Behind the Couch

2003 Dir. Brian Yuzna Surviving the collapse of the crypt he was cornered in by a horde of his reanimated corpses, Dr Hebert West continues to conduct his grisly experiments. He is eventually arrested and imprisoned but continues his research. When a young doctor named Howard Phillips begins work at the prison, he teams up with West to help bring his experiments to the next level. Hell breaks loose and copious blood is spilled when several of the reanimated corpses break free and wreck havoc in the prison. Creative carnage and grisly mutations ensue. Stuart Gordon’s transgressive and splattery adaptation of HP Lovecraft’s Herbert West: Re-Animator was one of the defining horror films of the Eighties. Fiercely independent, unconventional, awash with splashy effects and boasting the darkest, severed tongue-in-cheek humour imaginable, Re-Animator still wields its grisly power and effectiveness today. It was followed by the Brian Yuzna directed sequel Bride of Re-Animator , which...

2004 Dir. Paco Plaza Spain, 1851. The inhabitants of a small village are terrorised by a savage serial killer. Ravaged corpses bear both animalistic mutilation and precise surgical incisions. As the village is plunged into panic-ridden chaos, travelling salesman Manuel Romasanta eventually confesses to the crimes, but claims that he is not responsible for his actions because he is a werewolf… Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt is a sensual, unusual, boldly original and, at times, rather uneven take on the werewolf film. It is based on the true story of Spain’s first documented serial killer, Manuel Blanco Romasanta, who confessed to thirteen murders in the mid-nineteenth century. Writers Elena Serra and Alberto Marini (who specialise in lo-fi, brooding horror such as Darkness, The Machinist and The Fragile ) have written a screenplay that concentrates more on presenting the story as a historical drama allegedly based on facts, than a typical monster movie, while director Plaza adop...

Moments before he’s set to be burned alive on a pyre of cats, an evil warlock (Julian Sands) uses the dark arts to transport himself from 1691 Boston to 1991 downtown LA, in order to escape the flames and track down the Satanic bible, which he hopes to use to bring about Armageddon. Fortunately, ‘Warlockfinder General’ Giles Redferne (Richard E Grant) is hot on his heels. They crash into the life of waitress Kassandra (Lori Singer), who is subsequently cursed to age 20 years a day until the warlock is apprehended. Warlock  is a wildly entertaining ride, offering classic 80s schlock with some imaginative flair and two great leads in Sands and Grant. A number of striking ideas pepper the screenplay, and it's interesting to see how writer DT Twohy mingles medieval superstition with more contemporary folk tales and practices.  Head over to Eye for Film to read my full review.

1971 Dir. Sergio Martino The arrival in Vienna of international diplomat Neil Wardh and his wife Julie, coincides with a spate of vicious murders. In her husband’s increasing absence, Julie finds herself the (mainly) unwilling recipient of attention from her sadomasochistic ex, Jean and her latest suitor, George. As the killer continues to wreck havoc, and Julie's affair with George becomes more torrid, it becomes apparent that the victims are all connected to her and she begins to suspect each of the three men in her life of being the sadistic maniac… Can she work out who it is before it’s too late? During the early seventies, just after Dario Argento’s dazzling  The Bird with the Crystal Plumage sparked a trailblazing trend, director Sergio Martino made several giallo films back to back which would come to represent several of the genre’s most evocative and archetypal entries. Giallo (plural: gialli) is Italian for ‘yellow’ and the name originates from the trademark yell...

The lovely folks behind the Classic Horror Campaign have just announced the launch of a series of horror double bills! The first event takes place at 3pm on April 22nd, at the Roxy Bar & Screen in London. In the old tradition of the BBC Horror Double Bills, there will be a screening of Night of the Demon (1957) followed by Hammer’s classic Vampire Circus (1972).  As well as the movie screenings there will be some horror DVD giveaways and the opportunity of appearing on the Classic Horror Campaign website when they post coverage of the event. Tickets are £5 and are available on the door. Seating is limited, so it’s recommended that you get there early. More details of The Horror Double Bill event can be found on the Classic Horror Campaign Facebook page - check it out regularly for updates. And why not support the campaign to bring back the old classic horror double bills to BBC scheduling, and sign their petition ...

1975 Dir. Aldo Lado AKA L'ultimo treno della notte, The New House on The Left, Second House on The Left, Don't Ride on Late Night Trains, Last Stop on the Night Train, Late Night Trains, Last House Part II and Xmas Massacre Two young women take a night train from Germany to Italy on Christmas Eve, and cross paths with three sadistic criminals. What follows is a gruelling night of degradation, rape and murder. In a twist of fate the murderous trio eventually encounter the parents of one of the girls. When the parents realise what happened to their daughter, they exact bloody revenge… A loose reworking of Wes Craven’s harrowing  Last House on the Left , which itself was a remake of Ingmar Bergman’s The Virgin Spring , Lado’s Late Night Trains is an intense and claustrophobic experience with slow-burning, sustained suspense. Not content to just create a bloody, censor-baiting revenge yarn, Lado contemplates themes of fate, social responsibility and class conflict int...

Paul Naschy (born Jacinto Molina Alvarez) is a cult icon and one of the most significant figures in the history of Spanish Horror cinema. He is best known for his twelve “Hombre Lobo” movies, featuring the tragic werewolf character, Waldemar Daninsky (played by Naschy himself). The Werewolf and The Yeti AKA Night of the Howling Beast AKA Curse of the Beast AKA Hall of the Mountain King (!), is the eighth in the series, and was directed by Miguel Iglesias, under the alias M.I. Bonns. Made at a time when Spanish horror films were starting to fade out of popularity after their ‘Golden Age’ in the early Seventies, The Werewolf And The Yeti would be the last Daninsky picture for several years, until Naschy returned in 1980 with El Retorno del Hombre Lobo/Return of the Wolf Man ; one of his own personal favourites. The Werewolf And The Yeti’s pre-cert VHS release was banned in the UK by the BBFC under the Video Recordings Act of 1984, and was featured on the “Video Nasties” list. In...

"Drink wine! You will achieve eternal life, Wine is the only drink that Will return to you your youth. Divine season of wine and Roses, of good friends! Enjoy the fleeting moment That is your life!" Omar Khayyam 1073 – 1125 Okay, Omar. I don’t need to be told twice! With a brilliant cherry red centre, garnet and tawny rim and medium-to-high depth, Faustino VII - a deep red rioja - also boasts an intense and complex aroma full of spices, wood, vanilla and erm, leather. Yes. Leather. A powerful, knee-weakening and well finished palate develops into elegant meatiness, meaning this month’s wine of the month goes down well with stewed meats, sautéed seasonal vegetables and a moody Jaume Balagueró movie. Alternatively, try serving this with a Paul Naschy 'Hombre Lobo' flick. It won't disappoint.  Waldemar want refill!

2010 Dir. David Keating In an attempt to cope with their grief after the death of their young daughter, a couple move from the city to a remote Irish village called Wake Wood. Their acceptance as members of the close-knit community leads them to the discovery of an ancient pagan ritual practiced by the people there in order to help ease the sudden loss of a loved one. The tradition, secretly preserved for many centuries, enables the grief-stricken to bring a deceased person back from the dead for a period of three days within one year of their passing. But the ritual is bound by strict rules and conditions, which, if broken, demand a terrible price be paid… Wake Wood is the latest horror film from the legendary and recently revitalized Hammer Films. It is also this writer’s first taste of their latest output (aside from web series Beyond the Rave ), which includes The Resident  and  Let Me In.  It effortlessly evokes the spirit and eerily off-kilter tone of ...

2010 Dir. Roel Reiné AKA The Lost Tribe The Forgotten Ones After Dusk They Come When a group of friends onboard a yacht rescue a delirious man from the sea, they find more than they bargained for when he shipwrecks them on an uncharted island during the night. Exploring the jungle the next day, the group discovers a deserted military camp and an abandoned archaeological dig site. But no people. Hearing strange noises and movements in the trees, they soon realize that the island is actually inhabited by a tribe of primitive humanoid creatures, and that they have now become the prey... Given its highly troubled production history, it is a wonder that Primevil has made it to DVD at all. When it was shot, it was originally titled The Tribe , and featured a plot revolving around a group of teens that are shipwrecked on an uncharted island and come face to face with a tribe of humanoid creatures who pick them off, one by one. Due to some major problems during post-production, th...

2010 Dir. Kaare Andrews When five friends set off to see Coldplay in concert, rookie pilot Sara offers to fly them there in a rented plane. Shortly into the flight however a mechanical failure results in the plane heading into a steady, unstoppable climb, as a massive storm closes in. As fuel begins to run out and the plane climbs ever higher, emotional tensions within the confines of the small aircraft begin to rise. But the problems onboard prove to be the least of the friends’ worries. Outside, hidden in the depths of the storm clouds, a mysterious and monstrous force is lurking. Its sole purpose is to destroy the plane and its passengers… Altitude comes hot on the heels of various other ‘confinement thrillers’ - such as Wind Chill , Frozen and Buried – in which characters are menaced in a confined location and come under threat from each other as much as the ‘thing outside.’ Kudos to the filmmakers, they’ve actually attempted to create something genuinely different and...

1996 Dir. Matthew Bright When Vanessa witnesses her mother and stepfather being hauled off to jail on drugs and prostitution charges, the teenage tearaway goes on the run from a social worker who wants to put her into care. She sets off to seek sanctuary at her grandmother's house. Along the way however, she encounters a sadistic serial killer who she discovers has been preying on vulnerable young women on the freeway… Matthew Bright’s cult indie hit Freeway is a thoroughly twisted take on the tale of 'Little Red Riding Hood’; a tale that has consistently proved it is ripe for reinterpretation time and again. Much like the original tale not just being a story about a girl eaten by a wolf (it’s actually a rite of passage story warning young women of the dangers of rape), Bright’s take isn’t just the tale of a girl who has a terrifying encounter with a serial killer – it actually unravels as a damning indictment of the US justice system and its inhumane treatment of the...

2010 Dir. Steven R. Monroe While staying at a secluded cabin to finish her novel, a young writer is brutally raped and left for dead by a group of local men. Some time later, she systematically hunts down the men to extract merciless and gruesome revenge.  The original I Spit on Your Grave  is a notorious rape-revenge film produced in the 1970s. Written and directed by Meir Zarchi, it generated controversy upon its release for its graphic violence and depiction of the brutal gang rape of the main character (novelist Jennifer Hills, portrayed by Camille Keaton) which lasts about half an hour. It was branded a Video Nasty and subsequently banned. Some critics over the years have suggested the film is ‘pro-feminist’, that Zarchi was exploring 'feminist wish-fulfilment', and that revenge narratives can subvert traditional power dynamics, ultimately empowering the victim. Others have said it can't possibly be a feminist work because rape-revenge films are inherently miso...