Behind the Couch

In this month's edition of Audiodrome: Music in Film , I take a look at Roy Ayer’s astoundingly funky score for Jack Hill’s 1973 blaxploitation classic Coffy . Starring Pam Grier as a nurse who turns vigilante on the dealers who get her younger sister addicted to drugs, Coffy combines exploitative thrills with sly social commentary and barbed pot-shots at police corruption. The film made Grier into a genre icon, and its psychedelic-funk score brilliantly showcases Ayers signature vibes. Head over to Paracinema to read the full review and treat your ears to a track. While you’re there, why not pick up a copy of the latest issue of Paracinema Magazine ? Inside you’ll find damn fine reading in the shape of articles and essays such as The Goriest Film You Never Saw by Jose Cruz, Marriage Bites: Lesbian Vampires and the Failure of Heterosexuality in Daughters of Darkness by Erin Wiegand and “When Single Shines the Triple Sun”: Duality and Self Discovery in The Dark Crystal b...

A couple of years back I wrote a piece about the influence of horror cinema and Gothic literature on the music of Kate Bush. I recently acquired The Whole Story , a ‘best of’ compilation released by Kate in 1986, and have since become rather obsessed with one of the tracks featured on it: Experiment IV . Said track was written especially for the compilation and released to promote it. Along with the accompanying video it once again demonstrates Kate Bush’s singular vision as an artist - and a lover of horror. Taking the storyline from the song quite literally, the video tells of a top secret and highly dubious government experiment to create a sound that can kill. That sound is, of course , portrayed by Kate in the video – initially as an alluring siren-like wraith (underpinning the notion of deadly music at the heart of the song; sirens lured seamen to watery graves by bewitching them with their irresistible but deadly voices), and then as a nightmarish spectre reminiscent of a ba...

Rebecca Vaughan An artist, gripped by the clutching fingers of a dead past; a scientist, defying nature in the dark realm of the senses; an expectant couple, driven mad by creeping shadows… These are the chilling tales relayed by a lone, haunted woman in Dyad Production’s latest show, Female Gothic . A one-woman theatrical production, this dark celebration of female gothic literature is adapted and performed by Rebecca Vaughan, who assumes the role of narrator, as well as frequently channelling the various characters that move throughout the three distinct tales of quiet terror she shares. Victorian fascination with tales of supernatural mystery and the macabre has created an enduring legacy of Gothic fiction; but, with a mere handful of exceptions, it is often, unfairly, the male writers that are remembered. Many eerie tales of terror from female writers of that era – which subversively articulated and highlighted women's dissatisfaction and frustration with the confines...

1970 Dir. Jess Franco 17th Century England is in the grip of Satanic Panic, and amongst those seeking to rid the land of traitors to the throne and anyone 'in league with the devil’, is Judge George Jeffreys, whose unreasonable sentences and excessively violent tortures are dished out with puritanical abandon. He soon becomes obsessed with Mary, a young women whose sister he accused of witchcraft and whose lover is a rebel against King James II. When the rebels are defeated, Mary tries to save her beau by surrendering herself to the Judge’s cruel lust. Betrayal, bloody torture and murder ensue. Believe it or not, The Bloody Judge marks the first time I’ve reviewed a Jess Franco film for this blog. Despite his insanely prolific career - spanning decades and genres alike - this humble scribbler has seen but a mere scrap of Franco’s films, which, not including my recent indulgence in The Bloody Judge , includes his kitsch classic Vampyros Lesbos and his more recent not so...

2012 Dir. Gav ‘Chuckie’ Steele A group of friends head into the local woods to try and score some weed. Unbeknownst to them, a madman has been running amok, bumping off anyone unfortunate enough to cross his path. Their only salvation lies with a local cop-obsessed oddball who soon realises he’s as out of his depth as they are… What Steele’s debut feature film lacks in budget, it makes up for in outrageous humour, decently developed characters and group dynamics, assured direction and a plethora of increasingly splashy but well realised effects. Low budget indie horror can sometimes be tedious and flat, but the imagination on display throughout The Shadow of Death demonstrates the considerable talent - and imagination - of its makers, and it unspools as a cheap and cheerful – though thoroughly innovative – throwback to grindhouse splatter flicks of yesteryear. While the scenario may be very familiar – group of friends terrorised in dark woods by rampaging psycho – the likeable...

Horror films regularly feature unfortunate characters in extreme circumstances and situations. Whether they be battling poltergeists or demonic possessions in the comfort and privacy of their own homes, or evading a hulking brute with a big machete in a remote backwoods cabin; settings usually play an important part of what makes horror stories compelling and relatable. What if you add harsh winter weather to the mix though? Wintry, snowbound horror films can often be chilling in more ways than one. A typical narrative of man versus, well, whatever monster he's facing, soon takes on the added aspect of man versus the elements; which can often be just as threatening - and much more relatable. Or perhaps the elements themselves are the threat? Films such as Frozen, The Shining, The Thing and 30 Days of Night – to name but a few – feature characters in already horrific situations which become somewhat exacerbated by freezing temperatures and blinding snow-storms. Isolation, hyp...

A few months back I interviewed director Ryan Haysom about his short neo-giallo Yellow , the influence of by-gone Italian horror and the morbid allure of black leather gloved killers, glinting switchblades and bloody ultra-violence. With the film now screening at various festivals around the world, and going down a storm with critics and audiences alike, I thought it was as good a time as any to catch up with Mr Haysom and the makers of Yellow . Joining us in donning black leather gloves and talking about the film are cinematographer/writer Jon Britt and producer Catherine Morawitz. How did you come up with the story for Yellow ? HAYSOM : I am a big Italian horror fan and I’ve always wanted to make a giallo-styled film, so it’s always been in the back of my mind. Jon and I share a very similar experimental aesthetic when it comes to our ideas on cinema. When we decided to actually try and create a film, we were going in the same direction from the very start and it felt very or...

2012 Dir. Ryan Haysom Italian giallo films, made popular by the likes of Dario Argento, Mario Bava and Sergio Martino, are renowned for their brutal violence, dazzling style and convoluted ‘whodunit’ narratives. Immensely popular in Italy throughout the late Sixties and early Seventies, they eventually fizzled out of fashion. Throughout the past couple of years however they have appeared to make something of a comeback; specifically in terms of their influence on a new generation of filmmakers. Recent films such as Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani’s Amer , Peter Strickland's Berberian Sound Studio , Guillem Morales’ Julia’s Eyes and Federico Zampaglione’s Tulpa , highlight the impact the giallo has had on contemporary horror cinema, with its combination of exploitative violence and art house aesthetics. Another notable title to proudly wear its giallo influences on its blood-spattered sleeve is the short film, Yellow (directed by Ryan Haysom and produced by Catherine Morawit...

1967 Dir. Jeremy Summers While vacationing in Tangiers, Stephen and Marie learn that their friend Fernando’s girlfriend has been reported missing. Before long, Marie is abducted when she attends a magic show hosted by the mysterious Felix Mandeville and his wife, mentalist Rebecca. It soon transpires that Marie is being held captive in a plush brothel along with a slew of other women who have been ‘collected’ from around the globe by the dastardly Mandeville and Rebecca in a covert sex-slave operation! This little oddity, aside from being a lesser-seen Vincent Price vehicle, is a guiltily entertaining romp produced by Harry Alan Towers ( Fu Manchu , Jess Franco’s Justine, Warrior Queen and Howling IV: The Original Nightmare amongst other schlocky delights). According to Mark McGee, author of Faster and Furiouser: The Revised and Fattened Fable of American International Pictures , it is “quite possibly the sleaziest movie AIP ever made.” I'm not sure that's altogether ...

Born on January 19th in 1809, Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most recognised and revered names in gothic literature. Part of the American Romantic movement, Poe is best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre. Not only an author and a poet, he was also a literary critic and editor, and one of the earliest practitioners of the short story. Now widely regarded as inventing detective fiction, Poe was also a popular crime and horror author, his influence spreads far and wide, and amongst the writers who owe a tremendous dept to his work are Herman Melville, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Charles Dickens, Walt Whitman, HP Lovecraft and Jules Verne, to name but a few. A true visionary, Poe was one of the first well-known American writers to attempt to irk out a living through writing alone, leading him down a path of financial instability and uncertainty. His gruesome stories reflected his inner turmoil. Haunted by the death of his mother, Poe wrestled with fears of aban...

1971 Dir. Emilio P. Miraglia When Lord Alan Cunningham is released from a stint in a psychiatric hospital for murdering red-haired prostitutes who reminded him of his unfaithful late wife, he quickly remarries in an attempt to redeem himself. Once he and his new wife settle into the family home – a crumbling gothic mansion – a series of gruesome murders suggest his former wife has returned from the dead to wreck terrible revenge… The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave is one of several gialli from the early Seventies which exhibits unusual gothic influences. Alongside Sergio Martino’s Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key , Antonio Margheriti's Seven Deaths in the Cat’s Eye and Miraglia’s own The Red Queen Kills Seven Times , it boasts a moody gothic atmosphere, crumbling mansion setting, psychological deterioration, dysfunctional family melodrama and one of those ‘have-the-dead-come-back-to-haunt-the-living-or-is-someone-trying-to-drive-the-protagonist-insan...

2012 Dir. Randal Plunkett When Robert (Conor Marren) awakens deep in the woods with a head wound and no memory of how he got there, he attempts to find help while memories of the recent past come flooding back to haunt him… Director Randal Plunkett’s brief but powerful tale hits the ground running and immediately draws us in with its sinister atmosphere and quietly smouldering tension. The early on sense of isolation and danger, together with the juxtaposition of the beautiful, sun-dappled woodlands and the macabre discoveries made within them, is a potent mix. The main focus of the narrative is Robert’s cautious, increasingly desperate exploration of his immediate surroundings, and his gradual realisation that something is wrong. Very wrong. Stumbling along old country lanes – like those ones in old Irish tales on which the devil is said to have been glimpsed - as the quiet around him relentlessly encroaches, he eventually happens on an old deserted farm; the only sound coming...

In this month's edition of Audiodrome: Music in Film , I take a look at Icelandic singer/songwriter Björk’s astoundingly beautiful soundtrack to Dancer in the Dark ; Lars Von Trier’s unsentimental deconstruction of the Hollywood musical – and devastating attack on the American Dream. It tells of a young Czech immigrant in 60’s America who makes the ultimate sacrifice for her young son. Various musical numbers, composed and performed by Björk, burst from the narrative as her character’s flights of fancy and day-dreams. Drawing inspiration from classical music, and of course classic musicals, Björk’s score for Dancer in the Dark is one of her finest pieces of work. Head over to Paracinema.net to read the full review. While you’re there, why not pick up issue 18 of Paracinema Magazine . Articles include When Single Shines the Triple Sun: Duality and Self Discovery in The Dark Crystal by Christine Makepeace, Marriage Bites: Lesbian Vampires and the Failure of Heterosexuality...