Behind the Couch

As part of this week's ongoing Boris Karloff blogathon , we take a look at the Uncanny One's final collaboration with distinguished producer Val Lewton – the 1946 Period-Horror-‘Message’-movie hybrid, Bedlam . Be sure to check out a list of links to other Karloff related goodness over at Frankensteinia: The Frankenstein Blog . After the success of The Body Snatcher and with Isle of the Dead finally wrapped and ready to be released, RKO decided to ‘reward’ Lewton by upping his budget for what would transpire to be his last B Horror movie for them. As well as receiving $350,000 Lewton was also given a staggering 8 months for post-production – unheard of for a B movie at the time. Following on from Isle of the Dead and The Body Snatcher , Bedlam was another ‘period’ film with astounding attention to detail lavished upon it, and like Isle of the Dead was also inspired by a painting – William Hogarth’s Bedlam Plate 8: The Rake’s Progress . The script was written by directo...

As part of this week's Boris Karloff blogathon , we continue to take a look at the Uncanny One's work with distinguished producer Val Lewton. With work on Isle of the Dead coming to halt only days into the shoot due to Karloff needing to have a spinal operation, Lewton began working on his next film – The Body Snatcher . In early 1944, the ‘period thriller’ began to gain popularity again. Titles such as Gaslight and The Lodger had proved immensely popular with wartime audiences who relished the opportunity to step back in time to find their chills and thrills. After the 1930s cycle of horror films, Lewton had helped ‘Americanise’ and modernise horror with the contemporary Cat People , and many other filmmakers had followed suit; however it soon came to pass that period films were hot again, and Lewton, not content to just remix past glories, was eager to try and make his own mark on the period horror film. Lewton thought it appropriate to return to the world of literatu...

As part of this week's Boris Karloff Blogathon , I've decided to have a look at the three atmospheric chillers Karloff made with producer Val Lewton in the mid-forties. Given a collection of lurid titles by RKO, Lewton was instructed to craft low budget horror films to compete with Universal's slew of Monster Movies at the time. Lewton created subtle, provocative and tasteful films that became highly influential in the horror genre. When Karloff came on board for three of these films ( Isle of the Dead, The Body Snatcher and Bedlam ) the two men found kindred spirits in one another and this dark union produced three highly effective pictures that proved to be the best amongst both men's work. When Val Lewton was told that Boris Karloff had signed a 3 picture contract with RKO and he had to use the actor, Lewton was initially not best pleased. Karloff had been signed by Jack Gross, who like Karloff, was coming to the studio from Universal. According to director Mark...

Throughout his career, Karloff shared the silver-screen spotlight with many great actresses – often with them recoiling in terror from him! He never really got to play the ‘romantic lead’ but there is no denying the chemistry he shared with some of the actresses he worked with. Karloff came to prominence in the early 30s with his role in horror classic, Frankenstein . Sadly, many roles for women in horror films during the 30s and 40s often only required them to scream and faint - some roles however, provided the opportunity for women to play complex characters who found themselves in intricate, dark and fantastical stories quite unlike those in any other genre. Here are some of the great actresses who shared some memorable moments with Karloff ‘The Uncanny.’ Don't forget to check out Frankensteinia: The Frankenstein Blog for more Karloff related wonderment... "She's alive! Alive! " Elsa Lanchester . A British character actress with a lengthy career in theat...

Born November 23, 1887, William Henry Pratt soon went on to become one of the most enduring horror icons of all time. As Boris Karloff, he would make his mark in cinema history with his sensitive portrayal of the man-made Monster in James Whale's adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein ... To celebrate Karloff's birthday and his vast range of film work, this week will be given over to a Boris Karloff Blogathon , with all posts dedicated to looking at some well-loved, and perhaps some overlooked, Karloff 'The Uncanny' classics. Today is also Sara Karloff's birthday and she sent a message to Pierre Fournier over at Frankensteinia to say she is looking forward to reading all the blogs about her father and his work this week. Head over to Frankensteinia to read her message. Karloff, Gooooood!

2008 Dir. Marc Price Colin is bitten by a zombie. He dies alone on his kitchen floor, only to return from the dead as a zombie. We follow him as he wanders through a bleak suburban landscape in the midst of a cadaverous apocalypse. Excerpt of dialogue from Dawn of the Dead , 1978: Francine: ‘What are they doing? Why do they come here?’ Stephen: ‘Some kind of instinct. Memory, of what they used to do. This was an important place in their lives.’ Peter: ‘They don't know why, they just remember. Remember that they want to be in here. They're us, that's all; when there's no more room in hell.’ Amongst the array of provocative ideas explored by Romero in his seminal masterpiece Dawn of the Dead , was how the survivors viewed the masses of the undead. From their vantage point in the shopping mall they were allowed momentary respite to consider just who and what the zombies were. The conclusion? They are us . Viewing events from this particular angle imbued Romero’...

2008 Dir. Marek Losey Roy Tunt, a compulsive birder (that’s bird watcher to you and I) settles down in a secluded bird-hide on the barren Suffolk mudflats to try to catch a glimpse of the elusive ‘sociable plover’. A brewing storm brings Dave, a bedraggled and bloodied young man, to the hide to seek shelter. Over the course of the day the two men seem to bond until news of a police manhunt comes over Roy’s shortwave radio. This puts both men on their guard, forcing their impromptu and already brittle relationship to a shocking conclusion. Adapted from his own play, writer Tim Whitnall has carefully crafted a complex and rather compelling two-hander. The story unravels in one location – the bird-hide – and the action rarely leaves the four ramshackle, draught-ridden walls. The bulk of the film consists of the burgeoning relationship between the two men as they size each other up, make small talk and eventually confess deep, dark and sordid secrets. A stark and moody opening sets u...

The story behind director Michael J Murphy’s recent low budget, darkly comic and rather splattery Skare , is an interesting one. Basing the script on his own short story, Murphy set about filming in 2001. Disaster struck, however, when the unprocessed film got lost in the post on the way to be developed at Kodak. Murphy found himself in debt and without a film. Skip ahead a few years and as Murphy began working on a new project, he found himself drawn back to the original script of Skare . Gathering together a new cast and crew, the tenacious filmmaker set about filming Skare once again. The story focuses on the unlikely, and increasingly disturbing, partnership between Martha - the reclusive owner of a country club and Dan - a young escapee from a nearby psychiatric hospital. Dan soon discovers that Martha has sinister ulterior motives for her kindness and following the discovery of a decapitated head in a refrigerator, it soon becomes very clear the lengths she goes to in order...

Cult actor Edward Woodward, best known for his roles as a virginal policeman in The Wicker Man and a former secret agent turned vigilante in the 80s TV show The Equalizer , sadly died on Monday 16th November at the age of 79, after suffering from a number of illnesses including pneumonia. The actor died in a hospital near his home in Cornwall and was said to have been surrounded by family and friends. Woodward made his mark in cinema with his portrayal of celibate and devoutly Christian Police Sergeant Neil Howie, in British Horror film The Wicker Man. The film has quite often been referred to as "the Citizen Kane of horror movies", and both Woodward and Sir Christopher Lee have said they were "enormously proud" of their roles. According to The Guardian the director of the The Wicker Man , Robin Hardy, paid tribute to Woodward, saying he was 'one of the greatest actors of his generation, without any question', who was 'an absolute star of The Wick...

After moving into their new suburban home, a young couple become increasingly disturbed by strange nightly disturbances that are revealed to be a demonic presence. Every once in a while a film comes along with a reputation that precedes it. Having already caused something of a stir in the horror community and now breaking out into mainstream box office success, Paranormal Activity is a slow-burning and highly atmospheric horror tale that effortlessly preys on our fear of the unknown and of the dark. Hand held camerawork lends the film a sense of intimate urgency, whilst long static shots prompt us to gaze into the dark abyss of the screen for the smallest flickers of movement in the corners of the frame, the vaguest hint of threat. Before we know it, the abyss is starring back. Rammed full of creepy images, sinister sound effects and queasy tension, Paranormal Activity could very well do for your own home what The Blair Witch Project did for camping. Head over to Eye for Film ...

This is part II of an interview with George Clarke - director of Battle of the Bone and The Knackery . I caught up with George recently to chat about his independent film production company Yellow Fever, and the 2nd Yellow Fever Independent Film Festival - as well as his current project, old school slasher flick Splash Area . If you've just joined us, you can click here to read part one of the interview. If you've already read it, I shall take up no more of your time - read on for part II... Tell me about your own festival – Yellow Fever Independent Film Festival. How did you go about setting it up? Going back to the beginning when I started filming Battle Of The Bone , I had always wanted to help independent film makers from the word 'go'. One way of doing that was to hold a real indie film festival. At that time, I had never heard of any in Belfast, or NI, and wanted to be responsible for creating such an event. After our visit and win at the Freak Show Film F...