parachute Through the Films of Ozploitation Filmmaker Brian Trenchard-Smith by Justin Bozung; Howling All the Way Straight to Video by Brett Taylor; and Explorers: Exploring Childhood Escapism by Matthew House - of Chuck Norris Ate My Baby infamy.  *shameless self-promotion alert* This issue also includes my feature  Sketches of Venice in Red: A Comparative Glance at Who Saw Her Die? And Don’t Look Now .  Pre-order your copy now . If you’re on Facebook, you can follow Paracinem...