The fourth animation in the ‘Penny Dreadful’ series – The Hairy Hands – is now complete and received its premiere at the ‘Two Short Nights‘ festival in Exeter, UK, on the 28th of November.
The film, produced with the assistance of the UK Film Council, South West Screen, Devon County Council and the Exeter Phoenix features – amongst others – the talents of Doug Bradley, Nicholas Vince, local BBC DJ Jo Loosemore and another star turn from Carrion Film regular Ed Berry.
Though the film was initially screened in an unfinished cut, response to the screening was extremely good and the evening, hosted by the Exeter Phoenix, was a lively showcasing of Devon talent. The final mixed version of the film will subsequently be screened at the ‘Arnolfini‘ Arts centre ( a fantastic waterside location at the heart of Bristol’s harbourside) on December the 16th as part of the ‘Digital shorts‘ Cast and Crew evening with ‘The Hairy Hands‘ ending the nights screening. Subsequent screenings of the film will be posted here over the next few months and the trailer for the complete film, very much inspired by the ‘Britsploitation‘ horror films of the 1970’s, will be available to view on this site in the very near future. Watch this space!
“‘The Hairy Hands” came pretty hot on the heels on 
‘The Screaming Skull‘. Originally it was planned to be the bookend story for ‘Hell-Tor‘ where the protagonist holes up at the Warren Inn on Dartmoor because of bad weather and then in classic Amicus fashion hears these ghost yarns before setting off again with one of the featured ghosts in his car. When the Digital Shorts commission came through I had very limited time during the ‘fallout’ of making the last film to come up with a story that was realistic to shoot and animate in keeping with the deadline. ‘Hands‘ sort of fitted the bill. The other stories I’d planned to start later in the year (‘Spring heel Jack‘ and ‘The Lambton Worm‘) were too ambitious in terms of production design, so I took the bookend story idea and gave it a touch of ‘Vault of Horror’. It’s a nice little story and I’m quite proud of it. It’s lean yet has some nice subtexts and some fun generic quotes. It’s also a bit of a departure from the previous films in that it’s ‘contemporary’, which I was initially hesitant about as I have little to no interest in being contemporary purely to be more accessible. But by constantly referencing Hitchcock and John Carpenter I believe we managed to fulfill that criteria whilst actually not really being very contemporary at all! That goes for the
music too. Though the score is far more contemporary than the previous films it’s actually referencing music from the sixties, John Barry certainly, and the early synth work of Carpenter and artists like John Foxx (circa 1979). And like the images, this wasn’t done necessarily as a gimmick or any kind of ‘post-modern’ stance, rather trying to draw together what initially appeared to be rather disparate elements and unifying them, due to a sincere love of the material and its textural qualities.”
“It’s been an extraordinary year for the films: starting with recognition in the local press through Cannes, the Media Innovation award, the reviews in Fangoria and the subsequent screenings in New York during the summer, the Raindance nomination for ‘Best UK Short’ and now ‘The Hairy Hands‘ and the participation of not only the UK Film Council but also BBC DJ Jo Loosemore and Doug Bradley, for a small British Independent adapting local myths you couldn’t really ask for more. Now, in 2010, Carrion Films will be pushing forward with a number of projects of varying complexity and length and seeing where it takes us. I have high hopes for ‘The Hairy Hands‘ – I believe it to be a good indication and celebration of where we’ve come from… and potentially where we are going.” – Director Ashley Thorpe
‘REAL HORROR SHOW’ – CHAPEL SCREENING FOR THE MORGUE
In the wake of a recent interview between ‘Rue Morgue Radio‘ host Stuart Feedback Andrews and Carrion film Director Ashley Thorpe (more to be posted on this site early next year), a special screening of ‘Scayrecrow‘ was held at the Rue Morgue offices…
Stuart Feedback Andrews – “We had an annual Rue Morgue contributors Christmas party a couple of weeks ago and I treated everyone to a screening of ‘Scayrecrow’ which went over very well. Rue Morgue is situated in an old funeral home and what formally the chapel is now a screening room with a large screen and a video projector – so it was great to see your mini-masterpiece on the big screen.”
Stuart, a massive Hammer, Amicus and dark animation fan (especially Ray Harryhausen and Jan Svankmeyer) was born in Liverpool, England in the same maternity ward where some of the more cheerful members of the Beatles first came into being. But unlike his loveable moptop brethren, Feedback did not enter the world kicking and screaming, he came in black and blue and barely breathing, with the umbilical cord wrapped firmly around his neck so it’s no surprise that he ended up writing for RUE MORGUE. Feedback produces weekly interview segments for RUE MORGUE Radio and forms one half of The Caustic Critics. Feedback also hosts CKLN Radio’s weekly film show Cinephobia and is the director of the infamous sub cult classic, The Goldfarb Variations, the film that does for latent homosexuality what Gary Glitter did for child pornography.
Further details of the interview between Stuart and Ashley will be posted here early next year. Between Dec 4th – Jan 7th Rue Morgue Radio is podcasting an interview with horror legend Roger Corman, and by going to Cinephobia radio you can hear an interview with animation legend Ray Harryhausen.
“I am thrilled to welcome to Cinephobia Radio, legendary visual effects genius and the man responsible for 
igniting the imaginations of kids all over the world, Mr. Ray Harryhausen. At the tender age of 13, Ray fell madly in love with the 1933 classic King Kong. From that moment on, all his thoughts were bent on a career in stop motion animation. Back in March, Mr Harryhausen and his co-writer Tony Dalton were kind enough to chat with me on the phone about their fantastic new book. So join me as we celebrate the career of a geniune living legend and one of the most beloved figures in American cinema.” – Stuart Andrews. Be sure to tune in.