Behind the Couch

Dir. George Mihalka Slasher films typically feature a cast of teenaged characters cavorting in an isolated location and falling victim to a (usually) masked psychopath brandishing various sharp implements. The teens are systematically picked off until only one (usually) female character is left. She’s nearly always someone who abstains from indulging in drugs, alcohol and pre-marital sex - unlike her peers - and must use her resourcefulness to defeat the killer. Highly conservative in their morality, many slashers feature a sex equals death formula, with killers avenging past misdeeds committed against them or someone close to them, and sating their bloodlust by offing copulating couples. For hardened horror fans such as myself, they offer a strange sense of comfort due to their familiar structure and conventions, which rarely change from title to title. Of course, it’s always great when a slasher deviates from the rigid formula, but as long as there’s tension, atmosphere and a su...

Directed by Tobe Hooper and produced by Steven Spielberg, Poltergeist (1982) is a slick, big budgeted, special effects laden extravaganza. It is also a well-written film – now considered a classic - with a sly commentary on the corrupting influence of television, the tribulations of suburban life, colonialism, the ill-treatment of Native Americans, the break-down of the nuclear family unit, and the damaging excesses of capitalism and consumerism. The influence of Spielberg is overwhelmingly evident in the film’s representation of the all American family, and their pursuit of the American dream. With Hooper in the director’s chair however, these moments appear almost satirical, and cracks soon begin to appear. To the central family’s horror, they realise their white, middle-class American dream is built upon the graves of indigenous people, and their suburban ideal crumbles when vengeful spirits abduct their young daughter, Carol-Anne... Head over to Eye for Film to read my ful...

Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (1980) needs little introduction. Adapted from Stephen King’s chilling bestseller, it is an undisputed masterpiece of horror cinema, featuring a bleak atmosphere, striking visuals, frenzied performances, and an utterly unshakable, creeping sense of dread. It has long been an absolute favourite of mine, but I have always been somewhat hesitant to write a review of it; after all, what is there to say about it that hasn’t already been said? As there is indeed already so much to say, where on earth do you begin when just writing a straight-up review? An intimidating prospect to be sure, but it’s good to challenge yourself, isn’t it? With a little advice and much encouragement from the editor of Eye for Film (thank you Amber), I closed my eyes, opened my mind and took the plunge. Head over to Eye for Film to read my humble (and probably too gushing) take on The Shining , and the special features available on the Blu-ray it has just been released on...

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, ...

1984 Dir. Saxon Logan An evening of drunken debauchery, sexual rivalry and political debate turns bloody when a wealthy couple visit their friends, brother and sister Alex and Marion, in their decaying family home in the English countryside. A curious and highly effective blend of social satire, jagged political commentary and horror, Sleepwalker was thought lost for many years, with some doubting its very existence, it is so rare and obscure. Director Logan found it difficult to obtain distribution, partly because of the film’s running time (a trim and taut 50 minutes), partly because it’s so genre defying. Sleepwalker is incredibly atmospheric and eventually nightmarishly violent. The barbed points it makes on political life in Eighties’ Britain, many of which remain pressingly relevant, slice through to expose bare bone. The spiky dialogue is peppered with telling references to sleep disorders and serves to fuel the ambiguity of the narrative, whether it be through drool ...

1985 Dir. Stuart Gordon When the eccentric Herbert West (a manic Jeffrey Combs) arrives at Miskatonic University, Arkham, he and a fellow medical student become embroiled in strange experiments to reanimate dead tissue. With horrific consequences. Based on H.P. Lovecraft’s short story Herbert West – Reanimator , Stuart Gordon’s film is perhaps one of the most successful adaptations of the author’s work, and it triggered a resurgence of cinematic interest in the work of Lovecraft throughout the 80s and 90s. The film is an outrageous blend of splattery special effects, pseudo-sci-fi concepts, comic violence, pitch black humour and vivid horror. At times it boasts a similar madcap tone to Sam Raimi’s earlier splat-stick classic, Evil Dead , as Dr West’s increasingly desperate and ludicrous attempts to reanimate corpses reach feverish intensity. The idea to make Re-Animator stemmed from Gordon’s belief that there were not enough Frankensteinian stories. He believed pop-culture had...

With its blushless exploration of adult themes such as sado-masochism, pain and pleasure, and its searing imagery of grisly body-modification and skinless resurrections, Hellraiser marked writer/director Clive Barker as an extraordinarily singular voice in horror. Based upon his novella The Hellbound Heart , it tells of individuals who seek the most extreme forms of self-gratifying pleasure before losing their lives (and souls) to a group of sinister, self-mutilating figures from another dimension. To say bloodshed ensues is a vast understatement. While the film boasts a deliciously gothic score courtesy of Christopher Young, Barker had originally commissioned British industrial outfit Coil to score the film. The ‘bowel-churning’ soundscape they delivered wasn’t considered commercial enough by the studio, though the band later released it in various collections of their work. Head over to Paracinema to read about the unused Hellraiser score and listen to a couple of tracks. ...

Sam Raimi’s low budget, splattery shocker Evil Dead (1981) tells of a group of friends who, while staying at a remote cabin in the woods, unwittingly unleash demonic forces which possess and mutilate them one by one. The combination of slapstick humour, inventive camerawork and splashy make-up effects ensured the film much controversy upon release - though it has since attained cult status. With the remake still riding high at the box office, I thought it appropriate to revisit Raimi’s original film – hailed by Stephen King as ‘ferociously original’ – and explore its creepy soundtrack by Joseph LoDuca. Utilising both analog synthesizers and more traditional instrumentation, LoDuca’s score is rife with violent, Herrmannesque strings and a diabolical mischievousness, perfectly enhancing the sadistically impish shenanigans which ooze, slosh and spatter throughout the story. Head over to Paracinema.net to read my full review and listen to an excerpt of the score. While you’re ther...

1980 Dir. Lewis Jackson AKA You Better Watch Out When he sees his mother canoodling with someone dressed as Santa on Christmas Eve, something snaps in little Harry Stadling’s head. Years later, when he’s all grown-up, Harry has developed an obsession with Christmas, and with being Santa Claus. Intent on delivering presents to those he deems ‘good’, Harry sets off into the night with toys stolen from the factory where he works, determined to bring joy to the hearts of children - whether they like it or not - and vengeance upon his bullying co-workers. Part psycho-on-the-rampage narrative, part character study, Christmas Evil is many things; most of all surprising. To begin with, it really taps into the arguably inherent creepiness of the notion of a man who leaves presents for children by entering their house in the dead of night via their chimneys. Many of the moments in the film - such as when Harry (a brilliantly unhinged Brandon Maggart) spies on his neighbour’s children ...

1980 Dir. Roger Spottiswoode A group of college kids responsible for a prank gone wrong several years prior, are menaced by a masked killer as they throw a New Year’s Eve costume party on-board a train. The early Eighties is now regarded as the Golden Age of the slasher film. From 1978 to about 1985, cinemas were saturated with gory flicks featuring masked psychos stalking teenagers in lonely locations, gruesomely killing them off one by one. The popularity of these movies was ignited by John Carpenter’s Halloween , and their rigid template was confirmed by Friday the 13th . Each successive title layered on the violence, gore and nudity, neglecting to realise that what made Carpenter’s film so effective was its use of suspense, mood, and the anticipation of violence. Terror Train was one of the first (and in my humble opinion, best) slashers to be produced in   the wake of Halloween’s success. It epitomises the sub-genre, sticking to its conventions as tightly as Jam...

1989 Dir. Stephen Hopkins After surviving attempts on her life by dream-demon Freddy Krueger, Alice soon begins to have nightmares about him again, in which she's not in control. She realises that he is using the dreams of her unborn child to get to her and she must face him and attempt to destroy him one last time... The phenomenal success of The Dream Master automatically green-lit a further cheeseburger instalment of the Elm Street franchise. The fifth title, The Dream Child , took a little longer to go into production however, as it was stalled by an almost endless series of re-writes, and by Robert Englund’s increasingly busy schedule. The actor was now heavily involved in Freddy’s Nightmares , a TV series that featured Freddy Krueger hosting Twilight Zone -like tales of the macabre, occasionally delving into the mythos of the film series; including an episode detailing Krueger’s pre-dream dwelling killing spree and subsequent death at the hands of vigilante Elm Stre...

1988 Dir. Renny Harlin Freddy Krueger returns once again to terrorize the remaining Elm Street teens, and he uses them to infiltrate the dreams of their friends to grow stronger and continue his killing spree. All that stands in his way is the quiet determination of a young woman who can absorb the good natures and attributes of her rapidly dwindling friends, gradually gaining the strength to stop Krueger once and for all. Until the next sequel, of course. " When deep sleep falleth on men, fear came upon me. And trembling which made all my bones to shake " - Job IV, 13-14 " How sweet. Fresh meat. " Freddy Krueger The commercial and critical success of Dream Warriors convinced New Line to start work on another Elm Street sequel. As was their usual custom, producers Sara Risher and Bob Shaye (who likened the creation of each instalment to assembling a cheeseburger!) approached Wes Craven, with whom relations were now in tatters to say the least, as Crav...