McGrath's latest foray into macabre psychology examines one obsessive relationship through the lens of another.
The relationship also has a material, even a macabre, side.
Virginia Andrews Flowerss in the Attic was one, a brilliantly implausible saga of an evil grandmother, a mansion in Virginia and a hot, incestuous relationship between brother and sister: a perverse, macabre twist on the nuclear family that delighted nest-fleeing teens.
Her working relationship with Tim Burton, the master of weirdo pop-macabre, did what it did for other stars and launched her career.
But when she flirts with her fans, expressing her love for them, the standard pop star clichés clash with the macabre story of the show, which acts out more of a dysfunctional relationship.
What's clear is that whoever wants the bag has control of the train: Mike's network of on-board relationships that has developed in his decade of commuting has its macabre double in the surveillance network in which Mike and the rest of the passengers are trapped.
Australia 15 October, UK and US 16 October Film-maker Yorgos Lanthimos, the standard-bearer of the new Greek cinema, has made his first English-language film: a macabre adventure in black-comic absurdism which satirises our obsession with monogamy and relationships.
Emma's sister Angela Jena Malonee), going through some kind of breakup, finds the situation macabre but uses the break from daily life to reclaim her sense of freedom after a relationship of neglect.
He achieved best-seller status with Someone like You (1953; rev. ed. 1961), a collection of macabre stories for adults, which was followed by Kiss, Kiss (1959), which focused on stormy romantic relationships.
