Behind the Couch

When her daughter goes missing after venturing into the cellar of their new home, Kiera (Elisha Cuthbert) uncovers terrifying secrets concerning the history of their house and the diabolical practices of its previous inhabitant… Written and directed by Brendan Muldowney, The Cellar is based on his spine-chilling short film The Ten Steps (2004), which depicts a young girl’s haunting descent into the cellar of her home during a power-cut. This moment comes at the beginning of The Cellar , and from here Muldowney opens out the story to follow the mother’s frantic search and unearthing of the sinister history of the house. With elements of HP Lovecraft’s Dreams in the Witch House and William Hope Hodgson’s The House on the Borderlands, The Cellar is an immensely creepy, atmospheric work. It deviates from run of the mill haunted house narratives with its intriguing use of occult mysticism and mathematical alchemy to twist the laws of time and space. Spoiler alert: the previous owner of t...

Set in the mid-nineties, Spiral tells of same-sex couple Aaron and Malik, who, along with Aaron’s teenaged daughter Kayla, move to a small town for a new life and a much-needed change of pace. Not long after they arrive, however, Malik begins to suspect that their neighbours are members of a strange cult with sinister intentions… The plot of Spiral is very familiar – city-folk outsiders relocate to small rural town only to be ostracised, gaslighted, disbelieved and victimised by diabolical forces. However, with its gay protagonists and powerful social commentary, Spiral sets itself apart from similar films and unfolds as a moving, character-driven chiller. Director Kurtis David Harder builds tension and an uneasy atmosphere as Aaron (Ari Cohen) and Malik (Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman) meet their new neighbours and Malik gradually begins to suspect that something in town is not-quite-right. The neighbours appear welcoming enough, but subtle microaggressions and way too much smiling sets him...

After suffering a stroke, former dancer Judith Albright (Barbara Hershey) moves into a nursing home, only to discover a supernatural entity is preying on the residents. Written and directed by Axelle Carolyn, The Manor is not only a creepy and compelling work, but is also a sensitive examination of themes concerning old age, independence, and vulnerability. Carolyn’s screenplay demonstrates, in an unforced way, how unsettling and frustrating it can be for older people to move into a care home, experience a loss of independence, and be (however well-intentioned) treated like children by those who care for them. The story is familiar: upon arriving in a new home, a character suspects that not all is as it seems. She gradually becomes aware that something sinister and possibly supernatural is invading the space, yet no one believes her, citing her recent traumas and overactive imagination. During her first night, Judith glimpses a dark figure lurking over the bed of her roommate. Before ...

Fede Álvarez's remake of Evil Dead (1981) throws out the splat-stick humour of Sam Raimi’s original shocker and ups the ferocity to nearly unbearable levels to create a dark, surprisingly bleak and frequently horrifying film. The basic plot – a group of friends fall prey to demonic forces while staying at an isolated cabin the woods – remains largely the same, but Álvarez introduces a compelling element involving addiction and grief to really flesh things out. The screenplay – co-written by Álvarez and Rodo Sayagues – is an exercise in stripped back storytelling with minimalist plot. There is a welcome emphasis on the use of practical effects instead of CGI, which results in some truly startling make-up and gore, further enhanced by a raw physicality from the actors who all throw themselves into proceedings with grim aplomb. While the violence is certainly outlandish, it is grounded in a gritty realism quite far removed from Raimi’s original, which makes it all the more un...

2000 Dir. Brian Yuzna When John Jaspers’ girlfriend is brutally murdered by a gang of thugs he loses the will to live and plans to kill himself by jumping off a bridge. Just before he jumps he is approached by the sinister "M" who offers a dubious proposition: he will enable Jaspers to wreck brutal revenge in return for the man’s soul. Jaspers accepts and is transformed into Faust, a demon-like superhero who embarks on a bloody trail of vigilante vengeance… However when “M” returns to claim Jaspers’ soul, all hell breaks loose when Faust refuses to stick to the bargain. “I am the pornography that makes you hot!” Based on the cult graphic novel by David Quinn and Tim Vigil, Faust was the first film produced by Brian Yuzna’s Spanish production company, Fantastic Factory. Something of an oddity, the film is, if anything, an interesting attempt to approach the super-hero movie from a slightly different angle. The notion of an avenging demon is a tantalising one akin ...

After moving into their new suburban home, a young couple become increasingly disturbed by strange nightly disturbances that are revealed to be a demonic presence. Every once in a while a film comes along with a reputation that precedes it. Having already caused something of a stir in the horror community and now breaking out into mainstream box office success, Paranormal Activity is a slow-burning and highly atmospheric horror tale that effortlessly preys on our fear of the unknown and of the dark. Hand held camerawork lends the film a sense of intimate urgency, whilst long static shots prompt us to gaze into the dark abyss of the screen for the smallest flickers of movement in the corners of the frame, the vaguest hint of threat. Before we know it, the abyss is starring back. Rammed full of creepy images, sinister sound effects and queasy tension, Paranormal Activity could very well do for your own home what The Blair Witch Project did for camping. Head over to Eye for Film ...