Behind the Couch

Written and directed by Neasa Hardiman, Sea Fever unfurls as a slow-burning, dread-fuelled nautical tale of terror. As a mandatory requirement for her studies, introverted marine-biology student Siobhán (Hermione Corfield) joins the close-knit crew of a fishing trawler as they head out from the west coast of Ireland. They become marooned out on the Atlantic when they encounter an unfathomable life-form that ensnares the boat. As members of the crew (which include Dougray Scott and Connie Nielsen) gradually succumb to a deadly infection caused by contact with the parasitic creature, Siobhán must win the trust of the increasingly paranoid crew and find a solution before it’s too late.  With its central themes of isolation, infection and paranoia, Sea Fever echoes sci-fi horror classics such as The Thing (1982), Alien  (1979) and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), but Hardiman’s approach - grounded in realism and science - well developed characters, and favouring of insidio...

Bad Milo! tells of Duncan, a mild-mannered office worker who, due to the huge amount of stress he faces at work and in his personal life, begins suffering from intense gastrointestinal pains. Much to his horror he discovers that his unusual stomach problems are actually caused by a tiny demon dwelling in his intestines. To make matters worse, said demon emerges to unleash bloody retribution upon those who have angered Duncan... With its pint-sized menace, light comedic tone, buckets of splatter and irreverent humour, Bad Milo! echoes the work of Frank Henenlotter, as well as other miniature-monster titles such as It’s Alive, Critters, Sewage Baby, Ghoulies , and of course, Gremlins . What is most surprising is that it unfolds as a strangely touching and highly quirky comedy about relationships and the pressures of modern society. Head over to Exquisite Terror to read my full review and win a copy of Bad Milo! on DVD. 

1959 Dir. William Castle Esteemed pathologist Dr. Warren Chapin (Vincent Price!) discovers that the tingling sensation experienced in the human spine during states of extreme fear is caused by the growth of a creepy parasite that every human plays host to. During particularly lengthy moments of terror, the creature, which he dubs the "Tingler", can grow to such size and strength it can kill its host, and the only way to weaken the creature is by screaming. During the autopsy of a mute woman, whose death-by-fright came about because of her inability to scream, a Tingler escapes and wrecks havoc in a nearby cinema. Cue Dr. Warren urging the audience to scream for its life… While The Tingler is essentially a camp B-horror, nestling amongst the trite and ham are some interesting ideas which would later be explored in grisly detail in what would come to be known as the sub-genre of 'Body Horror.' Central to the plot is the notion that our bodies play host to a par...