Behind the Couch

Rest in Peace, Sir Christopher Lee. The Silver Screen will flicker a little dimmer without your commanding presence, gravitas and dignity. The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) Dracula (1958) The Mummy (1959) Horror Hotel (1960) Horror Hotel (1960) The Whip & The Body (1963) Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) On set with director Terrence Fisher The Devil Rides Out (1968) The Wicker Man (1973) The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) House of Long Shadows (1983) also starred Vincent Price, Peter Cushing & John Carradine Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) The Hobbit (2012-2014) His most iconic role... Count Dracula With dear friend and frequent co-star, Peter Cushing

Betsy Palmer, 1926-2015 Actress Betsy Palmer, best known for portraying Pamela Voorhees in Friday the 13th and Friday the 13th Part II , has passed away at the age of 88. Palmer died of natural causes at a hospice care centre in Connecticut on Friday 29th May. She is survived by her daughter, Melissa Merendino. While Palmer will always be remembered for her role as Jason Voorhees’ tragic mother, she had a long and versatile career on stage - appearing in Broadway plays such as On Golden Pond, Cactus Flower and Same Time, Next Year - and television - starring in the likes of Knots Landing, As the World Turns and Murder, She Wrote.  Palmer famously stated that she only took on the role of Mrs Voorhees because she needed a new car. Despite initially disowning the film, and its sequel, in which she had a cameo appearance, Palmer eventually embraced it, frequently appearing at horror conventions to meet with hordes of adoring fans. In Peter M. Bracke’s 'Crystal Lake Memo...

James Isaac directing Kane Hodder on Jason X Director James Isaac, best known for Jason X , werewolf flick Skinwalkers and his special effects work with David Cronenberg, has passed away at the age of 52 after battling a rare blood cancer. Isaac began his career in 1983 as a ‘creature technician’ on Return of the Jedi and Gremlins before moving on to work with Cronenberg on the likes of The Fly , Naked Lunch and eXistenZ . His feature directorial debut came in 1983 with The Horror Show aka House III . In 2002 Isaac directed the tenth instalment of the Friday the 13th series. Jason X's winning sense of humour and genuine adoration of Jason (and his fans) gave the series a much needed jolt of originality and devilish playfulness. Isaac’s work on the vastly underrated film is often overlooked due to its problematic shoot caused by interference from producers, constant re-writes and a delayed release. Isaac was always very candid about his feelings on the film, and was...

Whilst pouring over the latest issue of Sight & Sound I came across an article commemorating the life and work of film scholar Robin Wood, who sadly passed away in December, 2009. Wood had a profound influence over critical readings of films - particularly horror movies, (and in particular again - slasher films), with his groundbreaking work focusing on the concept of the ‘Return of the Repressed.’ Wood stated ‘The release of sexuality in the horror film is always presented as perverted, monstrous and excessive; both the perversion and the excess being the logical outcome of repression.’ These ideas were fleshed out in the three part essay ‘ An Introduction to the American Horror Film ’ (Part I: Repression, The Other, The Monster ; Part II: Return of the Repressed ; Part III; The Reactionary Wing ). This essay was published in The American Nightmare: Essays on the Horror Film , which was edited by Wood and his partner (academically and romantically) Richard Lippe. Wood was o...

Actress Brittany Murphy, star of films such as Clueless, Girl, Interrupted and Drop Dead Gorgeous , has died after collapsing at her home in Los Angeles. According to the coroners report, Murphy appeared to have died from a cardiac arrest. She was only 32. I'm a big fan of Murphy's film work, and was saddened to hear of her death. An always interesting character actor, Murphy will be remembered for her portrayals of oddball outsiders in films such as Clueless, Freeway, Girl, Interrupted, Don’t Say a Word and Spun before she went on to star in the likes of Riding in Cars with Boys ,  8 Mile and Sin City . No stranger to darker, unsettling films, Murphy made a number of memorable forays into outright genre territory in her too-short career, with roles in the darkly comic slasher Cherry Falls , The Prophecy II and  Deadline . RIP Brittany. I hope not sporadically x

Dan O'Bannon, the screenwriter of classic genre films such as Alien and Total Recall and cult favourites Dead and Buried , Dark Star and Return of the Living Dead , has died at the age of 63 in Los Angeles following a short illness. O'Bannon attended USC film school in the early '70s where he met director John Carpenter and the pair collaborated on Carpenter's debut feature Dark Star . O'Bannon co-wrote, edited, supervised the special effects and portrayed Sgt Pinback in this existential sci-fi comedy. O'Bannon soon quit his job on the visual effects team on Star Wars to begin screenwriting full time. His first project after Dark Star was a script titled Star Beast - co-written by Ronald Shusett - which would later be filmed as Alien by Ridley Scott. The writer would also go on to work with Tobe Hooper on Lifeforce and Invaders From Mars. O'Bannon is survived by his wife Diane Louise Lindley and their son Adam. He made significant contributions...

Cult actor Edward Woodward, best known for his roles as a virginal policeman in The Wicker Man and a former secret agent turned vigilante in the 80s TV show The Equalizer , sadly died on Monday 16th November at the age of 79, after suffering from a number of illnesses including pneumonia. The actor died in a hospital near his home in Cornwall and was said to have been surrounded by family and friends. Woodward made his mark in cinema with his portrayal of celibate and devoutly Christian Police Sergeant Neil Howie, in British Horror film The Wicker Man. The film has quite often been referred to as "the Citizen Kane of horror movies", and both Woodward and Sir Christopher Lee have said they were "enormously proud" of their roles. According to The Guardian the director of the The Wicker Man , Robin Hardy, paid tribute to Woodward, saying he was 'one of the greatest actors of his generation, without any question', who was 'an absolute star of The Wick...