Behind the Couch

John Michael Elfers’ feature debut Finale untwisted as a stunningly shot love letter to the Golden Age of Euro-horror cinema. It follows a family struggling to come to terms with the death of the oldest son - who seemingly died by suicide. Helen, the boy’s mother, is convinced that her son was the victim of a bizarre satanic cult and her investigation not only threatens to tear her family apart, but also her own sanity. As she begins to descend into a dark world of paranoia, death and despair, where the line between nightmare and reality becomes increasingly fractured, she is stalked by a demonic, mirror-dwelling figure and the members of the mysterious cult who seem to have a strange connection with it… As evidenced in such recent films as Amer , Julia’s Eyes and Andreas Marschall’s forthcoming Masks , the legacy of the Italian giallo continues to bleed into the work of contemporary filmmakers. Wearing its influences on its boldly blood-spattered sleeve, Finale drew on the sup...

As evidenced in this month’s release of Amer , and films such as Darkness Surrounds Roberta, Eyes of Crystal and Lust for Vengeance – the legacy of the Italian giallo continues to bleed into the work of contemporary filmmakers. Another new title to wear the influence of Argento/Bava/Martino et al on its sleeve is director John Michael Elfers’ feature directorial debut,  Finale . A supernaturally tinged tale, Finale focuses on a family torn apart by the death of the oldest son - who seemingly died by suicide. The boy’s mother is convinced he was the victim of a satanic cult. As her investigation leads her deeper into a dark world of paranoia, death and despair, she not only risks tearing her fragile family apart, but also her own sanity, in an attempt to uncover the dark truth about her beloved son's fate... I recently had the pleasure to chat with John Michael Elfers about the tragic origins of his feature debut, shooting on a micro-budget and the influence of Italian horror....

2009 Dir. John Michael Elfers A family is torn apart by the death of the oldest son - who seemingly took his own life. Helen (Carolyn Hauck) is convinced that her son was the victim of a bizarre satanic cult. Her investigation not only threatens to tear her family apart, but also her own sanity. As she begins to descend into a dark world of paranoia, death and despair, she is stalked by a demonic, mirror-dwelling figure… Finale is a film positively saturated in a dark and rich gothic atmosphere, seeping with dread and anxiety. Director John Michael Elfers has a keen eye and a knack for startling visuals, and he imbues his film with the look and feel of lurid supernaturally tinged Italian horror flicks from the Seventies. At times his camera is possessed by exactly the same creativity and panache that haunted the early work of Raimi, Argento and Jackson. Finale at times not only recalls the lurid atmospherics of Bava and Argento, particularly the latter’s Mother of Tears ; with ...