Tag: horror

Reece Shearsmith and Jonathan Rigby join Borley Rectory

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The ‘Borley Rectory’ Indiegogo fundraiser is over…the project is just beginning.

It’s been an amazing journey aboard the ghost train the past few weeks hasn’t it? Although we may not have reached the target goal, for a Devon based tiny production unit we’ve had phenomenal support across the horror and film community, all keen to see the story of the most haunted house in England finally told on film.

 

“The project oozes as much quality as it does evil. Borley Rectory is one of the great ghost stories. I needed to be part of it.” – REECE SHEARSMITH

 

We’ve talked the ‘Business of Ghosts’ with multi-award winning writer Stephen Volk. We’ve talked ghost tours with Best British Horror editor and Pan Horror historian Johnny Mains. We’ve been the talk of both Fangoria and Rue Morgue radio and had donations and sincere support from luminaries such as Neil Gaiman, Derren Brown, Neil Marshall, Axelle Carolyn, Richard Stanley and Britian’s greatest living poster artist Graham Humphreys. But among the leaps of faith to come out of the campaign there were a number of astonishing yet rather natural bits of casting. Fistly  actor / writer Reece Shearsmith (League of Gentlemen, Psychoville, next years Inside No.9 and most recently Ben Wheatley’s A Field in England) has joined the cast of BORLEY RECTORY.

Reece Shearsmith will be portraying V.C Wall, the Daily Mirror journalist that broke the story of the haunting to the world. Director Ashley Thorpe –  “I’d been in correspondence with Reece (third party) for a Fangoria article to support Paul Davis’ ‘Him Indoors’ (featured at Frightfest 2012). He’s someone that I’ve always had enormous admiration for. He’s a damn good actor. Although he’s mainly known for his comedy grotesques with LOG he’s a natural performer. Just look at his performance in ‘Eric and Ernie’ as the father. Great subtlety and emotional resonance. When I launched the campaign I saw that Reece had been retweeting messages and so I thanked him, then knowing that he was a huge fan of the subject plucked up the courage to ask him if he’d like to actually be in it. Reece to my astonishment said that he’d be honoured. “

“Haunted houses are always worth supporting, especially the big one!” – Jonathan Rigby

Any film about Borley Rectory wouldn’t be complete without Harry Price , the casting of whom could have been something of a nightmare and yet Ashley explains the solution came easily. “I was watching ‘Tales from behind the crypt’ a documentary on the League of Gentlemen and how their Christmas specials were heavily indebted to the Amicus portmanteau and Jonathan Rigby was just there and was just perfect,” explains the director, “I suddenly thought, that’s it! Jonathan would be an amazing Price. Once again I just asked him and miraculously he said yes! It’s incredible really. It’s been a huge amount of effort and mucking around to try and raise a bloody production budget and yet an A-list cast are coming together effortlessly!”

Hammer horror / Amicus historian / enthusiast and author of the seminal study of English horror ‘English Gothic‘ Jonathan was also a consultant on the Mark Gatiss BBC productions ‘A History of Horror‘ and ‘Horror Europa‘ and is a regular presence on Hammer releases. “I know that Jonathan will be amazing as Price, in fact when I told Reece Shearsmith that I’d approached him Reece simply said ‘Perfect.‘”

 Although the Indiegogo didn’t reach its ideal target the production will be going ahead and all perks most assuredly honoured. “When I initially searched for funding I created three budgets; an ideal, a midway and a sticky tape and brown paper – no frills ‘Screaming Skull’ kind of budget. We’re already looking at a budget greater than both ‘Skull’ and ‘Scayrecrow’ so I know through experience that we can make something, although as a far more ambitious project production – not quality – will be compromised to a certain extent. Ideally we could do with more, so I will be looking to source extra ‘top-up’ funds privately. The Indiegogo campaign may be over but we’re certainly still open to contributions and investment. I’m keen to get started!”

So from everyone at Carrion Film HUGE thanks to all the backers, thank you for every tweet / shared FB update, to everyone who sent messages of support or covered the campaign via interviews etc. You’ve all been ‘PHENOMENAL’!

If you have any questions regarding subsequent donations towards the film or investment options please contact the production team via info at carrionfilms dot co dot uk.

Borley Rectory Indiegogo is LIVE !

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The anticipated BORLEY RECTORY INDIEGOGO fundraiser is now LIVE and ready for your donations! This summer help Carrion Films raise more than a few ghosts…

‘Borley Rectory‘ is to be an animated documentary about a very famous British haunting that caught the imagination of the public after a highly publicized and subsequently controversial investigation by paranormal investigator Harry Price. The  film is Carrion Film’s fourth animation inspired by the neglected aspects of British folklore and features a narration by Julian Sands and an original score by Steven Severin.

 

“I’ve always been fascinated by ghost photography. Not purely because of the subject matter but because they’re often beautiful images. I want Borley Rectory to look like moving spirit photography…” – Director Ashley Thorpe (2013)

The Indiegogo campaign was launched late on the 27th of July and has already received huge support from the horror community. ” I didn’t want to just launch something that just offered out a cap to throw pennies in,” remarked  director Ashley Thorpe, ” I feel awkward ‘pitching’ at the horror audience, I didn’t want to hustle that audience because I am that audience! I really wanted the campaign to function like a special features package on a Blu-Ray or something, feel like we’re genuinely involved, wherein the updates wouldn’t be just more pleas for money it would be more material, more content talking about or around the subject and getting the audience excited about the subject. Besides, I love film making and animation is such a solitary thing whereas my Fangoria work has really developed my hunger to talk to people about the subjects that excite them. So with ‘Borley Rectory‘ we have the best of both worlds: An obsessionally detailed animation that will be rendered with love over 9 months and these very spontaneous expressions of excitement about ghosts and what-not from some of the most fantastic faces in the field.”

“A beautiful animated horror short – Borley Rectory…” – DERREN BROWN

The campaign video was filmed at Poltimore house on the outskirts of Exeter, Devon and was created with the assistance of the South West’s top behind the scenes / film unit Cineon Productions. ” I love Cineon; they’re fast, mobile, professional, dependable and imaginative. Their work challenges the best of the ‘behind the scenes’ material I’ve seen anywhere.“

The fundraiser campaign runs from July 27th until the 1st August with a goal of £20,000. That might seem like a lot of money for a short film but as Ashley explains in the campaign video this is an animated film and the budget will not just be directed towards production it will cover months of animation, sound production, the score, post and mastering aswell. This might seem like an unfeasible task but the ‘Borley Rectory’ campaign has cooked up a veritable treasure trove of rewards.

Perhaps ‘creme de la creme‘ of these rewards are the SIGNED LIMITED EDITION VINYL OST of the score by Steven Severin (pictured) , scribed by composer , narrator Julian Sands and director Ashley Thorpe and the ‘Harry Price – Ghost Hunter’ package, aimed at Exec Producers that rewards donations with not just a signature from Julian Sands but a personal phonecall of thanks!

PLEASE view the links, share the word and DONATE to ensure that the next Carrion Film animation goes into production!

PLEASE NOTE: Due to many requests and interest from potential investors the BORLEY RECTORY campaign deadline has now been extended to AUGUST 31st! SO even more time to make a truly SPIRIT RAISING donation!

 

 

Ashley Thorpe’s ‘Dead Man’s Shoes’ LIVE in New York

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Following the success of last years ‘The Demon Huntsman’, Carrion Film director Ashley Thorpe’s  new radio script for Glass Eye Pix – DEAD MAN’S SHOES – will be performed LIVE in New York City  with a cast boasting Larry Fessenden and Michael Cerveris.

Following the success of last years ‘TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE ‘ Glass Eye Pix, the fiercely independent film company behind STAKE LAND, THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL and I SELL THE DEAD, in association with Clay McLeod Chapman’s FEAR- MONGERS: FIRESIDE CHATS ABOUT HORROR FILMS, is taking its successful audio dramas out of the studio and onto the stage.

A new twist on the vintage radio shows of yesteryear, Larry Fessenden and Glenn McQuaid’s TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE has already thrilled fans of the macabre with last year’s CD / Download release of Season One. Now they are upping the ante and recording 8 original audio shows before a live audience at New York City’s Dixon place the first four Tuesdays in October. Shows starts at 9:30pm.

Carrion Film director Ashley Thorpe follows his popular Hammer horror styled ‘The Demon Huntsman‘ with a contemporary gothic and – in somewhat of a departure from his previous work – a tale with what has been described by one critic as ‘comedic flair‘!

Ashley Thorpe: “It’s a chiller with a black comedic edge about what happens to people when they are utterly desperate to make ends meet. I’d initially pitched a couple of ideas to Glenn and Larry that were very much a continuation of what I’d been doing previously but they were too involved, too complicated. So I sat in a despair of my own on the back step trying to think of what to write and this idea just came to me of a man who uses ‘a little artistic license’ on his CV and as a consequence is thrown into a situation completely beyond his control. Although it’s contemporary, it’s actually desperately old fashioned. There’s a little Harker arriving at Dracula’s castle but from thereon in it’s totally EC comics, the tone the atmosphere, everything. Even the title is a Cryptkeeper style dime store pun.”

And what of the lead characters, were they written with any particular actors in mind?

“Yes, very much so. The majority of the story is ostensibly two men talking in a room, so character was very important. I wanted it to be a blending of eras, two characters that define specific types of horror, face to face. Now, the old man I very much imagined as Peter Cushing in a film like ‘The Skull’ and of course Peter had this very particular metre and inflection so writing his dialogue was wonderful, in fact I had to hold back from writing too much! The second character, Larry the lead protagonist, I imagined very much as Jack Torrance, overworked, underpaid, a desperate family man. I pictured Larry Fessenden! I even named him Larry for that very reason so for Larry to play the character is absolutely perfect!”

The season features the very special voice talents of: Sean Young, Michael Cerveris, Vincent D’Onofrio, James LeGros, Mark Margolis and MANY MANY others! The shows feature live music from Natalia Paruz (The Saw Lady), Dave Eggar (Cello), Julian Maile (Theremin) many more!
Live sound effects by John Moros and live foley from Shaun Brennan. Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 at the door, $10 students / seniors. Tickets available here:
https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/171/1349134200000

The first season of ‘Tales From Beyond the Pale’ is available from the official website, on Amazon and can be downloaded from i-Tunes.

Carrion Films on FEARnet

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All three Carrion Film animations – SCAYRECROW, THE SCREAMING SKULL and THE HAIRY HANDS are to be screened on the webs most popular horror destination FEARnet, with The Hairy hands commencing the season on July 23rd. The films will be joining a wide variety of short films including many by established genre stars.

Following The Hairy Hands premiere, The Screaming Skull will  begin its run the week of September 3rd with Scayrecrow showing from September 24th. Each film has a filmed introduction by director Ashley Thorpe and regular actor Edward Berry.

FEARnet is adding over 75 new rarely seen videos to its already extensive online library this year, launching with 15, and adding 3-4 each week. This expansion is part of FEARnet’s triple-play strategy curating the best films and specialized programming for the desired viewing platform, whether that be TV, VOD or web. Apart from showcasing the Carrion Film Triptych the wide variety of shorts will offer fans an exciting opportunity to see work by established genre stars, such as “Jack Chop,” “The TiVo” and “The Tiffany Problem” by  Adam Green; “Seasons Greetings,” by Trick R’ Treat scribe Michael Dougherty; and Paul Solet’s “Grace,” which spawned the 2006 cult hit of the same name. In addition, fans will be able to enjoy “30-Second Bunnies Theatre” parodies of genre favorites like Alien, The Exorcist and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, among others, as well as the viral video sensation “Zombie American,” starring Ed Helms of “The Office.” Ranging from 30 seconds to 20 minutes in length, all short films featured on the site were handpicked by genre stars and FEARnet staff, including FEARnet’s own president and general manager, Peter Block.

Director Ashley Thorpe: “I’m delighted to be able to finally make this announcement as we’ve been preparing this since last year. It’s wonderful to have been selected for the network. Although two of the films were available for a limited time as downloads a few years ago, this is the first time that the animations will be widely available. So until the films become available on DVD / Blu-Ray this is absolutely the best way of seeing them. I can’t think of a better company to be hosting our work.“

“Shorts are important to the film community at large,” said Sarah Shannon, FEARnet’s director of programming. “Some are funny, some are creepy, and some are scary. It doesn’t matter how long it is, as a horror fan, you can still get what you want from it. And the acquisitions FEARnet has made are long-term, ensuring that these shorts will be available to be viewed for years to come.”

FEARnet is a multi-platform programming service delivering original and acquired horror, thriller and suspense content as a cable TV network, a video-on-demand outlet and web portal. FEARnet, a partnership among Sony Pictures Television, Lionsgate Entertainment and Comcast Corporation, features a robust lineup of popular titles from major film studios and independents, encompassing 300 plus movie titles a year, including 27 world television and 11 theatrical broadcast premieres. The Network is distributed to U.S. cable subscribers across the country on various systems and is often ranked as the number-one free VOD movie service available in more than 27 million homes. In 2011, the website, FEARnet.com, was the world’s leader in the genre category among total uniques and duration per visit.

This initiative also marks the first time that FEARnet.com fans will be able to directly rate and critique short films on the site so please tune in and show your appreciation with a complimentary vote!

Said Lawrence Raffel, FEARnet’s vice president of digital content: “This new social networking aspect basically recreates the feel of a neighborhood video store where employees used to recommend videos for patrons. But, now, the fans themselves have the power to weigh in and present their thoughts about a short film, while building their reputations on the site as citizen film critics.”