A Decade of Blogging, Horror & Wine

Behind the Couch turns ten years old today. Ten years old! I can’t believe it. That's a whole decade of watching and writing about horror films. Usually while guzzling wine.

I started blogging after I’d submitted the first draft of my first book (a guide to the films of Dario Argento) to the publisher, and I wanted to keep busy while I awaited editorial feedback. I was unemployed at the time, and while I felt a little directionless, I was keen to continue to build up a body of written work. A couple of friends suggested setting up a blog. I had a little stash of horror film reviews I’d already written for a website I was dying to contribute to, but as they never used them, I decided to make them a home of their very own. Before long, blogging became a huge part of my daily routine, and I soon found myself part of a little community of horror bloggers, some of whom I am still friends with today.

But enough about me. This blog is a decade old. While it has been fairly quiet over the past year or two (I’m currently studying for a Master’s degree) I still post when I can and hope to get back to blogging on a regular basis before too long.

Amongst the hundreds of horror film reviews and book reviews, you’ll also find interviews with filmmakers, writers, musicians and artists (including Dario Argento himself!), sozzled and mainly incoherent appreciations of wine (which has sustained most of my writing over the last ten years), photography of cemeteries and graveyards I have haunted, and links to other places online where my writing lives, especially my contributions to Exquisite Terror, Diabolique and Paracinema.

To everyone who has stopped by over the last ten years, THANK YOU. Here’s to the next ten years, and all the horror films, wine and split infinitives they may bring. x

The Ash Tree

1975 Dir. Lawrence Gordon Clark Part of the BBC’s annual series A Ghost Story for Christmas , which ran from 1971 to 1978 and featured some of the small screen’s most chilling moments, The Ash Tree was the last of several MR James adaptations directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark. Written for television by David Rudkin, It stars Edward Petherbridge in the dual role of Sir Richard, an 18th century aristocrat who inherits the vast estate of his late uncle, and of Sir Matthew, his 17th century ancestor whose role in local witch trials, and the death of Ann Mothersole (Barbara Ewing), haunts Sir Richard. With a slim running time (just over 30 minutes) The Ash Tree is one of the shortest entries in the series, but it is also one of the densest. The amount of detail and information packed in, without compromising or diluting the impact of the source material, is admirable. Clarke manages to convey events and flashbacks by utilising an interesting narrative structure and some ...

Mandrake (2022)

Mandrake tells of probation officer Cathy Madden (Deirdre Mullins), who is assigned to help with the rehabilitation of recently released ‘Bloody’ Mary Laidlaw (Derbhle Crotty), who had been incarcerated years prior for the murder of her abusive husband. Rumours have long swirled in the local area concerning Mary’s dabbling in witchcraft and involvement in cases of missing children. No sooner has she been released, than the bodies of several local children are found in the woods near her farmhouse. As Cathy and local police delve deeper, the veil between real and imagined starts to fray and Cathy is drawn into a dark world of occult ritualism and blood sacrifice. Directed by Lynne Davison and written by Matt Harvey, Mandrake is a delicious slice of witchy, Northern Irish folk horror, dripping with atmosphere and arcane lore. While Irish horror is having a moment right now, with acclaimed titles such as Aislinn Clarke’s Fréwaka and Kate Dolan’s You Are Not My Mother mining rich and cr...

Kensal Green Cemetery

During a recent visit to London, a friend and I decided to explore Kensal Green Cemetery in the west of the city. Founded as the General Cemetery of All Souls by barrister George Frederick Carden in 1833, Kensal Green was inspired by the garden-style cemetery of Pere-Lachaises in Paris. Comprised of 72 acres of beautiful grounds, it was not only the first commercial cemetery in London, but also the first of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ garden-style cemeteries established to house the dead of an ever-increasing population. Campaigners for burial reform were in favour of “detached cemeteries for the metropolis” and in 1832 Parliament passed a bill that led to the formation of the General Cemetery Company to oversee appropriate measures and procedures concerning “the interment of the dead.” The company purchased land for the establishment of Kensal Green in 1831 and held a competition in order to select an appropriate designer. Among the prerequisites in the brief provided to entrants, we...

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