Behind the Couch

1981 Dir. Wes Craven Wes Craven burst onto the horror scene in the 1970s with his distinctive brand of thought-provoking, gritty, survivalist horror titles Last House on the Left and The Hills Have Eyes (both of which have been remade, with the former's 'reimagination' due in cinemas any day now). Before the success of A Nightmare on Elm Street in 1984, Craven directed a number of films including the made-for-TV Linda Blair-starring witch-flick Summer of Fear,  and an adaptation of DC Comic’s Swamp Thing. In between these two films, Craven directed Deadly Blessing , a barmy yet haunting tale of fanaticism, obsession and fear. Among others, it starred Sharon Stone in one of her earliest roles. When her husband dies in a suspicious slow-motion tractor accident, Martha (Maren Jensen) is visited by her two friends from the city. They are unsettled that Martha lives right next to an austere religious community of Hittites ('They make the Amish look like swingers...

Mannequins have frequently been used to supremely creepy effect in horror cinema. From Mario Bava’s early giallo Blood & Black Lace , with its lavish fashion house peppered with dress makers dummies, to 1979’s eerie Tourist Trap with its bizarre roadside museum chock-full of the uncanny things, it is fair to say that mannequins are officially creepy. An early episode of the Twilight Zone called The After Hours  also utilises the spooky plastic people to shuddering effect, and then it manages to do something genuinely original with them too… Anne Francis stars as Marsha White, who enjoys shopping and browsing in expensive boutique shops. Mooching around a colossal department store looking for a gold thimble for her mother, Marsha is taken to the 9th floor by the elevator operator: a floor that does not appear on the elevator panel. When she reaches the 9th floor, Marsha is greeted by a slightly awkward saleswomen, who shows her the only item on the floor: a gold thimble! ...