Behind the Couch

One year after the brutal murder of her friends by psychotic fisherman Ben Willis, Julie James continues to struggle with the trauma and grief. When her BFF Karla wins a holiday to an island in the Bahamas, Julie hopes the change of scenery will help her put the nightmares behind her. However, someone is waiting for her on the island. Someone who still remembers the events of last summer , and the summer before. Someone who wields a hook and craves bloody vengeance and will stop at nothing to obtain it… Get ready for some sun, sea, solitude... and slaughter! Written by Trey Callaway and directed with stylish aplomb by Danny Cannon, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer might arguably be a generic slasher sequel, but it’s also a highly entertaining, well-made and atmospheric slasher sequel. Not only does it have a great cast (including Mekhi Phifer, Bill Cobbs, Jeffrey Combs, Jennifer Esposito, Jack Black and 70s soul singer Ellerine Harding ), but an interesting location, engaging her...

1996 Dir. Alan Smithee 2127. A scientist onboard a space station attempts to complete the task began by his ancestor centuries ago; to destroy the puzzle box that, when solved and opened, allows the demonic entities known as Cenobites to enter our world and cause havoc and untold suffering in the name of pleasure. Written by Peter Atkins, with Clive Barker serving as executive producer, Bloodline is the centuries-spanning origin story of the puzzle box that featured throughout all the Hellraiser films up until this point - and the sequels which followed. Acting as a doorway to hell itself, the box, an amalgamation of alchemy and science, grants demons access to our world. Director Kevin Yagher disowned the film when the studio began re-editing it, ordering re-writes and re-shoots, and generally interfering with his grand vision. And what a vision this could have been. The tale of a family plagued for generations by demons who wish to create a permanent doorway into our world;...

1992 Dir. Anthony Hickox When the diabolical Pinhead is freed from his prison - a macabre sculpture purchased by a sleazy nightclub owner - he sets about creating a new army of Cenobites to aid him in his quest to establish hell on earth. What he doesn’t count on is ardent TV reporter Joey Summerskill, the only person with the courage and knowledge to defeat him and thwart his fiendish schemes. She is aided in her quest by the spirit of Pinhead’s former human self, WW1 British Army Captain, Elliott Spencer. There will be blood… The first Hellraiser slow-burned its way through searing violence and morbidly sexualised imagery, while sequel Hellbound upped the scope and hammered home the depressing, downbeat tone with surrealistic depictions of a cold and private hell. Written by Peter Atkins and Tony Randel, the writers and director of Hellbound , and with Clive Barker in the role of executive producer, Hell on Earth unravels as a commercialised, somewhat diluted version of Bar...

The People Under the Stairs is an atmospheric and tightly coiled horror film with themes that remain relevant, and a dark sense of unease that is still incredibly palpable, unravelling as a compendium of recurring themes and motifs that run throughout much of Wes Craven’s work; race, class, familial strife, generational conflict and the idea of man-made monsters all swirl together in an unhinged and feverishly claustrophobic tale. With its myriad allusions to the likes of “Hansel and Gretel”, the film unfurls as a nightmarish urban fairy tale complete with mutilated innocents imprisoned by wicked parental figures... To read my full review, and for a chance to win a copy of the film on Blu-ray, head over to Exquisite Terror . While you’re there, why not pick up an issue or two of Exquisite Terror the periodical . 

Guest post by Christine Hadden One of the biggest issues that H.P. Lovecraft fans have is the lack of acceptable translation to film of his work. Many films teeter on the edge of the dark precipice of his brilliant stories, but fail to capture the weird yet exceptional storytelling and sinister themes the author is so famous for. The Resurrected (1992), aka Shatterbrain , while certainly not a celebrated film, is one of the most faithful adaptations of a Lovecraft story. Based on The Case of Charles Dexter Ward , this low-budget, direct-to-video release has the distinction of being directed by the late, great Dan O'Bannon ( Alien, Return of the Living Dead ) and though apparently it got edited without O'Bannon, it still remains a relatively close conversion from story to film. Charles Dexter Ward (Chris Sarandon, reason enough to see the film) has alienated his new wife by occupying his time first in the family's carriage house, and then an old family estate well r...

1992 Dir. Stuart Gordon Not so much loosely based on HP Lovecraft’s The Outsider (written in 1921, published in 1926) as it is deeply inspired by it, Stuart Gordon’s Castle Freak tells of troubled couple John and Susan (Jeffrey Combs! Barbara Crampton!) and their blind daughter Rebecca (Jessica Dollarhide), who travel to Italy to sell off an ancient castle John inherited. Not long after they arrive, things start to go bump in the night and strange events occur, not least Rebecca's claims that she is visited in the night by a stealthy prowler. When the mutilated bodies of the housekeeper and a local prostitute are discovered it becomes clear that the castle houses a secret inhabitant… Stuart Gordon is no stranger to the macabre visions of Lovecraft having adapted Herbert West – Reanimator, From Beyond, Dreams in the Witch House and The Shadow Over Innsmouth for the screen. With Castle Freak he didn’t so much adapt The Outsider as take its central themes – and one speci...

1994 Dir. Wes Craven An unspeakably evil entity, first given form by the character of Freddy Krueger in the A Nightmare on Elm Street films, has chosen that particular character as its avatar and portal into the real world. All that stands in its way is Heather Langenkamp, the actress who played Nancy Thompson; the first person to ever defeat Freddy Krueger. Can she play the part of Nancy one last time to stop the evil from entering our world? After they killed off Freddy Krueger, thus bringing an end to one of their most lucrative cash-cows, New Line began thinking maybe, just maybe , they’d done it prematurely. They requested a meeting with Wes Craven to reconcile their differences and ensure the aggrieved director was satisfied with the business side of the Elm Street franchise. Once all was fine and dandy, head of New Line, Bob Shaye, asked Craven if he would ever consider helming one more Elm Street film, dangling the carrot of free reign and creative control under his ...

1991 Dir. Rachel Talalay Freddy Krueger finally succeeds in killing all the children of his hometown by invading their dreams and slaughtering them while they sleep. By tracking down his estranged daughter, a resilient youth councillor, he plans to escape the confines of Springwood to claim fresh victims. When she discovers who he is, and his demonic past, she vows to put a stop to his reign of terror once and for all. Will Krueger finally be defeated in the climactic (3D!) showdown between father and daughter? " Do you know the terror of he who falls asleep? To the very toes he is terrified, because the ground gives way under him, and the dream begins ..." - Friedrich Nietzsche " No screaming while the bus is in motion! " - Freddy Krueger Despite its decline in returns, and its lacklustre reception, The Dream Child still earned enough money at the box office to convince New Line that a further instalment of the Elm Street series might be a hit. The st...

1996 Dir. Matthew Bright When Vanessa witnesses her mother and stepfather being hauled off to jail on drugs and prostitution charges, the teenage tearaway goes on the run from a social worker who wants to put her into care. She sets off to seek sanctuary at her grandmother's house. Along the way however, she encounters a sadistic serial killer who she discovers has been preying on vulnerable young women on the freeway… Matthew Bright’s cult indie hit Freeway is a thoroughly twisted take on the tale of 'Little Red Riding Hood’; a tale that has consistently proved it is ripe for reinterpretation time and again. Much like the original tale not just being a story about a girl eaten by a wolf (it’s actually a rite of passage story warning young women of the dangers of rape), Bright’s take isn’t just the tale of a girl who has a terrifying encounter with a serial killer – it actually unravels as a damning indictment of the US justice system and its inhumane treatment of the...

1998 Dir. Jamie Blanks After several deaths and disappearances of fellow students, Natalie (Alicia Witt) begins to suspect that a brutal psychopathic killer is offing the campus populace in grisly ways inspired by old urban legends. Trouble is, no one believes her. Teaming up with best friend Brenda (Rebecca Gayheart) and roving student reporter Paul (Jared Leto), she sets out to reveal who the killer is and stop them before its too late… but wait! Who’s that over there? Hello? Hello?? *wonders off alone to investigate a strange noise* An urban legend is a form of modern folklore, usually passed on by word of mouth and concerning an event believed by the teller to be true. They are stories that act as cautionary morality tales that vary over time, and usually carry some significance for the particular communities that propagate them. The premise of Urban Legend - that various students are being murdered in a manner that echoes various notorious urban legends/folktales - is on...