Behind the Couch

1963 Dir. Roger Corman While it takes its name from a poem by Edgar Allan Poe, The Haunted Palace is actually an adaptation of HP Lovecraft’s The Case of Charles Dexter Ward . It’s still regarded as one of the titles in Corman’s Poe cycle, not only because of its title, but because of its shared aesthetic, a gloomily literate script, unyieldingly grim atmosphere, preoccupation with death and mourning, and a household plagued by its dark secrets. There is also the presence of Vincent Price, a stalwart of Corman’s Poe adaptations. While the director had actually been keen to move away from Poe adaptations, he was persuaded not to buck the trend by producers, as their Poe films had been immensely successful. A compromise was reached - the film would be an adaptation of Lovecraft, but would take its title from a poem by Poe. It successfully entwines the themes and sensibilities of both writers and emerges as one of the best horror films made by Corman at this time. Lovecraft’s sto...

Born on January 19th in 1809, Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most recognised and revered names in gothic literature. Part of the American Romantic movement, Poe is best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre. Not only an author and a poet, he was also a literary critic and editor, and one of the earliest practitioners of the short story. Now widely regarded as inventing detective fiction, Poe was also a popular crime and horror author, his influence spreads far and wide, and amongst the writers who owe a tremendous dept to his work are Herman Melville, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Charles Dickens, Walt Whitman, HP Lovecraft and Jules Verne, to name but a few. A true visionary, Poe was one of the first well-known American writers to attempt to irk out a living through writing alone, leading him down a path of financial instability and uncertainty. His gruesome stories reflected his inner turmoil. Haunted by the death of his mother, Poe wrestled with fears of aban...

1972 Dir. Sergio Martino Alcoholic writer Oliviero (Luigi Pistilli, Bay of Blood ) and his long-suffering wife Irina (Anita Strindberg, Lizard in a Woman's Skin ) live an isolated, self-destructive existence in their crumbling villa. When Oliviero’s mistress is the first victim in a series of vicious murders, he becomes the prime suspect – and when his niece Floriana (Edwige Fenech, Strip Nude for Your Killer ) suddenly arrives for a visit, things become increasingly complicated as a series of double-crossings and shifting character dynamics add to the air of stifling paranoia. Irina finds comfort in Floriana’s arms – and bed – and the two decide to bump off Oliviero, Diabolique -style. Throw in a few lesbian sex scenes, an ominous and seemingly ubiquitous black cat, lush gothic trimmings, several vicious murders, and you have a fantastically moody giallo that rates right up there with the best of ‘em. Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key – the absurdly extr...

1981 Dir. Lucio Fulci It purrz. It stalkz. It killz! The arrival of American photographer Jill Trevers (Mimsy Farmer) at a sleepy English village coincides with a series of bizarre, seemingly accidental deaths. She teams up with Scotland Yard detective Gorley (David Warbeck), in town to investigate the spate of odd occurrences, and local copper Sgt. Wilson (Al Cliver), and begins to suspect the involvement of the reclusive Professor Miles (Patrick Magee) in the deaths. Turns out Miles has been frequenting the local cemetery in a bid to record and communicate with the dead. He also appears to have a psychic link with his black cat. Could it be that he is channelling his psychic abilities and manipulating his cat to prowl after and murder those who have wronged him? No! Surely not! ‘Fraid so! Opening with much prowling camera work and a gruesome car crash as the driver is distracted by the eponymous kitty, Fulci’s ‘freely adapted’ take on Poe’s 'The Black Cat' begins ...

1960 Dir. Roger Corman When she returns to her family home after their engagement, Madeline Usher is visited by her fiancée Philip Winthorpe, who wants her to return to Boston with him. Her brother, the severely melancholic Roderick opposes this suggestion. Philip discovers that the Usher lineage has been afflicted by an all consuming malady and that the siblings, the last of the Ushers, believe they are cursed to descend into insanity like their ancestors did before them. A series of morbid incidents unfold over the coming days as events seem set to reach a horrific climax bringing an end to the Usher bloodline, once and for all… It suddenly occurred to me, as such things usually do, that it’s been several months since I last watched anything featuring Vincent Price. Disgraceful. So, after I poured a glass of Russell’s Cellar’s finest merlot, I settled down to watch Roger Corman’s first Poe adaptation, The Fall of the House of Usher. Setting the standard for all his other Poe ...

1961 Dir. Roger Corman Francis Barnard (John Kerr) makes his way to the home of his late sister Elizabeth (Barabara Steele) to meet her husband Nicholas Medina (Vincent Price) and learn more of her death. Whilst there, he witnesses Medina slowly sink into mourning and insanity as his sister Catherine (Luana Anders) helplessly looks on. Francis soon begins to realise Elizabeth’s death occurred under mysterious circumstances and all is not as it seems…  The Corman adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe stories were perhaps some of the first horror films I ever watched as a youngster. Staying up late and secretly watching the little portable TV in my room, with the light on of course, I often peered at these lurid gems of the genre from between my fingers. None had more of an impact than Pit and the Pendulum . It still retains the ability to chill and unsettle in its own unique way. Watching it is pure nostalgic bliss. Adding to the nostalgia and the bliss is the fact that the film stars...

1964 Dir. Roger Corman ‘Death has no master.’ What better way to celebrate the Bicentennial of Edgar Allan Poe (only a day late) than to settle back, raise a glass of something shockingly red and full-bodied and feast your eyes upon the visual decadence that is Masque of the Red Death . Based upon one of Poe's most celebrated short stories and starring Poe-adaptation stalwart, and all-round devilishly watchable, Vincent Price, Masque of the Red Death is another Corman adaptation of Poe's work and one of the few films that fully captures the doom-laden tone of the morbid writer's best work... Tyrannical Prince Prospero (Vincent Price) abducts Francesca (Jane Asher), a local peasant, and adjourns to his castle in an attempt to corrupt her soul and offer her as a bride to Satan. Meanwhile, a deadly plague known as the Red Death ravages the countryside around his castle, indiscriminately killing off the local population, leaving their faces in bright red sores. Pros...

1934 Dir. Edgar G. Ulmer Fifteen years after he was made a prisoner-of-war by his general's betrayal, Dr. Vitus Werdegast (Bela Lugosi) has tracked down the old friend who betrayed him; crazed architect and Satanic priest Hjalmar Poelzig (Boris Karloff). Poelzig's menacing Hungarian abode, built on the mass grave of 10,000 soldiers who died because of his treachery in WW1, is the place where the two wage a dark, psychological battle, with the lives and souls of stranded honey-mooning American couple Joan and Peter Allison (Jacqueline Wells and David Manners) as the wager. The Black Cat is a significant genre entry for many reasons, the most obvious being that it was the first film that featured both Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi together. Despite the title however, The Black Cat does not resemble the titular tale by Edgar Allan Poe. Indeed the only relevance the title bears to the film itself is that Lugosi’s character suffers from Ailurophobia (fear of cats). While a ...

1963 Dir. Roger Corman Just after Corman had wrapped up on The Raven , he realised that his star Boris Karloff still had a couple of days left to fulfil in his contract. Corman therefore did the only logical thing and quickly improvised and made a new film in order to utilise Karloff’s remaining couple of days (!). Using the same sets from The Raven and some shots from Corman’s other Poe films, a number of other uncredited directors, including Jack Nicolson, he produced The Terror in a matter of days. The story focuses on Poe-esque lone traveller Lt. Andre Duvalier (Jack Nicholson), a French officer separated from his regiment during the Napoleonic Wars. He stumbles upon a mysterious beach and meets a woman called Helene (Sandra Knight). She gives him water and then disappears. Duvalier traces her to the castle of Baron Victor Frederick Von Leppe (Boris Karloff) and his servant Stefan (Dick Miller). There Andre realises that something deeply sinister is afoot as he discovers t...