Carrion Film Director Ashley Thorpe has been selected by Producer Larry Fessenden (Wendigo) and Glenn McQuaid (I Sell the Dead) for New York based Horror Factory ‘Glass Eye Pix‘ (one of the indie scenes most productive and longest running companies) to contribute to their macabre radio project ‘Tales from Beyond the Pale‘ – audio theatre inspired by the vintage radio shows of Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre, Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles. The tales will delve into the twisted minds of new and established horror auteurs to present singular stories of the uncanny. Ashley joins esteemed contributors such as Stuart Gordon (Reanimator), Don Coscarelli (Phantasm), Paul Solet (Grace), Ti West (House of the Devil) and Jeff Buhler (The Midnight Meat Train) amongst other genre notables. From the official press release:
Hosted by Larry Fessenden, each thirty minute episode will transport the listener through sharp scripting and finely honed performances from actors familiar and new to the Glass Eye Pix stable. Also distinguishing these audio plays will be a concentration on the landscape of sound and music that can be taken for granted in the visual medium of film.
Larry Fessenden: “Glenn and I were driving through a fog-drenched evening with my kid,” Fessenden explains, “and we were playing an old Karloff/Lorre radio show. We turned to each other and both said how much we loved it, and how important radio plays were to us growing up. Then it dawned on us—we had to do this ourselves.”
Ashley Thorpe: “I was amazed that I was asked to be honest, astonished actually. My stuff tends to be very visual and initially I didn’t honestly think I was up to the challenge. I nearly bottled it. It almost seemed to be the opposite of what I do. The animations are image heavy and dialogue lite. But then I started re-evaluating how the animations work in terms of audio texture and I realised that the part that has always excited me the most during their creation was the point when my story was brought to life by sound; that contradictory moment when the feeling becomes bigger by the focus becoming narrower. Once I started thinking of the project in those terms, the sound painting the environment, heard and not seen, that really encouraged my imagination….and I was amazed at how receptive to my ideas Larry and Glenn were. Man, Glenn really gets my influences (he’s a Terence Fisher devotee) and shares my enthusiasm for mythology… The variety on this show is going to be amazing. You’re in for a real treat.”
Glenn McQuaid: “One of the inspirations on this project, for me, was that I believe audiences are spoiled these days,” he says. “Filmmakers are struggling to show them something new, trying to surprise people visually. To pull that rug out from under ourselves as artists, and having to channel terror in a different way, speaks to all of my influences as a filmmaker. You’ll never be able to show the most horrific thing in everyone’s minds, so leave it up to them. When we simmer everything down, this is at the core of what we’re doing.”
Glass Eye’s film composer Jeff Grace is on board for the project aswell as resident Sound designer Graham Reznick, although the Producers have encouraged each contributor to put forward a musician or even a sound that they’d like to use to sculpt the ultimate chilling aural environment. The accompanying website will feature an original poster for each story by Gary Pullin, the celebrated designer responsible for the look of Rue Morgue Magazine. Visitors to the site will also enjoy an intro by the stop-motion animator Voltaire and will find information on the shows collaborators. ‘Tales from Beyond the Pale‘ will be made available through the website and will be downloadable via i-Tunes and Amazon individually or as a series to be enjoyed however and whenever the listener wants. Radio plays for the digital age.
To read the Fangoria report and interview with Fessenden and McQuaid click here.
Production begins in August with initial broadcasts airing Halloween 2010 and downloads available on i-Tunes. For all the latest news visit: www.talesfrombeyondthepale.com
CARRION FILM DOUBLE BILL HITS RIO for ‘ANIMACURSED’ FESTIVAL.
‘The Screaming Skull‘ and ‘The Hairy Hands‘ have both been selected to be screened at this years ‘Animaldicoados Film festival‘ (Animacursed – International Festival of Horror Animation), held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The festival runs from Sep 7th to Sep 12th and features work from filmmakers from all over the world.
Director Ashley Thorpe and Producer Tom Atkinson were unavailable to comment at length but expressed heartfelt regret at not being able to attend the festival in person! More details on the screening will be posted as soon as further updates are received from Brazil. Festival website: http://www.animaldicoados.com/