Interest in Carrion Films animated feature ‘Borley Rectory’ has led directly to an invitation to animate the title sequence for Danny Robin’s hit show ‘UNCANNY’ for its transition from popular BBC podcast to prime time television.
The invitation came via the shows Executive producer Simon Barnard from Bafflegab productions in early summer 2023. Described by Ashley Thorpe as the ‘True Detective’ titles created by Dave McKean the sequence was framed by a concept of travel with some ethereal shadow in pursuit, the animation was storyboarded throughout May 2023 with animation commencing between June – August 2023.
‘We wanted titles that would be strikingly different to other BBC factual programmes, would set up the premise, style and atmosphere of the series in just 30 seconds, and would stick in the memory of viewers for years to come. Ashley delivered in spades – he was brilliant to work with, endlessly patient in accommodating our evolving ideas, and we were all absolutely delighted with the end result.’ – Simon Barnard
The title sequence, peppered with all manner of hidden curios and supernatural Easter eggs (keep your eyes peeled for a Borley Rectory nod), was released in time for broadcast Halloween 2023 and the show proved a hit with the dedicated fanbase.
“Ashley is a creative visionary, who can lift any project through his distinctive, evocative and thrilling art. His work on the Uncanny titles sequence contributed hugely to the show’s unique identity and set social media alight with admiration!” – Danny Robins
‘UNCANNY’ series 1 aired Halloween week 2023. While the fanbase wait in anticipation of series 2 in February 2024 Ashley was invited back to create animated trailers for the UNCANNY USA series 4 podcast to be aired from end of April 2024 onwards. This time the brief was less abstract with the phenomena brought more centre forward and images of UFO’s, spectral pilots and Bigfoot taking the stage.
“It was an enormous honour and enormous fun to animate these sequences for ‘UNCANNY’. Simon and Danny gave me a surprising amount of freedom to conjure these things. I keep imagining myself travelling back in time and visiting my Arthur C Clarke ‘Mysterious World’ obsessed self and telling him that in the future you are going to get to animate UFO’s, Bigfoot and ghosts for a BBC show dedicated to the paranormal. Just wonderful. I feel very lucky.” – Ashley Thorpe
After years of endeavour ‘BORLEY RECTORY’ is now available to buy on BluRay from Nucleus films and it boasts a HUGE amount of bonus features specially made for the release.
Apart from the film itself the disc will also include all of the early Carrion Short films, on stage festival Q & A’s, a feature length ‘making of’ documentary chronicling the oft troubled production (with all new interviews with cast and crew), a special hour long special wherein three Borley experts (Eddie Brazil, Paul Adams and Stewart Evans) reflect upon the legend of Borley and the facts and intrigue behind it and an exclusive all access featurette celebrating the much loved Usborne ‘World of the Unknown’ series of childrens books and their influence upon both Ashley, Reece Shearsmith and many others part of what has come to be known as the ‘haunted generation’.
“Haunted by the story for 40 years and a film subsequently 6 years in the making, ‘Borley Rectory’ was a labour of love, so there was never a chance of me handing it over to anyone who I didn’t believe would do it justice. The Nucleus release of ‘Borley Rectory’ is everything I could have hoped for and more. Not only does it feature a pristine transfer of the film, it also boasts an incredibly in-depth, highly entertaining and informative feature-length ‘making of’ covering not just the colourful production of the film, but the journey that led me there. Nucleus also allowed and encouraged me to dig deeper into both the legend and the obsessions that led to the film being made. The disc is literally groaning with extras; ghost related featurettes, in-depth interviews with Borley experts, insights from Stephen Volk, Reece Shearsmith and Jonathan Rigby, and an exclusive interview with the publishers of the children’s book that started this journey way back in 1979. Borley Rectory was the Mount Everest of hauntings. This Blu-ray is the Everest of releases.”
– Ashley Thorpe, Director of BORLEY RECTORY
“Tells the tale in a mesmerising fashion.” 9/10 – STARBURST MAGAZINE
This release of Borley Rectory has inspired Usborne Publishing to re-release their classic “The World of the Unknown: All About Ghosts” book, which was a huge influence on director Ashley Thorpe and Actor Reece Shearsmith, who has written an introduction to the new edition. The book can be pre-ordered here: http://bit.ly/AllAboutGhosts
BORLEY RECTORY – SYNOPSIS:
When Daily Mirror journalist V C Wall (Reece Shearsmith) calls upon the services of famed paranormal investigator Harry Price (Jonathan Rigby) to investigate supernatural ‘goings on’ at a Victorian mansion in Essex, little does he realise that he will set into motion a story that will fascinate and confound the world. ‘Borley Rectory’ is the true story of Price’s investigation and the legends that came to haunt all those involved.
Borley Rectory is an animated documentary chronicling what came to be known as ‘The most haunted house in England’. The legends attached to the rectory and famed paranormal investigator Harry Price’s subsequent investigations of them, caught the public’s imagination during the 1930s, in time becoming one of the world’s most notorious ghost stories and influencing Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ and Richard Matheson’s ‘Hell House.’
The first 100 discs ordered direct the from Nucleus Films website will come with a limited edition postcard signed by director Ashley Thorpe.
Audio: 5.1 DTS / 2.0 PCM
Optional English Subtitles for the hard of hearing
EXTRAS:
• Audio Commentary 1. Ashley Thorpe and Kevin Lyons
• Audio Commentary 2. Johnny Mains
• Ultrasound of a Haunting: The Making of Borley Rectory (80 mins TBC)
• Haunted Generation: The Legacy of Usborne’s World of the Unknown Series (30 mins)
• The History of Borley Rectory: The Most Haunted House in England (with Stewart Evans, Paul Adams and Eddie Brazil) (60 mins)
• Anatomy of a Scene: Animating Borley Rectory (10 mins)
• Celluloid Screams: On Stage Q&A with Ashley Thorpe & Nicholas Vince 20th October 2017 (32 mins)
• At the Mercy of Ghosts: In Conversation with Stephen Volk (30 mins)
• Night Visions: Borley Rectory in Helsinki (30 mins)
• Reece Shearsmith & Jonathan Rigby: Q&A at the British Library (17 mins)
• Grimmfest Interview (11 mins)
• Conjuring the Spirits: Making the Borley Rectory Ouija (10 mins)
• Trailer
• Teaser 1
• Teaser 2
• Gallery
Plus Ashley Thorpe’s Early Short Films:
• Harry Price and the Martian Lighthouse (5 mins)
• Scayrecrow (12 mins)
• The Hairy Hands (12 mins)
• Screaming Skull (10 mins)
After 6 years of development and 3 solid years of animation our first feature length film ‘Borley Rectory’ – featuring the talents of Jonathan Rigby, Reece Shearsmith, Claire Louise Amias, Annabel Bates, Nicholas Vince and Julian Sands to name a few – has been finally released and out upon the world stage to – thus far – rave reviews.
The first screening – albeit not strictly a public event – was held at Simon Drake’s ‘House of Magic’ in London on September 23rd and was attended by the cast, crew, backers aswell as a wealth of genre scholars and enthusiasts including Paul Adams, Eddie Brazil, Stewart Evans, Peter Laws, Neil Spring, Stephen Volk and Empire magazine’s Kim Newman. The event was kindly sponsored by ‘Haunted Magazine’ and was a huge success with the film receiving a overwhelmingly positive response. The screening was followed by a lively Q & A chaired by Simon Drake.
“This film really is all down to Ashley’s perseverence and brilliant skill at creating images that you feel as if you’ve never really seen before. There’s something really ethereal about the film and it’s an immersive experience, it’s part documentary, part almost installation in a weird way, it feels very ‘ghost-like’ and by the end you do feel quite literally haunted. ” – Reece Shearsmith
The first public screening followed with a fantastic screening at GRIMMFEST, held at the Vue Printworks Manchester and sponsored by Horror Channel, wherein the full obsessive detail of the animation and incredible 5.1 surround design by Martin Pavey could truly be appreciated. Festival director Simeon Halligan: “We were proud to present the world premiere of this remarkable and utterly unique film. Over six years in the making, it’s a real labour of love for its creator, Ashley Thorpe; combining traditional filmmaking technique with an elaborate mix of rotoscoping, digital animation and compositing, using a mixture of live action, stills, paintings, and model work, to offer an immersive, atmospheric, and elegantly retro-styled exploration of the Most Haunted House in Britain. Featuring a cast including the League of Gentlemen’s Reece Shearsmith, Julian Sands and Nicolas Vince, it’s an extraordinary cinematic experience. We’ve never seen anything quite like it.”
“Thorpe’s vision of the legend is elegant, meticulously cinematic, beautifully spooky, atmospherically enveloping. The detailed and seamlessly inter-woven animation and rotoscope by multi-talented Thorpe is hypnotic, shocking, visually stunning–each shot an artwork. This is a film for film noir lovers as well as haunted house and psycho-horror fans, conjuring up echoes of classic early British horror films like The Innocents, Haunting of Hill House, Psycho. Asks important and unusual questions about what we need from ghosts as well as what they need from us. This film is very, very different. Ken Russell seal of approval.” – Lisi Russell
‘Borley Rectory’ has subsequently had successful screenings at Cinemagic Belfast, Dead of Night Festival Southport (wherein the film has received nominations for ‘Best Feature’, ‘Best Director’ and ‘Best Score’), Folk Horror Revival Edinburgh, the Telluride Horror Show in Colorado (to a packed house) and Brit genre fave Celluloid Screams in Sheffield (with Nicholas Vince also in attendance) with many more screenings to follow before the end of Nov 17 including Buffalo Dreams in New York, Night Of Horror in Sydney and HorrorRama in Toronto. Festival booking are already coming in for 2018. Celluloid Screams director Rob Nevitt: “Ashley Thorpe’s extraordinary film, which is pitched as “an ultrasound of a haunting”: a beautifully realised artifact documenting the house’s various occupants throughout its history, both living and dead. Over six years in the making, Ashley Thorpe’s visually stunning tale of “the most haunted house in England” is unlike any horror film you’ve seen in recent memory. Combining live action, rotoscoping and digital animation techniques, Borley Rectory is a fascinating and enthralling experience that is as haunting as the events it depicts.”
“Those tired of the same old same old from the lower-budgeted end of British horror will find much here to restore the faith. Richly textured, with an extraordinary attention to detail, it’s the kind of film that haunts the memory long after the end credits have rolled in much the same way as the ghosts stalked the real life Rectory.” – Kevin Lyons
“Borley Rectory is not exactly an easy sell – a purposely slow, ponderous unconventionally animated film about a dense narratively convoluted narrative spanning 60 years – so I’m thrilled not only to have got to the end over great adversity, but to be receiving such overwhelmingly positive reaction is a great relief,” says Ashley. “I’m sure that there will be many that won’t like it – it’s certainly a Marmite piece – but the response we’ve received so far is incredible. Due to various issues – including Steven’s health – we only finished the film a few days before that first VIP party so we’ve barely had time to catch our breath before the thing went out into the world, so for it to be so in demand and antiscipated is incredible. We’ve barely started to even push it to a wider audience but it’s already had a dozen screenings lined up. This is just the beginning and I’m excited for the projects future. A victory for everyone involved and all that had the faith to suport it from the start.”
Director Ashley Thorpe interviewed on BBC Spotlight
On November 6th 2017 Ashley Thorpe was interviewed for BBC Spotlight and the subsequent primetime feature broadcast both insights into the projects creation and its hardships, projected festival appearances aswell as a selection of clips from the film bringing further exposure to the much antiscipated feature. ‘Borley Rectory’ has already clocked up an impressive 7 award nominations (including Best Director, Best Feature and Best Score) and won ‘Best Animated Feature’ and ‘Special Achievement in Cinema’ at the Buffalo Dreams Festival New York as well as ‘Best Documentary’ at MidWest WerdFest Wisconsin in March 2018.
With the film now touring International festivals Carrion Film will now also be looking into sales and distribution, and with a number of offers already received, we are quietly confident that Borley Rectory will available for wide release / retail sale in 2018.
With animation and edit now complete Carrion Film is thrilled to officially announce that our first animated feature film ‘Borley Rectory’ will be augmented by aural wizard Martin Pavey.
Martin Pavey is an award winning sound designer and composer, producing soundtracks for film, TV, Theatre, commercials and more. Perhaps best known for his work with Ben Wheatley (‘Kill List’, ‘Sightseers’, A Field In England’) Martin’s work on Ben’s most recent film ‘FreeFire’ was widely lauded for its clever sound design.
Director Ashley Thorpe – “Apart from it being an extraordinary feeling actually rendering out that final picture locked cut of Borley – the sheer relief that we got here – this is the point that I genuinely love so much. It’s where the film is taken out of my hands and becomes something greater in someone elses hands. It was always the most rewarding part on the short films. Sat with Mick Grierson watching his sound design utterly transforming images that had become so familiar turn into something incredible and entirely different. Better. I’m quite isolated when I animate, I’m locked in this little world. It’s completely subjective in many ways. I think that’s why I enjoy the shoots and love the sound design stage so much because the film grows in ways that surprises me. I can’t wait to see how Martin’s sonic soundscapes and Steven’s score will transform Borley.”
With ‘Borley Rectory’ now ‘picture locked’ the sound mix is now underway in time for the films release upon festivals internationally from October 2017 onwards. Steven Severin – although still recovering from a serious operation last year – continues to work upon his much antiscipated score.
Thus far we are expecting to appear in Edinburgh, Manchester, Sheffield, Southampton, Belfast, London and Exeter before the end of the year. All festival dates, both here, across Europe and in the United States (New York, Atlanta, Colorado so far), will be officially be announced both here and on our dedicated facebook page as soon as they have been confirmed.
The narration for ‘Borley Rectory’ has concluded at the world famous Trident Studios in London, home to recordings by David Bowie, Queen, Frank Zappa and The Beatles.
The recording session featured VO work for key sections of the narrative by Julian Sands, Reece Shearsmith, Jonathan Rigby and Steve Furst and featured dialogue culled from genuine newspaper articles and accounts contemporary of the haunting’s investigation. The recordings also mark the end of the cast audio recordings leaving essentially only the final animation, sound mix (by Ben Wheatley’s regular sound artist Martin Pavey) and score (composed by Seven Severin) remaining before the long delayed production will finally see the light of day.
Production update
Originally ‘Borley Rectory’ was destined for completion around February 2016. Reasons for the ongoing delays this past 12 months have been numerous (including Steven Severin’s serious illness during the first half of the year) but are explained here by Director Ashley Thorpe as posted recently via social media:
“I’ve had a number of messages from various interested parties (well wishers and not so well wishers) as to the progress of Borley Rectory and the situation is essentially this:
I was initially hoping for the animation to be finished early 2016 but redundancy at the beginning of the year followed by serious family illnesses (in both my 2 year old daughter and then my Father) and subsequently a huge downturn in my income over the following months has put great pressure on me to turn my focus towards paid work of any kind just to financially survive. The project has been scuttled by circumstance and austerity. But not sunk. Life gave our family a good fucking kick in this year but we’re not beaten yet.
I’m still working on Borley each night (once my young daughter is asleep) but progress has sadly slowed the past few months. The situation hasn’t gotten any better so for the time being – though animation continues (in fact seeing it crawling to completion is one of the few things that maintains any semblance of morale) – I still can’t give a definite date as to when Borley will be complete. I can only apologise for the ongoing delay and hope you can sympathise with the reasons behind it. I will get there.
As Julian Sands once said to my Dad “If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.” – Ashley Thorpe
So for the foreseeable future the animation continues (albeit at a slightly compromised rate) so to be ready for the sound mix and scoring later in the year or early next year. All available perks have been despatched with only the production reliant perks remaining (ie the vinyl scores and links / DVD’s of finished film) remaining. All updates can be found via the Carrion Film Facebook page.
The Borley Rectory Indiegogo launched on Halloween 2014 has not just reached it’s target but with your extraordinary support kicked the doors off raising a staggering 330% of its intended goal!
Hoping to raise the shortfall on the previous campaign target of £3000 the final total for the 2014 Indiegogo came in at a phenomenal £9902, which according to director Ashley Thorpe means that they will not only be able to complete the film but restructure the project accordingly to make it the way it was originally intended. “Our original estimated budget was around £20K, that’s from start to finish, production and post. Twenty thousand pounds sounds like a huge amount for a short film but then when you consider how long it is (a projected 30 + minutes), that it’s animated, that it’s a period piece with over a dozen cast members and how long it will take a tiny production team to both shoot and animate it, 20K suddenly doesn’t sound like much at all! You know, you could make two traditional features in the time it’ll take to make this film. So in actual fact we started out with that ideal budget and then subsequently scaled it down to £10K, which we though a much more realistic amount for an unknown to raise. £10K was the same budget as the Arts Council supported ‘The Hairy Hands’, which was a far more modest indie friendly project. It was essentially one location, one character. Borley is infinitely more ambitious and involved. The amazing support we’ve received means that we can do it properly!”
Borley rectory’s Phenomenal perks
Perks for the campaign included a call of thanks from Julian Sands, a limited edition vinyl OST by Steven Severin, posters and props signed by Reece Shearsmith, antique Borley Rectory books written by Harry Price and an exclusive doll of the famed Phantom Nun spectre created by Debz Demented Dollz!
Some perks, like the Richard Wells art, Clive Barker print and Borley Ouija came as a last minute surprise. “This wonderful illustration suddenly appeared on my twitter feed of Reece with the Phantom Nun and Richard said that it was a bit of fan art that he’d made just for fun. I absolutely loved it and asked if we could print it and offer it as another perk and he kindly agreed. Seraphim too was another surprise. Nicholas Vince had Mark Miller as a guest on his google hangout one week and they discussed Borley so I reached out to Mark and asked how he knew of the project and if Seraphim would like to get involved in some way. Mark told me that he knew of Carrion because Clive had a number of my animations in his DVD collection, a fact I was floored by, and that they would be happy to donate a limited edition signed print to the cause!
We tried to roll out each of the perks tactically as the campaign went on but the final perk – the Ouija board – was something that just came to me one day. My Dad is a furniture restorer and painter and he used to make these lovely wooden hand painted signs for his vehicles and shops etc. One morning it just came to me in a flash – we should make a Borley Rectory Ouija! I roped my Dad in and he’s been having a whale of a time crafting this mahogany horror . I’ve been documenting it’s creation so I’ll be rolling out the short film once it’s completed.”
Now that the campaign is over it’s back to production with the next cast shoots being planned to occur the next few months whilst Ashley continues the animate the existing footage.
Happy Halloween…It’s time to raise a few more ghosts! Yes, deep into production, we are once again calling upon the kindness of strangers to secure the remaining budget to finish the shooting of Borley Rectory.
A great deal has happened since the previous crowdfunder in 2013. The films cast is now all but complete and what a cast it is with new members Steve Furst, Sally Mortemore, Richard Strange and Sabrina Dickens joining Reece Shearsmith, Jonathan Rigby, Nicholas Vince and Julian Sands.
“Looks wonderful – Neil Gaiman”
We’ve had huge support for the film from a variety of sources none perhaps more prestigious than the recent affiliation with the curators of the British Library and the ‘Terror and Wonder’ Gothic exhibition no less (look out for a number of fantastic and exclusive videos from the exhibition to be released throughout the campaign!). If you’ve ever wondered how serial killer aficionado Reece Shearsmith would react to being face to face with an original Ripper letter…stay tuned!
Exclusive clips from the completed scenes have been leaked (well…mailed out like Ripper kidney parcels) to a number of major Horror Festivals (so keep your peepers peeled folks as they won’t be announced…) and a lengthy section will be hosted online by Fangoria. International festivals are already begging for the film (or sections of it) to screen and an upcoming indie studio has been in contact with us to seriously discuss the possibility of turning Borley Rectory into a feature…
“Absolutely STUNNING!” Axelle Carolyn
But first we need to get these shoots financed and to do that we need you! Have a look at the campaign page, watch the video, drool over the phenomenal perks (be warned devoted supporters we will be rolling out a wealth of special feature rewards throughout the campaign) and have your heart melted by Carrion Film’s newest member – little Lily Wednesday.
Borley Rectory is rising…Campaign runs from Oct 31st until December 14th. Help us raise a few more ghosts! SUPPORT NOW!
Great British Horror are also printing 2 exclusive t-shirts to support the campaign. The 2 designs (both original artwork by Fangoria cover artist Ashley Thorpe) are in full colour and feature a back print!
Profits from the sale of the T-shirts will go towards the Borley Rectory Indiegogo campaign.
As part of the new Borley Rectory Indiegogo campaign (launching Halloween 2014) Carrion Films were invited ‘VIP’ to explore the new fantastic ‘Terror and Wonder’ Gothic exhibition at the British Library.
In attendance were Director Ashley Thorpe, Producers Tom Atkinson and Alice Bonasio and two of the film’s stars – Reece Shearsmith and Jonathan Rigby. Within a number of interviews were conducted; a discussion with curator Tanya Kirk on the Borley Rectory exhibits and the legends influence on supernatural literature in the 20th century, a focus on the notorious ‘Dear Boss’ Ripper letter and finally an informal discussion with Reece and Jonathan on ghosts stories and their personal fascination with the genre.
The first videos will premiere on Halloween with subsequent short films rolling out throughout the Indiegogo campaign so be sure to keep an eye on the campaign for exclusive content!
It’s been a long time coming but thanks to everyone that supported the 2013 Indiegogo campaign cameras finally started rolling today on Carrion Films latest venture – BORLEY RECTORY!
Budget shortfalls necessitated revisions of the production plan and calls for further funding / sponsorship but shooting commenced May 23rd 2014 at the VFX Co London with primary cast members Jonathan Rigby (who will be portraying Harry Price), Reece Shearsmith (portraying journalist Vernon Wall) and Claire Louise Amias (portraying the wife of the Reverend Smith) capturing such iconic scenes as the discovery of the skull in the library, the first ghostly stakeout and the writing of the first newspaper report that led to the Rectory’s notoriety.
The day was a fantastic success finishing on budget and on time and – as the on set pix are testament to – the day was a lot of fun aswell. Now the long process of animation begins!
We’re looking for local businesses to invest in the production of ‘Borley Rectory – The Most Haunted House in England’.
We’ve raised the funds to facilitate the initial shoots – commencing on the 20th May in London – but we need further funding to carry this ambitious production to completion.
Be part of a film starring Reece Shearsmith
The film will star Reece Shearsmith (League of Gentlemen, Inside No 9, The Widower and forthcoming ITV drama Chasing Shadows), Jonathan Rigby (Kenneth Horne in BBC production ‘Round the Horne Revisited’, Horror Historian, author of English Gothic), Richard Strange (Batman, Inkheart, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), Claire Louise Amias (Provoked, Telling Lies, Women of Twilight), Sally Mortemore (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, A Cake for Mabel) Steve Hurst (Little Britain, Legend of Dick and Dom, Wuthering Heights), Sabrina Dickens (Night of the Living Dead Resurrection, Silent Night Deadly Night) and many others yet to be announced.
The film will feature a narration by Julian Sands (Naked Lunch, Warlock, Smallville, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and an original soundtrack by Steven Severin (Siouxsie and the Banshees, Vampyr).
We raised enough via an Indiegogo campaign in 2013 to begin production and shoot key scenes but will still need to source further sponsorship / investment to facilitate the completion and post-production of this ambitious project. We’re reaching out to potential investors. Could you join us at the most haunted house in England and raise a few ghosts?
“When l first came across Ashley Thorpe’s work as a film maker l was struck by his originality and passion,” states Sands. “The poetry and sensitivity of his images were compelling and extremely moving. When l heard he was developing a project based on the notorious Borley Rectory l had to be involved. Working on this astonishing piece has been immensely fulfilling and l am happy to have joined his repertoire…” Julian Sands
Reach a global audience with Borley Rectory
“You’d be investing in a film with guaranteed international exposure. Our previous animated films were screened at major events such as the Cannes Film Festival, Raindance, the National Media Museum, various horror festivals across the United States and Canada, Sydney film festival and the Animacam animation festival in Rio to name just a few. You’d receive a prominent credit; your name seen alongside such industry names as Reece Shearsmith and Julian Sands. It’s a great opportunity to support a local creative venture while reaching a global audience, and we’re welcoming contributions from both small and large companies, so if you’re interested in participating please contact either myself or my producer Tom Atkinson.” – Director Ashley Thorpe