Behind the Couch

Is the 1930s horror film more akin to graphic modern horror than is often thought? In his recent book, The Turn to Gruesomeness in American Horror Films, 1931-1936 (McFarland & Co), film critic and author Jon Towlson vividly explores the misconception of 1930s horror as safe and reassuring. Towlson will also give a lecture at the Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies in London on 16th March, to further discuss the subject and share his research.   Synthetic Flesh/Rotten Blood: The Turn to Gruesomeness in American Horror Films, 1931-1936 will examine ‘happy ending’ horror in relation to industry practices and censorship, and detail how the likes of Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932) and The Raven (1935) may be more akin to the modern Grand Guignol excesses of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and Hostel (2005) than many critics and audiences believe. Towlson’s discussion will be reinforced with memos, letters and censorship reports from the studio archives and other...

2016 Dirs. Jesse Holland and Andy Mitton We Go On tells of Miles Grissom (Clark Freeman), a young man with a crippling fear of death, who places an advertisement offering a large sum of money to whoever can help him prove the existence of an afterlife. With the help of his mother Charlotte (Annette O’Toole), he narrows down the offers of help he receives to three possible candidates and embarks on a journey he may never be able to return from... The fascinating central premise of We Go On strongly evokes The Twilight Zone , while the focused script ensures an insular atmosphere. Head over to Exquisite Terror to read my full review. And keep an eye open for issue 5 of Exquisite Terror , coming soon... 

Kent-based author Erik Hofstatter’s latest offering is a dark, terse and keenly paced little chiller that consistently leads the reader into unexpected and ever unsettling places. The story concerns Aurel Schwartz, an unassuming young man whose tendency to sleepwalk begins to create tension within his family. When his somnambulant wanderings become strangely menacing, Aurel’s wife Zora believes he poses a real threat to her daughter Livie. Before long the family is caught up in a nightmare of missing teenaged girls, grave-robbing, astral projection and necromancy… Head over to Exquisite Terror to read my full review. And keep an eye open for issue 5 of Exquisite Terror , coming soon ... 

1973 Dir. Richard Blackburn Set in 1920s rural America and filmed on an ultra-low budget, this deliciously weird and wonderful adult fairy tale tells of a young girl’s sexual awakening in the rustic abode of a female vampire. When 13-year-old church singer Lila (Cheryl Smith) receives a letter from the titular antagonist (Lesley Gilb) informing the girl her gangster father is close to death and longs to see her one last time, Lila runs away from her puritanical guardian, Reverend Mueller (Blackburn). On her journey she encounters various incarnations of aggressive male sexuality, from the sleazy ticket seller at the bus station and the lecherous man whose car she stows away in, to the coven of undead abominations lurking in the woods around Lemora’s home. Their advances serve to highlight Lila’s perceived vulnerability and objectify her burgeoning sexuality as she wanders somnambulantly through increasingly nightmarish landscapes. When she arrives at the home of Lemora, Lila init...

Happy 20th Birthday, Scream ! I can't believe you've grown up so fast. I know it’s now 2017 and you turned 20 last year, but you weren’t released in the UK until 1997 so technically it was twenty years ago this year that I saw you. Technicalities aside, I couldn’t let the occasion go by without writing a little something about you on here. I remember my dad taking me to see you at the cinema because you were rated 18 and I was only 16. I wanted so badly to see you though. I was shocked and intrigued by your teaser campaign on TV, and you starred some people who were in things I loved as a 16-year-old ( Friends ! Party of Five ! Boys on the Side !). You were my first experience of watching a horror film in a cinema with a real live cinema audience (they were quite annoying) and I can still remember the excitement and anticipation. I was equal parts irked and enthralled when the audience reacted to you in such a vocal way. They screamed a lot . I thought you were the greates...

2016 Dirs. Ian Powell & Karl Ward What if someone had discovered the knives used by Jack the Ripper? What if those cruelly glinting blades then went missing? And what if the Ripper came back into our world to once again mutilate and massacre? These are the tantalising questions that form the premise of atmospheric independent horror Razors , the first in a new series of forthcoming films set to explore the bloody exploits of one of the world’s most mysterious serial killers. It tells of enigmatic film professor Robert Wise (Thomas Thoroe) who gathers a group of young screenwriters at a sinister Victorian warehouse in the heart of London to work on the ultimate horror film. Amongst the assembled group is troubled screenwriter Ruth (Kelby Keenan) who believes she has discovered the actual knives used by Jack the Ripper. When the knives go missing and it appears the spirit of the Ripper roams free, the young screenwriters must unlock the building’s dark secrets and unravel myste...

The tradition of sharing ghost stories at Christmastime is an old one, and with its long, cold, dark nights, it's the perfect time of year to indulge in all things spooky. The Diabolique Magazine team have put together a list of our favourite films to watch at this time of year. Our wintry picks include Edward Scissorhands, 12 Monkeys, Black Xmas, Horror Express, Gremlins and many more. One of my own personal favourites is The Curse of the Cat People , a chillingly beautiful sequel to Jacques Tourneur's moody classic, Cat People . Under the guiding hand of producer Val Lewton and directors Gunther von Fritsch and Robert Wise, The Curse of the Cat People unfolds as an understated, oddly touching psychological study of the mind of a lonely young girl, with myriad scenes unfolding amidst an eerie winter wonderland. Head over to Diabolique Magazine’s website to read more … And wherever you are in the world, have a very Merry Christmas.

Behind the Couch turned 8 years old this month! This year I have dedicated most of my time to researching and writing a book on The Company of Wolves for Devil’s Advocates , a series devoted to exploring the classics of horror cinema. Co-written by Irish filmmaker Neil Jordan and British novelist Angela Carter, and based on several short stories from Carter's collection The Bloody Chamber, The Company of Wolves is a darkly Gothic, boldly feminist reinvention of the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood. With werewolves. Released in the early 1980s, a time which produced several classic werewolf films (including An American Werewolf in London and The Howling ), The Company of Wolves sets itself apart from the pack with its overtly literary roots, feminist stance, and art-house leanings. Throughout the book (which I am currently proofing) I’ve placed the film in the context of the careers of its creators, explored its place in werewolf cinema and its strong feminist message...

Diabolique is a bimonthly magazine covering every aspect of the horror genre, including film, literature, theatre, art, music, history and culture. Lavishly illustrated in full colour, each issue is packed with entertaining and thought-provoking articles. After a brief hiatus, Diabolique is now back in print and better than ever. At the helm is a new team of editors ( Kat Ellinger, Samm Deighan, Heather Drain and Rebecca Booth ) whose knowledge of horror cinema is surpassed only by their passion for it; not to mention their dedication to resurrecting Diabolique in print form and building on its legacy of thoughtful, insightful and compelling content. "Diabolique Magazine is back in print with an entire issue dedicated to celebrating Japanese and Korean cult cinema at its most sublime, otherworldly, erotic and visceral. In our cover story we explore the darker elements of Japanese folklore; tracking the evolution of the ghost story from genre defining classics Onibaba, K...

Montague Rhodes James was a renowned medieval scholar and Provost of King's College, Cambridge. He was also the author of some of the finest ghost stories in the English language. His tales are populated by lonely, academic bachelors whose insistence on prying into ancient tomes, forbidden manuscripts and other esoteric materials plunges them into a world of malevolent entities and ghoulish spectres. Four of his most haunting tales — 'Canon Alberic's Scrap-book'; 'Lost Hearts'; 'The Mezzotint'; and 'The Ash-tree' — have been adapted by Liverpool-based writers Leah Moore and John Reppion for indie publisher SelfMadeHero's latest graphic compendium, Ghost Stories of an Antiquary Vol. 1 . It is recommended for die-hard MR James enthusiasts, as well as for those perhaps just discovering his work. Head over to Exquisite Terror to read my review

The Diabolique Magazine team have put together a list of our favourite films to watch on Halloween. Making lists is never easy, especially when there are so many great films to choose from. Our picks include Halloween III, The Shining, Evil Dead, Fright Night, The Changeling, Night of the Eagle and many more, including one of my own personal favourites, The Haunting . Directed by Robert Wise and based on the novel by Shirley Jackson, The Haunting contains a perfect blend of understated horror, icy atmospherics and unsettling ambiguity. Wise’s subtle approach not only honours Jackson’s own chilling suggestiveness but is also a tribute to the work of Val Lewton, who produced several of Wise’s own early directorial efforts including Curse of the Cat People and The Body Snatcher . Head over to Diabolique Magazine’s website to read more…

Born from a love of horror, ponderous thoughts and meandering topics, Exquisite Terror is a periodical that takes a more academic approach to the horror genre, featuring exclusive art, script analysis and in-depth essays. To celebrate Halloween (our favourite time of year!) we're having a sale, so if you'd like to pick up a copy, while stocks last, head here to do so. Issue 1 has completely sold out, but there are still limited copies of issues 2, 3 and 4. Here's what some folks have said about Exquisite Terror : STARBURST “Fascinating and informative”  BRUTAL AS HELL “Intelligent and enlightening” SEX GORE MUTANTS “Highly recommended”  STRANGE THINGS ARE HAPPENING “One of the best horror zines out there” 

"Wild, ugly faces we carved in its skin, Glaring out through the dark with a candle within!" John Greenleaf Whittier  The above is a photograph I took a couple of years back - it's a turnip I'd carved for Halloween. When I was a child my parents would carve turnips instead of pumpkins - it's an old Irish tradition. The story of how carved turnips came to be used as lanterns varies throughout Europe. According to a spooky old Irish tale, a measly farmer called Stingy Jack tricked the Devil into climbing a tree. Once the Devil was high up in the moonlit branches, Stingy Jack carved a cross into the bark so he couldn’t get down again. Jack only agreed to let the Devil down when he promised never to take the farmer’s soul. When Stingy Jack eventually died, he was too sinful to pass through Heaven’s gates, and as the Devil had promised never to take his soul, he was damned to always wander the earth in search of a resting place. He carved out a turnip, and...

The Autumn People by Frank Frazetta “That country whose people are autumn people, thinking only autumn thoughts... Beware the autumn people.” Ray Bradbury It’s October. The month when daylight fades into long nights, cooler air, and when the trees demonstrate the golden and rich glory of death. I had hoped to celebrate the coming of Halloween by posting daily reviews and anecdotes to the blog, but once again ‘real life’ has stepped in and prevented me from doing so. I’m currently amending my book on The Company of Wolves for Devil’s Advocates and have just embarked on a post-graduate diploma, so, for now, my time is otherwise occupied. That said, I’ve (once again) been inspired by my good friend Christine over at Fascination with Fear who, throughout this month, is posting wonderfully creepy images to her blog in honour of all things October, Halloween, spooky and autumnal. This is a great way to celebrate a favourite time of the year, and to appreciate its beauty revealed t...

“ Too dreadfully brutal, no matter what the story calls for [...] It carries gruesomeness and cruelty just a little beyond reason or necessity .” Review of Frankenstein , Motion Picture Herald, 1931 “ The type of picture that brought about censorship .” Review of Mad Love , Motion Picture Herald, 1935 “ Quite the most unpleasant picture I have ever seen [...] it exploited cruelty for cruelty’s sake .” Review of The Raven , London Daily Telegraph, 1935. Is the thirties horror film more akin to graphic modern horror than is often thought? Critics have traditionally characterized classic horror by its use of shadow and suggestion. Yet the graphic nature of early 1930s films only came to light in the home video/DVD era. Along with gangster movies and "sex pictures," horror films drew audiences during the Great Depression with sensational screen content. Exploiting a loophole in the Hays Code, which made no provision for on-screen "gruesomeness," studios produ...

1935 Dir. Stuart Walker While travelling through Tibet in search of a mysterious flower that only blooms in moonlight, renowned botanist Dr. Wilfred Glendon (Henry Hull) is attacked by a werewolf. When he returns to London, Glendon begins to undergo a terrifying transformation, the only antidote for which appears to be the plant he is researching... Produced by Universal in the wake of the success of Dracula, Frankenstein and The Mummy , Werewolf of London was the first mainstream Hollywood werewolf film. It established several precedents which later became significant mainstays of werewolf cinema, such as the idea of lycanthropy as a contagious disease, the influence of the full moon on the werewolf’s transformation, and the spiritual torment suffered by the tragic male protagonist as he desperately attempts to find a cure for his monstrous condition. As the eponymous beast, Hull delivers a performance that invites much sympathy; prior to his encounter with a werewolf, Dr Gl...

Who’s the Fairest of Them All by Bernie Wrightson Myths survive as long as they speak to something fundamental in the human psyche, and notions of humans transforming into animals and monsters have fascinated and terrified us for millennia. It is an idea that speaks of the primal, animalistic impulses that lurk within all mankind, and it nestles in the dark corners of most, if not all cultures around the world. Throughout folklore and archaic literature the figure of the werewolf is depicted as a cursed and shunned individual, thought to have no control over his or her bestial urges which accompany the dreadful transformations from man to monster. A person was believed to become a werewolf if they were excommunicated from the church, or if they were born on Christmas Day. They could also become a werewolf if they were cursed, or if lycanthropy ran in their family (tainted bloodlines), or by performing certain black magic rituals or sometimes, just through sheer force of will. ...

Just taking a quick break from writing (procrastinating) about The Company of Wolves to share some good news. I've just had my first short story published! In a book! Carnacki: The Lost Cases is an anthology that takes the mysterious cases hinted at by ‘Ghost-Finder’ Thomas Carnacki (a fictional occult detective who appeared in a collection of supernatural stories written by William Hope Hodgson between 1910 and 1912) and expands them into their own stories. My story, 'A Hideous Communion', is based on a line from 'The Horse of the Invisible', in which Carnacki remembers a particularly terrifying case in which ‘ the hand of the child kept materialising within the pentacle, and patting the floor. As you will remember, that was a hideous business .’ Carnacki: The Lost Cases is published by Ulthar Press , an independent, small press dedicated to promoting, reading and understanding many authors of horror/fantasy/speculative fiction, such as William Hope Hodgson...

Artwork by Jim Perez 1913 Dir. Henry MacRae A Navajo witch-woman believes her husband has deserted her, but unbeknownst to her, he has actually been killed. When she is rejected by his family, she raises her daughter to hate all white men. The daughter grows up to become a werewolf and she seeks revenge on those who killed her father and wronged her mother. While now believed to be a lost film, destroyed in a fire in 1924, The Werewolf is thought to hold the honour of being the first ever werewolf film. It also marks the first cinematic appearance of the female werewolf, a figure who, until relatively recently, was often overlooked (in cinema) in favour of her male counterpart. Interestingly, The Werewolf can also be seen (perhaps rather tenuously) as the first Universal horror film, though at the time, the distributor was still known as the Universal Film Manufacturing Company. It was directed by Canadian filmmaker Henry MacRae, who, amongst other things, is credited as ...

While researching all things lycanthropic for my book on The Company of Wolves , I came across a marvellous old tome by Elliott O’Donnell, entitled ‘Werwolves.’ O’Donnell (1872-1965) was the author of countless books concerning the supernatural and the occult, and when he wasn’t writing accounts of his own experiences as a real-life ghost-hunter battling spectres, spooks and banshees, he authored several novels, including ‘For Satan’s Sake’ (1904) and ‘The Sorcery Club’ (1912), and myriad short stories and articles. O’Donnell once claimed “ I have investigated, sometimes alone, and sometimes with other people and the press, many cases of reputed hauntings. I believe in ghosts but am not a spiritualist .” ‘Werwolves’ (1912) was intended as a scholarly, encyclopaedic study of, funnily enough, werewolves, and it contains first-hand accounts of O'Donnell’s personal encounters with lycanthropes. While the facts contained within its pages are a wee bit questionable, it certainly re...