Behind the Couch

Issue 8 of Paracinema is now available. It's hard to believe the magazine is now on it's eighth issue! It's not so hard to believe that it's still as great a publication as it's ever been and just as lovingly put together, designed and compiled by a dedicated and passionate hard-core of individuals. Amongst the staggering array of pieces included in the pages of issue 8 are the following: War May Be Hell, But a Sequel Is Purgatory: Thematic Combat With Battle Royale II: Requiem by Emily Intravia, Love, Loss, and Astounding Growth in The Incredible Shrinking Man and Attack of the Fifty-Foot Woman by Jessie Robie and The Serial Killer’s Mind: Comparing and Contrasting the Male Psyches in Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer by Brantley Palmer. If that isn't enough to whet your appetite, click here to check out more... Support our independent film magazines and help publications like Paracinema to continue producing quality material that you'd be hard...

A brief email from my publishers, Kamera Books , informed me that my Argento book is to be published on 25th March 2010. Once again I have been assured that all is well and the book is being published. Apparently a certain amount of 'dues' (that's pre-orders to you and I) need to be obtained from commercial outlets before we can go to print; something that has proved more difficult than usual given the current recession and the recent closure of too many bookshops, particularly larger names such as Borders. Keep checking back here at Behind the Couch for updates – which I shall post as and when I have them. Sanguis Gratia Artis!

Actress Brittany Murphy, star of films such as Clueless, Girl, Interrupted and Drop Dead Gorgeous , has died after collapsing at her home in Los Angeles. According to the coroners report, Murphy appeared to have died from a cardiac arrest. She was only 32. I'm a big fan of Murphy's film work, and was saddened to hear of her death. An always interesting character actor, Murphy will be remembered for her portrayals of oddball outsiders in films such as Clueless, Freeway, Girl, Interrupted, Don’t Say a Word and Spun before she went on to star in the likes of Riding in Cars with Boys ,  8 Mile and Sin City . No stranger to darker, unsettling films, Murphy made a number of memorable forays into outright genre territory in her too-short career, with roles in the darkly comic slasher Cherry Falls , The Prophecy II and  Deadline . RIP Brittany. I hope not sporadically x

Dan O'Bannon, the screenwriter of classic genre films such as Alien and Total Recall and cult favourites Dead and Buried , Dark Star and Return of the Living Dead , has died at the age of 63 in Los Angeles following a short illness. O'Bannon attended USC film school in the early '70s where he met director John Carpenter and the pair collaborated on Carpenter's debut feature Dark Star . O'Bannon co-wrote, edited, supervised the special effects and portrayed Sgt Pinback in this existential sci-fi comedy. O'Bannon soon quit his job on the visual effects team on Star Wars to begin screenwriting full time. His first project after Dark Star was a script titled Star Beast - co-written by Ronald Shusett - which would later be filmed as Alien by Ridley Scott. The writer would also go on to work with Tobe Hooper on Lifeforce and Invaders From Mars. O'Bannon is survived by his wife Diane Louise Lindley and their son Adam. He made significant contributions...

1992 Dir. Paul Berry A young boy who stays up past his bedtime receives a nasty visit from the sinister Sandman… The usual notion of the Sandman as a benevolent character from European folklore who sprinkled 'sleeping' dust into children’s' eyes to send them to sleep, is darkly subverted in this beautifully realised and highly stylised animated short. The filmmakers have instead opted to base their titular character on a menacing creature that brings horror and suffering to children inspired by E.T.A. Hoffmann's novella The Sandman . Hoffmann’s richly textured and harrowing tale abounds with psychoanalytical readings such as the Jungian notion that sleep equals a denial of life, therefore the state of unconsciousness is an invitation to death. Berry clearly draws influence from early Expressionist classics like The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, M and Nosferatu to create a dark and anxiety-ridden atmosphere, awash with nightmarish colours and a distinctly gothic feel...

Despite all the associations of cheer and joviality, Christmastime also has a dark side to it. Pre-Christian solstice festivals regarded mid-winter as an important time, when the nights grow longer, and (similarly to Samhain) the veil between the world of the living and the dead becomes thinner. There's a strange British tradition of reading ghost stories at Christmastime that dates back to Victorian times. There's also many a ghost story connected to Christmas, such as A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and many ghoulish tales by MR James were actually written specially to be read at Christmas. Even the idea of Santa Claus coming into your house through the chimney has a few creepy connotations. This notion certainly hasn’t been wasted on a few filmmakers who set out to sabotage the ‘seasonal cheer’ of Christmas with violence, blood on snow and all kinds of savage ‘slays.’ Below are a few of the best Christmas themed shockers to check out if you fancy giving yourself a fr...

2008 Dir. Glenn McQuaid The night before he is due to face the guillotine, young grave robber Arthur Blake (Dominic Monaghan) confides in Father Duffy (Ron Perlman), recounting his years of misadventures in the ‘resurrection’ trade. Beginning as a young boy stealing trinkets from corpses, Blake eventually became involved with seasoned ghoul Willie Grimes (Larry Fessenden) and the dastardly duo set about making a living by selling the dead. And as it turns out, sometimes the not-so-dead… Dublin born Glenn McQuaid’s directorial feature debut, a wonderfully evocative and atmospheric period horror-comedy, follows on from and expands upon his short film The Resurrection Apprentice , which charted a young boy’s entry into the murky but oh so lucrative world of grave robbing. The same boy, Arthur Blake, is now grown up and has been imprisoned for his dubious career choice. The film opens with Blake’s former partner in crime Willie Grimes being executed with the guillotine as Blake waits...

Behind the Couch is One Year Old! It is hard to believe that it was a whole year ago today I decided to venture into the blogosphere. And what a year it’s been, too. The only thing that beats the amount of wine I’ve drunk whilst blogging my very important opinions about horror/cult films, is the number of films I’ve actually watched. There have been some great films over the course of the last year. There have also been some really great films. And of course some not so great films. Obviously there have also been some downright awful  films and the films that have been so bad but I've still loved them . And my own personal favourites – the films with Vincent Price in them . Thanks to all who have dropped by over the last year – it has been lovely to make your acquaintance – please continue to share your thoughts and feelings and to not be a stranger. Though maybe you should think about bringing your own bottle next time? Joking. I guess all that remains to be said is cheers! ...

In a film peppered with spine-tinglingly creepy moments, it still wasn’t difficult to select the very creepiest. Just the thought of it sends shivers down my spine as I type this. Josh, Heather and Mike travel to Burkittsville (formerly Blair), Maryland, to interview locals about the legend of the Blair Witch for a documentary Heather is making. The locals tell them of a hermit named Rustin Parr who lived in the woods surrounding the town. He kidnapped local children and brought them to his house. It is said Parr brought the children into his basement in twos - he could apparently feel their eyes staring into his soul, so he would kill one child while making the other stand in a corner facing the wall. He would then kill the other child in the corner. Parr eventually turned himself in to the police, claiming that the spirit of the Blair witch convinced him to kill the children. After a couple of harrowing days and nights lost in the forest, Josh disappears and Heather and Mike com...

1983 Dir. Dick Maas Lift technician Felix (Huub Stapel) is called in to repair an elevator that has been at the centre of several bizarre deaths. As the deaths continue to mount, Felix begins an obsessive investigation that causes ructions with his family and colleagues. Joining forces with reporter Mieke de Beer (Willeke van Ammelrooy), he uncovers the involvement of shady multi-national corporation Rising Sun, who have installed an experimental computer chip in the elevator. An evil computer chip! Take the stairs, take the stairs. For God's sake, take the Stairs!!! I assumed that De Lift was going to be an immensely trashy affair. It’s about a killer lift. It's a Dutch horror film from the early Eighties - about a killer lift. Surprisingly, it’s a competently put together thriller that, after plodding around for about an hour with too many exposition-heavy scenes and bland characters, settles down to become a taut and suspenseful ride - albeit one with a very sil...

1983 Dir. Tony Scott Dr. Sarah Roberts (Susan Sarandon) becomes acquainted with the mysterious Miriam Blaylock (Catherine Deneuve), a centuries old immortal vampire. Over the years Miriam has had many human companions to ease her loneliness. Unlike her however, they eventually begin to age rapidly until they are withered, but still conscious, corpses. Unable to do away with her lovers, Miriam keeps them in coffins in her attic for all eternity. With her current partner John (David Bowie) rapidly withering away, Miriam now has her sights set on a new partner: Sarah Roberts. The Hunger is a film seriously at risk of being crushed under the weight of its own ponderous pontificating, stylish aplomb and the extraordinary amount of dry ice it uses to achieve its beautiful look. Having said that, The Hunger is also a film that attempts to deconstruct the ‘vampire film’ and bring it out from under the shadow of more familiar cinematic depictions proffered by the likes of Hammer. It...

1959 Dir. William Castle Eccentric millionaire Fredrick Loren (Vincent Price) has invited five carefully selected strangers to the house on Haunted Hill for a ‘haunted house’ party, much to the chagrin of his wife Annabelle (Carol Ohmart). Loren promises to pay $10,000 to whoever stays in the creepy house for the whole night. With no electricity, no phones and no way of contacting the outside world, the guests are locked in the house at midnight. As the night progresses, it becomes very obvious that it will be a memorable one! Ghosts, ghouls and murder – oh my! Darkness. A woman’s scream. Creepy moaning. Rattling chains and creaking doors. A disembodied head ponders the restless ‘ghosts’ on the prowl. Just another Saturday evening then – but it’s also the opening minutes of William Castle’s lovably daft House on Haunted Hill. A clunky, but thoroughly enjoyable ghost-train romp through every creaky old cliché in the book and straight into your heart. Constructed as the cinemat...