Catherine Benstead

What is your favourite genre of horror?
I'm a massive fan of gore, the more the better!

What movies would you recommend in that genre?
Saw (2004), Evil Dead 2 (1987), Tokyo Gore Police (2008), Reanimator (1985), Wrong Turn (2003), and Final Destination (the entire series - they are lots of fun).

What are your favourite horror movies?
This is a question I ask myself a lot. I love love love Psycho Goreman, American Psycho, and Doctor Sleep. They all represent elements of horror films that I really appreciate, the thrills, the laughs and the beautiful scary.

What was the last horror movie that actually scared you?
Would have to say, Brandon Cronenberg's Possessor, it's an incredible film that fills you with dread that you can't shake it off. The fact that we let so much of the digital world into our physical lives has a disconcerting effect on my thoughts of late, Possessor really captures that anxiety.

What is your favourite moment from a horror movie?
There are so many! One more recent one would have to be the wood chipper scene in the short "The Night He Came Back Again! Part IV: The Final Kill" featured in the horror anthology Scare Package. This scene had me in tears, I was laughing that much and it's incredibly gory too. It's definitely worth the watch!

Why is horror special for you?
When I was younger I spent a lot of time with my Aunt who is only 12 years older than me. Every weekend she would hire a whole bunch of new and old horror movies and I would sit on the couch, watching the films through splayed fingers covering my face. We don't speak anymore, but that's not to say that those weekends didn't ignite a fire in my soul and a passion for horror I wouldn't embrace for years afterwards.

What character in a horror do you relate to most and why?
Most definitely Mimi in Psycho Goreman, she is a firecracker and embodies all the 'zero fucks' attitude I wish I had at a younger age. Nowadays I certainly possess more of those qualities and can tell people bluntly to fuck off when I need to.

How do your friends and family feel about your horror obsession?
My partner Ned is super into horror like me and we love being able to watch horror together when we have the time. My sister (who is my best friend) doesn't get it, but her kids are into the dark and spooky too, I’m looking forward to the day they come to me for movie recommendations. My Grandmother likes paranormal horror which took me forever to enjoy, she is always shaking her head at me and asking why horror?

When did you fall head over heels in love with the horror genre?
Most definitely within the last 10 years, it took me a long time to realise that horror was a genre and a community that I am so incredibly passionate about.

Do you have any Halloween traditions?
Living in Australia, we don't typically celebrate Halloween. However, my family are third generation Scottish so we will generally say Happy Samhain when Halloween rolls around. My nieces who are 5 and 7 love Halloween, last year was the first year that I threw a party for them, I hope that is our new tradition. As a Satanist, Halloween should be a really fun time of year but I am still working out which parts I want to share with my family and also have part of my life.

If you could go back in time and experience the midnight premiere of any horror movie, what would you choose?
I would choose to go to the screening of Phantasm, my Dad went when he was a teenager and I would love to see it with him.

What's the spookiest place you've ever visited?
My family have always had a thing for the spooky and out there. When I was 12, my Grandma took me and my younger siblings to Monte Cristo, the most haunted house in Australia. It was the creepiest place I have ever been to in my life. The entire time I felt like I was being watched and eventually had to get out of there because I was feeling horrible. Later that night, my sister woke up projectile vomiting in bed and I swear to this day it had something to do with that place.