Behind the Couch

2013 Dir. Rob Zombie Former addict Heidi (Sherri Moon Zombie) works as a rock DJ at the local radio station in Salem, Massachusetts. When she receives a wooden box containing a vinyl record, ‘A gift from the Lords’, she assumes it’s a PR stunt by a band and gives it a spin. Upon hearing the strange, haunting music, Satanic Panic ensues and she begins to experience vivid hallucinations and bizarre flashbacks to her town's violent, blood-soiled past. Is Heidi going mad, or are the “Lords of Salem” returning for revenge on modern-day Salem? A daring filmmaker with a unique and singular vision, Rob Zombie has never been one to shy away from controversy or despairingly dark subject matter. The Devil’s Rejects focused on the murderous redneck antagonists of House of 1,000 Corpses , essentially rendering them the protagonists and even attempting to humanise them. His remake of John Carpenter’s classic slasher Halloween focused on the back-story and psychology of serial killer Mi...

Situated on Stranmillis Road, Friar’s Bush cemetery is Belfast’s oldest Christian burial site. Hidden from view behind a huge wall and the Ulster Museum, it is quite a small graveyard - roughly two acres - but is the final resting place of a deceptively large number of people. The city’s official famine site, part of it is a mass grave of over 2,000 victims of hunger and cholera. Dating back to the 13th century, it is also said to be the site of the medieval friary of St Patrick himself. Every grave tells a story; most of famine and plague, some of bloody murder and body-snatching. The entrance to the cemetery - a beautiful old arched gothic gate lodge, was built by the Marquis of Donegal in 1828. One of the first things you see as you pass through the gate is a sizable mound looming up from the earth before you. Dubbed ‘the Plaguey Pit’, this mound marks the final resting place of thousands of unfortunates who died during a major outbreak of cholera in the early 1830s. Too poor t...

Illustration from Famous Fantastic Mysteries They could feel and hear the Nameless Horror, but they could not see it… They could have no doubt that it was present among them, but… what was it? I first came across this curious and highly effective little tale in Christopher Frayling’s tome, Vampyres: Lord Byron to Count Dracula . While one of the earliest examples of the 'Invisible Force' tale, Frayling included O’Brien’s twisted yarn in his study of vampire literature, as he viewed it as a variation on traditional vampire motifs. What Was It? was first published in Harper’s Magazine, in March 1859, and tells of the residents of a particular lodging house who encounter an invisible, seemingly blood-thirsty creature in one of the rooms. Once they manage to apprehend it, they attempt to study it. Frayling refers to Irish-born American O’Brien (1828 – 1862) - generally regarded as a forerunner of science fiction - as a ‘domestic’ Edgar Allan Poe. Despite his rational appr...

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 ...