Behind the Couch

With its groundbreaking amalgamation of cyberpunk aesthetics and film noir conventions, Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner is one of the most revered and influential sci-fi films of all time. Just as central to its continuing appeal as Scott’s breathtaking visuals and its provocative themes of identity, is Vangelis’s ‘symphonic electronic’ score. Given that Blade Runner is essentially a story about what it means to be human; his music underpins the more spiritual aspects of the narrative, and serves as the heart of the film. It’s synthesised, effervescent soundscapes effortlessly convey the alienation and longing of the characters - ‘human’ or otherwise. Head over to Paracinema.net to read my full review of this immensely evocative soundtrack and listen to an excerpt. While you’re there, don’t forget to check out the latest issue of Paracinema Magazine , now available to pre-order. Issue 19 includes my essay on the career of Alan Smithee, as well as pieces on Kill Bill , John Carpen...

British horror author James Herbert, whose blood-curdling novels include The Rats and The Fog , passed away last night at the age of 69. The writer died at his home in Sussex, and is survived by is wife and three daughters. The cause of death has yet to be disclosed. Herbert exploded onto the horror scene in 1974 with his debut novel The Rats - the nightmarish tale of mutant, flesh-eating rats and the bloody havoc they wreck throughout a squalidly depicted London. It sold 100,000 copies in the two weeks after it was published. His follow up, The Fog (completely unrelated to the John Carpenter film) told of a mysterious fog that spreads across Britain mutating those who encounter it into homicidal maniacs. Often bleak and downbeat, Herbert’s stories were uncompromising in their depiction of the violent demise of humankind in the face of unspeakable evil - often of an environmentally created bent. Born in London in 1943, Herbert studied graphic design at college before going on...

Issue 19 of Paracinema Magazine is now available to pre-order. Inside this strikingly covered issue – which includes not one, but two features on Quentin Tarantino’s bloody revenge saga Kill Bill ( It’s Complicated: An In Depth Look at the Evolution of Bill and The Bride’s Turbulent Relationship by Matthew House and The Devil’s in The DeVAS: The Many Foes of Beatrix Kiddo by Zachary Kelley) – you’ll also find the likes of John Carpenter and the Apocalypse: A Study of Four Films by Justin LaLiberty, Aural Enigmas: Sound Design in Ti West’s The Innkeepers by Todd Garbarini and Corpse Fucking Art: A Guide to Necrophilia in Horror Cinema by Samm Deighan. I contributed the essay  What’s In A Name? The Rise and Decline of Hollywood Fall Guy Alan Smithee . If you desire to pick up a copy, head over to Paracinema.net to do just that. Support Independent Publishing! 

2013 Dir. Andrés Muschietti Imagine, if you will, that Hansel and Gretel were too little girls who were saved by the wicked witch before their father – distraught after losing his fortune in the 2008 recession – could kill them in a raving fit of pique. Surviving for five years in the witch’s house deep in the dark woods, they are eventually discovered by their uncle and his girlfriend, who bring them back to civilisation and attempt to lovingly reintegrate into society. Imagine then, that the witch, who had reared them as her own and loved them dearly, followed them into suburbia to claim them back. This is the central premise of Andrés Muschietti’s darkly beautiful fairy tale horror, Mama .  The figure of the mother has always held a significant place in fairy tales. Fiercely protective and loving, or wicked and cruel, she can be a guiding force of goodness, or a figure of evil intent on harming her young. The central antagonist of Mama - the feature-length expansion of a ...

1958 Dir. Terence Fisher Perfectly epitomising the brand of lurid horror Hammer is now famed for, Dracula is one of the most important titles in the history of British horror cinema. Despite its low budget, it boasts a rich gothic atmosphere, impressive production design and iconic performances from Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. Jimmy Sangster’s screenplay, coupled with Fisher’s agile direction, not only streamlines Bram Stoker’s original novel, but accentuates the underlying sexual themes evident within it. Lee’s incarnation of Dracula emerges as a sexual predator, stealthily corrupting the morals of those he encounters. With feral ferocity he pierces the heart of polite Victorian society, unveiling repressed desires and creating lustful, hideously grinning she-demons in his wake... This new cut of the film includes previously excised moments such as Dracula’s bloody seduction of Mina and his decomposition in a shaft of sunlight at the film’s riveting denouement. Hea...

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 ...