Behind the Couch

1988 Dir. Tony Randel Having survived the bloody events of the first film, in which her family was torn apart by the demonic Cenobites, inter-dimensional demons with a deprived definition of ‘pleasure’, Kirsty Cotton is taken to a psychiatric hospital. Unbeknownst to Kirsty, her creepy psychologist has been searching for the gateway to hell and plans to resurrect her step-mother Julia to help him in his diabolical plans to indulge in untold, hellish pleasures. Hellbound reunites much of the cast and crew who worked on Hellraiser , ensuring a seamless segue into this instalment, which features a similarly grimy, bleak tone. It succeeds as a sequel because while it continues the story, picking up almost immediately after the events depicted in Hellraiser , it doesn’t just repeat itself, it opens up and explores the background of certain characters and, despite the rather modest budget, has a much more grandiose feel. Directed by Tony Randel, who served as an editor on the first...

1987 Dir. Clive Barker When Larry Cotton moves back to his long-abandoned family home, his new wife Julia discovers the eviscerated remains of his brother Frank, her former lover, in the attic. Having solved a bizarre puzzle box, Frank lost his earthly body to a group of sadomasochistic demons, Cenobites, but is resurrected by a drop of blood on the attic floor. He soon convinces ex-lover Julia to bring him human sacrifices to help him regain his body and escape the clutches of the Cenobites… Into this deadly fray wanders Kirsty, Larry’s headstrong daughter, and the only one who is able to prevent her diabolical family from achieving their gruesome goals. The prime, albeit declining trend in horror in the mid to late Eighties, was the slasher movie. Countless titles featuring teenagers getting murderlised by hulking, masked psychopaths in isolated locations cluttered cinemas and video shelves alike. When Barker’s hellish vision was unleashed however, it towered over its peers, ...