Category: Carrion Films

Penny Dreadful 2 : ‘Scayrecrow’ has been selected to run as support feature to an open air screening of the Zack Snyder /Frank Miller feature ‘300‘.

The event is to be held at Rougemont gardens, Exeter, on Saturday 16th August. Gates open at 7:30pm with screenings aimed to begin at 8:30pm. Refreshments are available on site and age restrictions may apply.

Rougemont House was built in 1769 by John Patch, a surgeon at the Devon and Exeter Hospital, on a site that had formerly been part of the moat and defences for the Norman castle (It was the site of one of England’s most dramatic 12th-century sieges).  The landscaping and the planting belong to the late 18th century and to this day the grounds remain a dramatic setting for open air theatre and local events.

For the un-initiated ‘300‘ is an adaptation of the epic graphic novel by Frank Miller (Sin City). Zack Snyder faithfully recreates his bloody ferocious visual style in an intense blend of live-action and CGI animation. Retelling the ancient Battle of Thermopylae it depicts the titanic clash in which King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) and his massive Persian army.

These open air events attract quite a crowd… so get there early to avoid disappointment.

As part of Art week across the junior curriculum I was asked to go to Exwick heights School  and teach years 3 and 4  the basics of animation, using some of the tamer clips from ‘Scayrecrow‘ as catalyst.

“To grasp the basic principle of animation they were encouraged to make their own flick-a-books. Then we moved on to storyboarding for a digital short. We discussed the importance of music, backgrounds etc all the while demonstrating the relevance of each with  film clips. Bright as buttons. They absolutely got it and the end results were fantastic, a real imaginative riot…with Daleks fighting Pirates..Gorillas escaping sinking ships on a courgette, absolute moments of the surreal genius that children express so instinctively. Great fun. A very rewarding experience and very inspiring.” – Ashley Thorpe

Many thanks to all  the Teachers involved, especially Lynn West for organising the day. Here’s looking forward to next year.

Derren Brown, star of Channel 4’s ‘Trick or Treat’ has posted a ‘Scayrecrow‘ review on www.thesmalls.com:

“Absolutely love it, and in awe at the amount of painstaking work involved. Hugely captivating. Thank you.”

If you look carefully (and I mean carefully) you’ll spot Derren in the final graveyard scene at the end of Penny Dreadful 1: ‘The Vampire’.

The following Derren Brown Bio is taken from his official site:

After recently seeing ‘Scayrecrow‘, Founder and President of premier Horror magazine ‘Rue Morgue‘, Rod Gudino, praised the film as : “A cool film…really impressive” and has urged for a copy be sent to the magazine for possible review.

Apart from founding ‘Rue Morgue magazine’ Rod Guidino  is himself a short-film maker with films such as ‘The Eyes of Edward James‘, ‘The Demonology of Desire‘ and now ‘The Facts in the case of Mister Hollow‘ winning critical acclaim across indie and horror festival circuits.

To find out more about his body of work visit : www.rue-morgue.com/rmp_rm_cinema_hollow.php

or

http://www.rodrigogudino.com/

The Second major location shoot for ‘The Screaming skull‘ commenced at the Two Bridges hotel on the edge of Dartmoor. Situated near Postbridge (not far from the B3212 – as folklorists will know is the home of the legendary Hairy hand haunting) It was chosen for its Jacobean style antique furnishings (one room was actually the favourite of actress Vivien Leigh), lending the many bedroom sequences in ‘Screaming skull‘ a certain gothic grandeur.

The hotel was built in 1794 as a coaching inn at the opening of the trans-moor turnpike, the property originally being called ‘The Saracen’s head’. It gained its present name in the early 1900’s. Opulent, historical and beautiful.

Thanks once again extended to the staff for their hospitality.

www.twobridges.co.uk/

www.thesmalls.com is a site aimed to expose short films to a greater international audience. For a limited time (dont expect it to be there much past September…) Penny Dreadful 2: The Scayrecrow has been posted for instant access / viewing.

To visit and watch click here: www.thesmalls.com/members/ashley-thorpe/films/scayrecrow.go

First location shoot for ‘The Screaming skull‘ commenced today at Poltimore house; a house with a long and distinguished history. Indeed it was here in 1646 that the treaty of Exeter was signed which ended the civil war in the south west.

The house, which narrowly missed out on a lottery grant bid in the BBC’s ‘Restoration’ project, is now all but a derelict. For the purpose of the film however, Poltimore will represent the crumbling quarters of the Penraddon estate, whilst period photos kindly sourced by the Trust, will provide backgrounds for earlier sequences.

“As Keith Whedon (friends of Poltimore house) kindly gave me a run down of which areas of the house were safe to film in…and which definitely were not…he pointed out a room at the far end of a dank corridor and calmly told me that it had been the site of a suicide; a doctor had cut his own throat. He then left me alone with my camera…”– Ashley Thorpe

www.poltimore.org

South West based actor Ed Berry has landed the lead in Penny dreadful 3: The Screaming Skull.

Ed  debuted upon the scene last year in the self penned ‘The Parting’ , then followed with a lead in ‘Lost Moments’ and  as support in ‘A Funny affair’, all of which  were performed at Exeter University in May 2007 as part of the Action Drama programme . After his cameo as the cowardly Fop in the Ashley Thorpe Penny Dreadful ‘Scayrecrow‘ Ed performed in a showcase of Absurd Monologues and Duologues in the Northcott Theatre lounge, playing Rosencrantz from ‘Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead’ by Tom Stoppard.

Ed recently had this to say:

“It’s been an interesting year; a broke cheating businessman, a coma victim, a gay barman, Rosencrantz, a Fop and now a WW1 solidier! …. if you liked ‘Scayrecrow’ you going to love ‘The Screaming Skull’. Making this film  has been the best thing I’ve done in my brief acting career so far and i cant wait to see the end result. The look of terror i have in my eyes isnt acting but me being scared to move in those damn trousers which only got worse from all the eating and drinking we did in between takes. I only hope after wearing that gear i can still have kids one day who will be able to enjoy ‘The Screaming Skull’ as much as you all will.”

‘The Screaming Skull’ is currently in development and is due for completion October 2008 with screenings aimed for Halloween.

Penny Dreadful 3: Screaming Skull launches into production….

“Horror is the badge of humanity, it is who we are. We are led to believe that the crimes and deeds of wicked men are inhuman. This is falsehood. Atrocity is as human as art or prayer…Between the pen and the page…as night follows day….like the dark face of the upturned stone…Ghosts…are to be expected.” – Ashley Thorpe

Synopsis

Spencer Penraddon returns from the 1st World War to his ancestral home. His sister has succumbed to the blight that has cursed the family since the hall was erected in the 17th century…and symbol of the family curse is the mysterious ‘Screaming Skull’.
Legend has it that the skull belonged to the loyal slave of 18th century Magistrate Azariah Penraddon. Upon his death the slave wished his remains to be returned to the West Indies. But for reasons unknown Azariah did not grant the slave’s final wish and his remains were interred on the edge of the family plot. It was soon after that the disturbances began…
If moved the skull was believed to emit terrifying screams and terrible commotions would sound through the house. As a consequence few have dared to disturb it for fear of the terrors it will unleash.
Spencer however, already reeling from the horrors of the Western front, wishes to be free of the house and its ghosts.
But the ghosts of Penraddon hall are not ready to be put to rest.
As Spencer walks the halls labyrinthine corridors, he is assaulted by horrors; spectres of the past…and a grim epiphany. that perhaps the deepest parts of our hearts really are inherited…

The Penny Dreadful  project has won another bursary award: this time the Digital Animation bursary scheme 2008, funded by Animated Exeter / Exeter city council. The completed film will be premiered at ‘Two short nights’ 2008 and screened as part of Animated Exeter 2009.

The film itself tells the story of Spencer Penraddon, who returns from the trenches of the First World war to confront a family curse, symbolised by a macabre heirloom known as ‘The screaming skull’…

The film is due for completion Halloween 2008…