Behind the Couch

Boris Karloff will forever be remembered for his portrayal of the tragic man-made 'monster' in James Whale’s adaptation of Mary Shelley’s immensely influential Gothic novel, Frankenstein . The star of many classic titles of horror cinema, including The Mummy, Bride of Frankenstein, The Body Snatcher, The Old Dark House and Black Sabbath , Karloff's commanding presence upon the silver screen, coupled with the frequently dark characters he portrayed, earned him the nickname ‘Karloff the Uncanny’. Forrest J. Ackerman’s The Frankenscience Monster looks at the actor’s career and legacy as an icon of horror cinema. Ackerman met Karloff ten times during Karloff’s life and this book shares those experiences. It also gathers the experiences and anecdotes of others who knew and worked with Karloff, including the likes of Ray Bradbury, Sir Christopher Lee, Robert Bloch, Vincent Price and Lon Chaney. Ackerman notes “As the Chaney of the Silents was ‘The Man of a Thousand Faces”, ...

Loosely based on Guy Endore’s novel The Werewolf of Paris (also adapted by Hammer as The Curse of the Werewolf in 1961) Legend of the Werewolf was produced by Tyburn Films in 1975 and starred Peter Cushing. Edward Buscombe’s exquisitely detailed account of the making of this British cult-horror classic contains interviews and accounts from cast and crew involved in every aspect of the filming process. Published by the BFI, this book was the first to recount the making of a British horror film. And it does so with so much enthusiasm and attention to detail. Every stage of the film’s production is delved into, from finance to casting, shooting and editing, scoring and special effects, to marketing and distribution. The making of the film is pieced together through accounts from the cast and crew, including director Freddie Francis and star Peter Cushing. It’s a jolly delightful glimpse into how British films were made in the 70s. There’s also a section on Tyburn Films, the sadl...

Kier-La Janisse’s fabulously titled House of Psychotic Women: an autobiographical topography of female neurosis in horror and exploitation films , is an examination of ‘female madness’ in horror. Janisse asserts that unlike her male counterpart, the female neurotic lives a shamed existence, and that the horror genre – unlike any other genre - provides a platform for women characters to express particular destructive, ‘shameful’ emotions. Paranoia, loneliness, masochistic death-wishes, obsessiveness and hysteria are given space to be expressed and play out. Film history, academic analysis and painstaking research are deftly woven through personal anecdotes, memories and experiences to form a compelling exploration of psychological turmoil and breakdown. Titles covered include Possession, Repulsion, Let’s Scare Jessica to Death, The Entity, The Piano Teacher, The Brood, Antichrist and Black Swan . The influence of folk and fairy stories on horror cinema is the subject of Sue Sh...

According to the t-shirt Madonna wore in the video for Papa Don’t Preach (1986), ‘Italians do it better’, which was obviously a reference to horror films. Two new additions to the BFI’s Reuben Library delve into the dazzlingly stylish, brutally violent world of Italian horror cinema: Roberto Curti’s Blood and Black Lace and director Dario Argento’s autobiography, Fear . Part of the Devil’s Advocates series, Curti’s book explores Mario Bava’s seminal giallo , which tells of a faceless killer stalking the halls of a luxurious Roman fashion house. Curti explores the production history of Bava’s cult film, contextualises it within Italian cinema and analyses the director’s unique approach to aesthetics and genre. He also gives consideration to the film’s historical impact (particularly in terms of its depiction of violence), its influence on future filmmakers and its impact on the giallo, the tropes and conventions of which it helped congeal. In his autobiography, Dario Arge...

Basil Glynn’s The Mummy on Screen: orientalism and monstrosity in horror cinema explores the history of the Mummy film, analysing lost, half-forgotten films alongside chilling classics. By focusing on the Mummy's development from the silent era, all the way through its myriad incarnations in classic Universal and Hammer films, Glynn suggests the cinematic Mummy needs to be understood in terms of ‘changing discourses of race (in particular Orientalism), trangressive romance and monstrosity’ in order to truly appreciate its continued appeal to audiences. When it was broadcast by the BBC in 1974, Penda’s Fen startled audiences with its tale of an English village rector’s son coming of age amidst folkloric visions of pagan wonderment and anguished sexual awakening. Edited by Matthew Harle and James Machin, Of Mud & Flame: The Penda’s Fen Sourcebook is a deep-map of the film containing contributions from scholars (including Adam Scovell, William Fowler, Beth Whalley and ...