Behind the Couch

Now regarded as one of Dario Argento’s most accomplished films, Tenebrae was originally met with critical hostility upon its release in the UK. It was heavily edited, relegated to the 'video nasty' list and eventually banned. The twisted tale of an American mystery thriller novelist who becomes caught up in a slew of sadistic murders, seemingly inspired by his latest book, the film was Argento's return to the giallo after the gothic fairy tale horrors of Suspiria (1977) and Inferno (1980). Head over to The Quietus to read my retrospective on the film, in which I discuss its origins, its initial reception, and how it has been subsequently revaluated as a self-reflexive commentary on not only Argento’s own body of work and the conventions of the Italian giallo, but on the alleged effects of violent entertainment on audiences. Happy Halloween! 

When I began to flesh out my thoughts and hastily scribbled notes on The Black Cat , I ended up spewing forth a tangent about why I find Lucio Fulci’s film work so disturbing, horrifying and repellent. Below is said tangent, and the review of The Black Cat (tangent free) can be found here .  Of the countless schlocky, ultra-violent, exploitation-laden fare this writer has watched over the years - and the plethora of disturbing, mind-numbingly deplorable and brain-botheringly wretched imagery I’ve witnessed as a result of watching such fare - one filmmaker and his work stands apart from the others when it comes to creating genuinely upsetting, avert-your-gaze-from-the-screen-in-disgust moments. Lucio Fulci is a director most fans of horror cinema will be familiar with. Heck, many of them will even own some of his work on DVD or something called VHS. My own experience of watching Fulci’s work is quite limited. I find his films to be disturbing, disgusting and weirdly depressing...