Behind the Couch

2014 Dir. David Robert Mitchell Like one, that on a lonesome road  Doth walk in fear and dread,  And having once turned round, walks on,  And turns no more his head;  Because he knows a frightful fiend  Doth close behind him tread -  Samuel Taylor Coleridge After Jay (Maika Monroe) and her boyfriend have sex, he tells her that he has passed a curse onto her and now something will begin to follow her. And when it catches up with her, it will kill her. Sure enough, she begins to experience an inescapable feeling that someone, or something, is after her… It Follows is an insidiously creepy, yet beautifully produced shocker, moments of which will haunt you for some time afterwards. Blurring the line between sex and death, it taps into some very dark and primal fears indeed - abandonment, betrayal of loved ones, social ostracism. Most obviously it mines that very specific fear of being pursued so relentlessly by something unknowable, harmful and u...

Directed by Tobe Hooper and produced by Steven Spielberg, Poltergeist (1982) is a slick, big budgeted, special effects laden extravaganza. It is also a well-written film – now considered a classic - with a sly commentary on the corrupting influence of television, the tribulations of suburban life, colonialism, the ill-treatment of Native Americans, the break-down of the nuclear family unit, and the damaging excesses of capitalism and consumerism. The influence of Spielberg is overwhelmingly evident in the film’s representation of the all American family, and their pursuit of the American dream. With Hooper in the director’s chair however, these moments appear almost satirical, and cracks soon begin to appear. To the central family’s horror, they realise their white, middle-class American dream is built upon the graves of indigenous people, and their suburban ideal crumbles when vengeful spirits abduct their young daughter, Carol-Anne... Head over to Eye for Film to read my ful...

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 . 

2009 Dir. Lawrence Gough A quiet cul-de-sac is suddenly plunged into a world of violence, terror and paranoia when a group of heavily armed military personnel storms the area, sealing off the close and ordering the residents at gunpoint to retreat inside their homes. This coincides with the discovery of a mysterious container washed ashore nearby. Unsure if this is the first sign of a terrorist attack, or something worse, one local resident, Beth (Neve Mcintosh), mounts increasingly desperate attempts to save her estranged daughter, Jodie (Linzey Cocker), who is visiting her for the holiday but is now stranded across the street in a neighbour’s house. With growing dread, the trapped residents soon discover that the imminent threat is far more monstrous than any of them could possibly imagine. Whatever was in the container has reached the cul-de-sac, and it is seriously depleting the numbers of the military unit and residents alike… Salvage is a taut, tightly constructed and rel...

1975 Dir. Bryan Forbes When former photographer Joanna Eberhart (Katherine Ross) and her family move to the sleepy town of Stepford, it isn’t long before she suspects something sinister is afoot. All of the women in Stepford have an uncanny hankering to do whatever it takes to become the perfect housewife. What makes matters even stranger is Joanna’s unshakable feeling that the men of Stepford, including her own husband Walter (Peter Masterson), are involved in something diabolical that transforms the women of Stepford into empty shells of their former selves. But what could it be? I would love to be able to watch The Stepford Wives again for the first time – without knowing anything about it. From the outset, it is obvious that something sinister lurks beneath the pristine exterior of Stepford’s white picket fences and expertly maintained hedges and it soon becomes obvious that the town has a sick and twisted underbelly full of dark secrets that David Lynch might be envious of....