Behind the Couch

2008 Dir. Fabrice Du Welz The lives of Jeanne and Paul Bellmer (Emmanuelle Béart and Rufus Sewell) are thrown into chaos when they think they see their son, thought drowned in the Southeast Asia tsunami in 2004, in a film they watch about orphans living in the jungles of Burma. They set off into an impenetrable heart of darkness in search of an elusive and perhaps unattainable truth, aided only by human traffickers who are intent on exploiting their heartache. Stranded in the middle of a strange and hostile country, the couple are besieged by a band of feral children and begin to lose sight of the hope they once so desperately clung to. ‘When someone dies a horrible death, their spirit becomes confused and angry. It becomes…Vinyan.’ Vinyan unfolds as a strange reflection of Don’t Look Now in its exploration of a couple’s grief, denial, hope and obsession as they try to come to terms with the death of their child. The story tracks Jeanne and Paul’s personal descent into the ma...

1971 Dir. Robert Fuest The renowned surgeon, concert organist and holder of doctorates in Music and Theology, Dr Phibes (Vincent Price), was supposedly killed in a horrific car crash as he rushed to be by the side of his dying wife, Victoria. He did in fact not perish in the accident, but was monstrously disfigured and fiendishly angry with the surgeons who failed to save his wife’s life. Utilising highly imaginative and convoluted methods, Phibes has sworn to avenge his wife’s untimely death, and taking the Ten Biblical Plagues of Egypt as his inspiration, sets out to murder the surgeons he deems responsible for letting his wife die. The Abominable Dr Phibes is justly renowned for its opulent art-deco sets, lavish dialogue, knowingly camp performances and fiendishly dark sense of humour. Presiding over all this is the inimitable Vincent Price, a devilish delight to watch, who darkly relishes every moment. Almost every shot is drenched in artistic mise-en-scene, particularly ...