Behind the Couch

2016 Dirs. Ian Powell & Karl Ward What if someone had discovered the knives used by Jack the Ripper? What if those cruelly glinting blades then went missing? And what if the Ripper came back into our world to once again mutilate and massacre? These are the tantalising questions that form the premise of atmospheric independent horror Razors , the first in a new series of forthcoming films set to explore the bloody exploits of one of the world’s most mysterious serial killers. It tells of enigmatic film professor Robert Wise (Thomas Thoroe) who gathers a group of young screenwriters at a sinister Victorian warehouse in the heart of London to work on the ultimate horror film. Amongst the assembled group is troubled screenwriter Ruth (Kelby Keenan) who believes she has discovered the actual knives used by Jack the Ripper. When the knives go missing and it appears the spirit of the Ripper roams free, the young screenwriters must unlock the building’s dark secrets and unravel myste...

2015 Dir. Jaron Henrie-McCrea AKA The Gateway The humble shower curtain holds a rather iconic place in horror cinema. Its presence in one of the most shocking and undeniably influential moments in all of cinema helped to create tension and a sense of vulnerability; a thin layer separating normality from chaos and carnage, a veil between life and death. Since Psycho (1960), countless horror films have featured scenes in which shower curtains are whipped back to reveal murderous marauders poised to thrust sharp implements into the naked flesh of the unfortunate showerer. In Jaron Henrie-McCrea’s low-budget, oddball delight, the presence, or to be more precise, the disappearance of the shower curtain once again serves as a harbinger of foreboding doom. But in a very different way indeed… Head over to Exquisite Terror to read my full review . 

2014 Kevin Kolsch & Dennis Widmyer “ And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you .” Friedrich Nietzsche Starry Eyes is a powerful, deeply unsettling rumination on the cost of fame and stardom and the monstrous things desperately ambitious people are prepared to do in order to obtain it. Unfurling as a blood-dark character study, the narrative follows Sarah (Alexandra Essoe), a young, eager-to-prove-herself Hollywood actress whose encounter with a sinister production company sends her reeling downwards into a harrowing maelstrom of despair, madness, diabolism and body-horror, as she attempts to make her dreams of fame a reality. At any cost. Head over to Exquisite Terror to read my full review. 

2014 Dir. Adam Wingard Following on from You’re Next and A Horrible Way to Die , The Guest is the latest genre-melding offering from director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett. As with their previous collaborations, it fondly harks back to genre movies of yesteryear while slyly subverting tropes and conventions audiences are now all too familiar with. All bets are off as rules are bent, expectations toyed with, and the viewer is sucked into Barrett’s twisted and twisting story, which emerges as one of the most interesting - and entertaining - genre offerings of recent years. The Guest begins as David (Dan Stevens), a recently discharged soldier, arrives at the home of a family still grieving for the death of their son, whom he claims to have been good friends with. David is too good to be true and represents something for everyone in the family, filling the role of their absent son. Only daughter Anna (Maika Monroe) is wary, but she fails to find anything to support her ...

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. 

In a desperate attempt to reboot his flailing slasher movie franchise, a shady film director gathers a group of troubled young adults to participate in a reality TV show at an isolated and long abandoned summer camp. Inane dialogue, tensionless murders and convoluted plot twists ensue... Head over to Exquisite Terror to read my full review. While you're there, why not pre-order a copy of Exquisite Terror issue 4 ? Inside you'll find essays and articles on the likes of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre , Jim Van Bebber, Berlin’s newest horror production outfit, The Silence of the Lambs , and my own essay on the folkloric and literary heritage of Count Dracula. All for only £1.50. 

2013 Dir. Bobcat Goldthwait When young city couple Jim and Kelly venture into the wilds of Bluff Creek, California, in search of the legendary Sasquatch, they find much more than they bargained for in this lean, mean tale of man vs. nature. While ‘found-footage’ horror has been much maligned of late, a few titles have proven the effectiveness of the formula — most notably The Blair Witch Project; [REC]; Lake Mungo; The Last Exorcism ; and more recently Trollhunter and The Borderlands . Willow Creek also demonstrates that the format, when utilised effectively, can still offer a downright chilling viewing experience. Even though writer/director Bobcat Goldthwait never strays far from a well-trodden path, his subdued approach and subtle direction result in some rather nerve-shredding moments of tension. Much like The Blair Witch Project , the tension and dread here is established largely through a reliance on sound, shadows and suggestion, and after the initial slow-burn approac...

Guest post by Aaron Duenas It should be said that I'm not an expert on H.P. Lovecraft by any means, but, like every horror buff, I know of, enjoy, and appreciate his work for being so far ahead of its time, and essentially paving the way for many horror authors whose works have affected pop culture, literature, and cinema. I went into this film, and I'm approaching this review, mainly as a fan of director Albert Pyun, who recently retired due to health problems. He's a filmmaker who's primarily worked in the straight-to-video market. Some of his more notable films include Cyborg (a favorite of mine), The Sword and the Sorcerer , and Vicious Lips . So when I found out that Pyun directed a Lovecraft adaptation, to say that I was curious would be an understatement. Cool Air , which was apparently produced back in 2006 but sat on the shelf for seven years before being released in 2013, is based on Lovecraft's short story of the same name. There have been other a...

Director Sean Hogan is known to fans of horror cinema for his quietly unsettling and eerily atmospheric tales, usually set against a backdrop of urban gloom and featuring desperate characters with shady secrets. Lie Still followed the increasingly nightmarish experiences of a lonely young unemployed man staying in a creepy, strangely deserted old boarding house. House and Home , Hogan’s contribution to the controversial British horror anthology Little Deaths , focused on the exploits of an upper-class couple with peculiar sexual tastes, who invite a homeless girl into their depravity. With horrific consequences. His most recent title, The Devil’s Business , tells of two hit men sent to murder an old associate of their underworld boss. To their increasing horror, they gradually realise that things are not all they seem to be in their would-be target's house. The discovery of a Satanic altar - and its shocking sacrifice - sends the pair on a descent into the shadowy darkness of...

2012 Dir. Gav ‘Chuckie’ Steele A group of friends head into the local woods to try and score some weed. Unbeknownst to them, a madman has been running amok, bumping off anyone unfortunate enough to cross his path. Their only salvation lies with a local cop-obsessed oddball who soon realises he’s as out of his depth as they are… What Steele’s debut feature film lacks in budget, it makes up for in outrageous humour, decently developed characters and group dynamics, assured direction and a plethora of increasingly splashy but well realised effects. Low budget indie horror can sometimes be tedious and flat, but the imagination on display throughout The Shadow of Death demonstrates the considerable talent - and imagination - of its makers, and it unspools as a cheap and cheerful – though thoroughly innovative – throwback to grindhouse splatter flicks of yesteryear. While the scenario may be very familiar – group of friends terrorised in dark woods by rampaging psycho – the likeable...

2011 Dir. Paddy Considine Stifled by his past and his own anger and frustration with the world, Joseph thinks he finds redemption in the form of local charity shop worker Hannah. However Hannah has a dark secret of her own which threatens to shatter both their lives and plunge them both deeper into deadly despair. In Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park there’s a famous moment when the audience and characters are alerted to the oncoming danger of an approaching T-Rex by water rippling in a paper cup. Paddy Considine’s assured and commanding feature directorial debut doesn’t have man-eating monsters in it, but it does feature a one-man rampage against life and the same sense of impending doom and menace as that moment from Jurassic Park ripples throughout. Considine is an actor who made a name for himself with his intense performances under the direction of Shane Meadows. Appearing in films such as Dead Man’s Shoes (which he co-wrote) and A Room For Romeo Brass , Considine soon ...

Following on from its well received premiere at the 3rd Yellow Fever Independent Film Festival in Belfast last month, and its award winning stint at this year’s Freak Show Film Festival in Orlando – where lead actor Robert Render picked up the award for Best Actor – George Clarke’s creepy spookfest The Last Light is set to chill the spines of audiences at Belfast’s Strand Cinema on Saturday 29th October… The Last Light is the dark tale of a maintenance man called on to ensure an old derelict house – formerly a psychiatric hospital, no less - is securely boarded up after a reported break-in. On what is supposed to be his last day on the job, he experiences increasingly chilling occurrences. Initially believing that wayward kids are playing a prank on him, it soon becomes evident that something much more sinister is afoot… The Last Light is a moody, atmospheric and old fashioned haunted house yarn – perfect viewing on All Hallow’s Eve… Read more about the film here . Tickets...

2008 Dir. Giovanni Rodriquez Several years after experiencing a traumatic incident, siblings Regina and Devon, accompanied by a few of their friends, return to their hometown to sell off their late mother’s house. Ever since the incident, Regina has experienced flashbacks and is deeply traumatised. In order to face her fears, she returns to the nearby cave where the horror first began. Little does she know, what she discovers there will only worsen her deep-rooted terror, as a brutal assailant begins to shoot, slice, chop and stab his way through her friends… At the heart of Red Canyon is an interesting premise. The idea of returning to a place from childhood that was the source of great trauma is one brimming with dark promise. Intrigue is established early on, particularly through Regina’s flashbacks scattered throughout the narrative, and while Rodriquez’s direction exhibits a number of deft moments, the befuddled screenplay tends to detract from what should be a compelling...

2010 Dirs. Jen & Sylvia Soska Four friends set out on an errand and end up in a fight for their lives when they discover the body of a prostitute in the trunk of their car. The ragtag group must put aside their differences to dispose of the body and evade attempts on their lives by shadowy underworld figures, corrupt police, a sleazy motel manager, chainsaw wielding triads, and a brutal serial killer. Energetic, oddball and effortlessly cool, the luridly titled Dead Hooker In A Trunk is one of a few current films boasting exploitative monikers that hark back to sleazy grindhouse flicks of the past. Unfolding as a love letter to exploitation movies, the feature debut from Canadian twin sisters Jen and Sylvia Soska is an anarchic and eccentric road movie that subverts expectations and doesn’t stop for breath until its surprisingly poignant ending. That it has an unexpectedly big heart, and is a statement about the dynamics and importance of friendship, is an added bonus. A...

2009 Dir. Stacy Davidson Charlie has a reputation as the promoter of the hippest and edgiest Dark Wave parties around. In an enormous vacant warehouse situated on the edge of the city, she and her friends gather to set up an explosive rave without attracting unwanted attention. But someone, or something, is already watching… Unknown to the fun-seeking ravers, an inhuman beast resides within the confines of the warehouse armed with a mammoth weapon that serves only one purpose: to end the lives of those who trespass within its lair. Charlie had hoped this party would be the best she’d ever thrown – now it looks like it may be her last! Another month, another straight to DVD ‘torture-porn’ flick featuring the blood of thinly-drawn characters being sloshed across the screen. Sweatshop is by far one of the most rudimentarily scripted of the bunch. It also boasts some of the most unsympathetic characters in recent memory, but it somehow manages to set itself slightly apart from the...

2003 Dir. Brian Yuzna Surviving the collapse of the crypt he was cornered in by a horde of his reanimated corpses, Dr Hebert West continues to conduct his grisly experiments. He is eventually arrested and imprisoned but continues his research. When a young doctor named Howard Phillips begins work at the prison, he teams up with West to help bring his experiments to the next level. Hell breaks loose and copious blood is spilled when several of the reanimated corpses break free and wreck havoc in the prison. Creative carnage and grisly mutations ensue. Stuart Gordon’s transgressive and splattery adaptation of HP Lovecraft’s Herbert West: Re-Animator was one of the defining horror films of the Eighties. Fiercely independent, unconventional, awash with splashy effects and boasting the darkest, severed tongue-in-cheek humour imaginable, Re-Animator still wields its grisly power and effectiveness today. It was followed by the Brian Yuzna directed sequel Bride of Re-Animator , which...

2009 Dir. Brett Anstey Prompted by the arrival of a mysterious package from her terminally ill grandmother, Claire drags her reluctant new boyfriend off to meet her family at their remote country home where she hopes she will discover the motivations behind the unexpected gift. Things go well until Claire’s grandmother begins rambling on about a female spirit she is expecting to come in the night to escort her body into the afterlife. That night, as a violent thunderstorm rocks the house, the family is awoken by a succession of piercing, otherworldly shrieks, which prove to be the cries of a banshee. As the terrifying sounds ring out, the dead are summoned to rise again, so beginning a waking nightmare for Claire and her family as the banshee and her army of the undead unleash their fury upon the living. The figure of the banshee in traditional Irish folklore is a tragic, sorrowful one, but also a terrifying one. She is said to appear mournfully wailing near the house of someone...