Behind the Couch

Reg Traviss and Charisma Carpenter Director Reg Traviss’s horror debut Psychosis is an old-fashioned feeling film that possesses many of the traits which made many old British horror films so distinctive and unsettling. The twisted tale of an American writer (played by Charisma Carpenter) spending time in a sprawling house in the English countryside while recovering from a nervous breakdown, it evokes an off-kilter and edgy sensibility reminiscent of the Hammer House of Horror / Tales of the Unexpected era of British chillers. Is something sinister and supernatural afoot in the house, or could the bloody events be figments of a fractured mind? Given that many of the films I’ve reviewed this month have featured characters with ambiguous psychological profiles further unhinged by spooky houses, I thought it might be appropriate to post this interview with the director of Psychosis ; which I conducted back in 2010.* Psychosis is your first horror film. What made you want to make...

1965 Dir. Freddie Francis Amicus Productions was set up in the wake of Hammer Horror's success in the Sixties. Many of its films took the form of creepy, darkly humorous portmanteaux tales of insanity, revenge and grim death. Some of their more well known titles include Torture Garden, Scream And Scream Again, I Monster and The House that Dripped Blood . The Skull is a pretty typical example of their output, an atmospheric, entertaining slice of gothic schlock. The story follows Peter Cushing as Dr Maitland, a collector of odd and bizarre artefacts and transcripts. He gets more than he bargained for when he acquires the skull of the Marquis de Sade... Directed with notable flair by Freddie Francis and based on a short story by Robert Bloch, The Skull unfolds at a languid pace. Untypical attention to characterisation is lavished upon Cushing’s Dr Maitland as he sinks deeper into despair. Cushing is always a credible presence and his performance is a subtle study in menta...