FEARnet has an exclusive clip from Tales From Beyond The Pale episode “Dead Man’s Shoes” by Ashley Thorpe, featuring the voice talents of actor Michael Cerveris (Fringe).

The full episode is now available on the TALES online store, on Audible, Amazon, and on iTunes.

From DangerousMinds.net:

“On Friday the 13th, those Masters of Horror, Larry Fessenden and Glenn McQuaid released the second season of their excellent, radio drama series Tales from Beyond the Pale.

Tales… follows in a similar tradition to E.C. Comics Tales from the Crypt, or those wonderful portmanteau horror movies produced by Amicus Productions in 1960s and 1970s, Doctor Terror’s House of Horrors, Torture Garden, The House That Dripped Blood, Asylum and Vault of Horror.

Glenn and Larry were inspired to create Tales… after listening to an old Boris Karloff radio drama during a long, rainy drive along the east of coast of America.

Larry is the brains behind Glass Eye Pix and has been hailed as a latter-day Roger Corman. His long list of films (several award winning) as producer, director and writer, includes Beneath, The Last Winter, Stake Land, and Bitter Feast. So prolific and successful a film-maker, it’s suffice to note that Fessenden was inducted into the Fangoria Hall of Fame in 2011, and was honored as Total Film‘s “Icon of Horror” the same year.

By comparison, Glenn is just starting out, but don’t be fooled, for Irishman McQuaid is the young and impressive talent behind the excellent I Sell the Dead and more recently contributed one of the best segments, “Tuesday the 17th” to the hugely enjoyable compendium horror film V/H/S. Together Fessenden and McQuaid have created a thrilling and superlative radio drama series with Tales From Beyond the Pale

The first season was produced over the winter of 2011, and was made available to download in Fall 2012. What makes Tales… so successful, is the high level of production values Fessenden and McQuaid bring to each drama. As curators they bring together the best writing with the best of acting talent. Writers include Kim Newman, Ashley Thorpe, Joe Maggio, Simon Barrett, Jeff Buhler, and of course, Fessenden and McQuaid themselves. While the tales are performed by Sean Young, Ron Perlman, Vincent D’Onofrio and James Le Gros.

Larry Fessenden and Glenn McQuaid

The first season of Tales… proved such a hit, that Fessenden and McQuaid produced a second series, but this time each drama was recorded live, in front of a studio audience.

Glenn McQuaid: “Last October we had a chance to put on a few new Tales…, and we thought it would be a new challenge to put them on live, as opposed to doing them in the studio. We basically booked this place for a month, where once a week we would put on a double-bill of Tales….

“What made it different, I suppose, was the chance to do it live. We also invited new collaborators into the mix, like Kim Newman, Simon Barrett and Clay Mcleod Chapman. Basically, it was a really great chance to get back in the saddle and get some new content out there.”

Larry Fessenden: “We wanted to pull back the curtain on the process on what is ultimately destined to be audio entertainment. We didn’t hesitate to have the director on-stage, even rushing over to an actor and whispering in the ear, ‘Speed it up a bit,’ or….”

Glenn McQuaid: “…Falling apart!”

[Laughter]

Larry Fessenden: “Glenn was helping out the Foley guy [sound FX], and doing footstep sounds. It was a fun thing to watch, because you really got a fun sense of the process.

“Another thing I always say, as an actor you really need to be relating to the microphone, not to your fellow actors, which is the traditional way of performing. In this case, each individual performer is in some way intimate with the sound environment and their microphone. All of this is fun to observe when watching the process unfold, and that was sort of the premiss of the evening.”

Glenn McQuaid: “I think having that much activity happening with various actors, technicians and Foley artists. Once we’re rolling time flew by and the job was a a joy. I was always a nervous wreck prior to each evening, you know, that didn’t get easier. It was a bit of a roller-coaster getting back into theater, which I hadn’t done since I was in my teens. It was an awful lot of fun, and it was good getting into that environment, which gave it an edge.”

Larry Fessenden and Glenn McQuaid recording ‘Tales…’

The new season of Tales from Beyond the Pale includes “Ram King” by Joes Maggio; “Like Father, Like Son” by Clay McLeod Chapman, “Stranger” by Jeff Buhler, “Dead Man’s Shoes” by Ashley Thorpe, “Sarah Minds the Dog” by Kim Newman, “The Crush” by Glenn McQuaid, “Dead Air” by Simon Barrett, and “Caper” by Larry Fessenden.

What makes Tales… successful is the high standard of story-telling involved with each drama. Horror and Sci-Fi fans will appreciate the intelligence at work behind these scripts.

Glenn McQuaid: “When we originally thought of the ideas for Tales…, it was very much Larry that brought this idea to reach out and collaborate with all the colors of the dark.

Larry Fessenden: “Often we go back to our original collaborators and say, ‘Do you have anything that would fit this format?’ We both have new associations, people we’re curious about.

“We always ask for synopsis, and then Glenn and I look at them and think, ‘What makes a good season?’ We don’t want to have four alien stories in a row, it has to do with finding a balance within the different genres that exist.”

Glenn McQuaid: “I think a lot of color has come form Larry and Glass Eye Pix, and the idea of reaching out and collaborating with many different artists, coming from many different walks of life. There’s something very New York about it. I get that with Glass Eye Pix, and I do get it with Tales… as well.”

Larry Fessenden: “I feel the one thing I’m proud of with Tales…, and I think it’s something to do with the way Glenn and I approached the medium, we’re not setting out to make a scary story with traditional scares. It’s not as deliberate as that. We obviously make spooky, off-kilter tales, but I think we encourage the authors to come at us with something that isn’t deliberately sitting in the genre. For example, “Ram King” by Joe Maggio, he wrote “On a ledge” from the last series, you could tell he was writing form the heart about things that preoccupy him, and he just suddenly decided to make a period piece. And I think it’s very odd and very chilling when you finally get to it, but that’s clearly not just the agenda of the story.”

Glenn McQuaid: “One of the final stories we added to the collection was Clay McLeod Chapman’s “Like Father, Like Son.” We felt when we got that in, it added a nice flavor to everything else, and that was important to us. We were looking at a few other story-lines, but that was the one would be the icing on the cake.”

Larry Fessenden: “I think it’s also worth noting that we don’t come to these scripts finished and polished. Glenn and myself spend a lot of time really challenging the writers to tighten or otherwise consider how to make effective audio pieces. It’s always a fun and challenging series because you don’t want to overstep, and you want each artist to be representing themselves in a unique product.”

Glenn McQuaid: “I think everyone that comes in to us with this process has enjoyed it because there’s a difference in that we’re talking to them as fellow artists—probably closer as producers at that stage. I think a lot of our collaborators spend a lot of time shifting around scripts that are bouncing around from one acquisition person to another. We’re free of all of that. We’re more interested in the actual story-telling at the moment.”

Ax part of the story-telling, Fessenden and McQuaid are aware of the importance of the sound, and they ensure each episode is richly layered with Sound FX, which bring an extra dimension to Tales….

Larry Fessenden: “I think we want to remain true to the audio format, and continue to deal an anthology of these spooky stories and keep pushing the envelope with what you can do with sound with these stories.

“Glenn and I think more of doing a series where there’s a continuing story-line, familiar characters—a community of characters—that’s one idea. And, of course, one is always drawn to other media, because with our home base in audio drama there’s potentially television, because what inspired us in the beginning was the audio element because Glenn and I were interested in an anthology and how it could present a series of stories that somehow relate thematically or will compliment each other. So, we’re always exploring, you know, but it’s tough, because we’re also trying to make films.

“In this day and age it’s possible to work in different formats, there’s a cohesion in the end, which we will let the critics sort out.”

Sean Young in Glenn McQuaid’s ‘The Crush.’

Larry Fessenden: “The other thing we try to do is reach out to actors, like Sean Young who’s in Glenn’s show “The Crush” and gives a tour-de-force, she is the femme fatale. Sean is a delightful. Mark Margolis who’s in “Caper” has just an amazing voice. Ironically, he was made most famous recently in a TV show, where he didn’t even speak. It was a treat to get him to talk again. And so many of our old pals from Vincent D’Onofrio to our stable of actors, John Speredakos, and so on, just wonderful guys. We really enjoy that—the core community of people.”

Glenn McQuaid: “I am looking forward to getting these eight tales out there, I think it’s a strong season, and it’s a bit of a balancing act, they are live and I think it’s nice that you are reminded that it’s live—we kept our audience in, we didn’t try to clean-up pieces too much. Also, one of our many goals with Tales… was the opening-up of the environment, really getting people out of their heads.”

While Fessenden and McQuaid have several other projects they are working on, both are keen to continue with Tales…

Glenn McQuaid: “I love the idea of doing a Tales from Beyond the Pale soap opera. We have some great collaborators and great producers, like Lisa Wisely and Jenn Wexler, who are doing a lot of the work behind the scenes, and as we move forward, we’re going to have work out a way to make it viable to keep doing it. But I really, truly believe there will be another season, and the possibility of an on-going series.”

Larry Fessenden: “Part of the reason we’re releasing the second season is that it might brings some eyeballs, or some ears to the first season of Tales from Beyond the Pale. We have a very strong core fans who are loyal, and we want to expand that. We’ll see where that takes us.”

Tales from Beyond the Pale: Season 2 is available to download from the site, or at iTunes and Audible from Friday the thirteenth.”

Check it! Dread Central posted a clip from Glenn McQuaid’s Tales From Beyond The Pale, Season 2 LIVE! episode, “The Crush,” featuring Sean Young and Matthew Stephen Huffman.

Loretta will stop at nothing to own her very own vineyard, but when the wine finally flows, it comes at a price.

Ain’t It Cool News will be reviewing the new season of Tales From Beyond The Pale in the coming weeks. They start off with Joe Maggio’s RAM KING. Head to AintItCool.com to check out the whole post:

“This tale from Medieval times focuses on a young boy who questions his belief in a tribal god known as the Ram King. The story is a gritty tale of the strength of belief and legend and how that can be used to show strength and perverted to one’s own will. There is some nice voicework here and the final moments are really harrowing as there is a scene of torture and monstrous retribution.

As a way to start out this new series of horror tales, this is one that really feels like a campfire tale, based in legend and oozing with spooky ambiance. Written and directed by Joe Maggio who brought you BITTER FEAST, RAM KING is a story I’d love to see expanded some day as I’d love to see what this horned monster god looks like.”

Larry Fessenden’s CAPER and Glenn McQuaid’s THE CRUSH are streaming free over at TalesFromBeyondThePale.com, and you can download all the episodes at TalesFromBeyondThePale.com/store.

Entertainment Weekly has an exclusive on the release of TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE, SEASON 2 LIVE! including news on how you can hear a double bill of Larry Fessenden’s “Caper” and Glenn McQuaid’s “The Crush” for free.

“Those sick folks over at Tales From Beyond the Pale are celebrating the release of the second season of their frightful-in-a-good-way audio play fables by streaming two new stories, which you can hear for absolutely nothing. The first is the Sean Young-starring The Crush, a tale of vineyard violence penned by V/H/S and I Sell the Dead director Glenn McQuaid while the second, Caper, details a Halloween heist-which-goes-horribly-wrong and was written by McQuaid’s fellow filmmaker and Tales co-overlord Larry Fessenden (The Last Winter, Beneath).”

Check out the full article at EW and listen to the TALES for free at TalesFromBeyondThePale.com.

American Jesus has its world premiere at the Woodstock film festival Friday October 4 and its International Premier at Sitges later this month.

The film is produced by Fessenden and Brent Kunkle. Schaeffer goes on to say:

Glass Eye Pal Kelly Reichardt’s new film NIGHT MOVES, reviewed by Hollywood Reporter while unspooling at the Venice Film Festival, went on to take the top prize at The 39th American Film Festival, Deauville. The film, starring Jesse Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning and Peter Sarsgaard, was executive produced by Fessenden in an ongoing collaboration with Reichardt that dates back to 1993’s RIVER OF GRASS, her debut feature. Frequent Glass Eye collaborator Jeff Grace provides the haunting NIGHT MOVES score.

Congrats to all. The film continues its festival run with Toronto.

BIRTH OF THE LIVING DEAD is coming this October! Check out the review from Brian M. Sammons at Hellnotes.com:

“Playing the film festival circuit right now is a new documentary about what is arguably the single most influential movie (not horror movie, but overall movie) in the last 50 years or so, Night of the Living Dead. What, you think I’m overstating things a bit? Name another movie from that period that spawned its own subgenre, and if you can do that, name one that was as far reaching as this one. Can you really do that? Now, in this age were zombies are everywhere and have invaded movies, TV shows, books, video games, cartoons, commercials, toys, t-shirts, etc. etc. etc. Before Night of the Living Dead there were no zombies, at least not as we know them now. After NotLD, the horrorverse was changed forever. The ramifications of that one, micro-budget, independent movie are still keenly felt today. Hell, its offspring is more popular now than ever before. That’s something that even much more vaunted game-changing movies, like Star Wars for example, can’t claim. And all that, this entire wave of zombie love that has washed over the world, can trace its way back to Night of the Living Dead. Maybe that’s why there are so many documentaries about that film. Well here is the latest one. Is it worth a watch by more than the most diehard Deadheads? Does it have anything new to say after all these years?

Thankfully the answer to both questions is yes.

Unlike some other docs, this one solely focuses just the one …of the Dead film, the one that started it all. The star of the show here is, appropriately, George A. Romero as he gets the most of the airtime. Sadly, none of the others who were involved with making Night are seen here at all. Sure, some of them have passed away, but there are still others who are alive and well and their absence here is a bit of a downer. That being said, it is the only down side to this movie that I can think of, so that tells you something about how good the rest of it is.

Birth of the Living Dead focuses on all aspects of Night of the Living Dead. From the time before it was even a thought in anyone’s head, to the stuff that influenced the story behind it, to all the obstacles that the filmmakers had to overcome just to get it on film, and then all the trials and tribulations that came afterward. However, where this movie really shines is looking at the social and political turmoil that was rife in America when Night was being made and how that influenced and was reflected in the groundbreaking movie. I mean, you’ve always heard about the ‘deeper meaning’ behind Night of the Living Dead, well this documentary fully explores all that and so much more.

In addition to Romero, various experts pop up here to give their opinions on the film and its relevance in both cinema and social history. Actor/director Larry Fessenden, super producer extraordinaire Gale Anne Hurd, film critic and radio host Elvis Mitchell, film editor Samuel D. Pollard and more all chime in here. Additionally, news footage and scenes from Night of the Living Dead itself fill out the rest of this documentary.

If you’re a fan of zombies in any way, shape, or form, you need to watch this movie. Night of the Living Dead is where it all started folks, there’s no denying that, and this film is one of the most extensive, informative, and even entertaining looks at that film. As such, consider it very highly recommended.”

Check the review out on Hellnotes.com and get more on Rob Kuhns’ BIRTH OF THE LIVING DEAD, presented by Glass Eye Pix & First Run Features, at the official BOTLD site.

From Brian Truitt at USA TODAY:

Simon Barrett unleashed a trio of masked killers on an unsuspecting family — and moviegoing public — as the screenwriter of the current horror film You’re Next, and next month he puts a college DJ through hell in old-school Hollywood fashion.

Dead Air, written and directed by Barrett, is part of the second season of Tales from Beyond the Pale, a series of downloadable 30-minute radio plays done by modern horror filmmakers in a style popularized by the likes of Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock decades ago.

Starring Jonny Orsini (Beneath) and Joel Garland (Orange is the New Black), Dead Air puts a late-night university student at the mic as demonic forces invade the nearby hallowed hallways.

The 10-episode second Tales season also includes Ram King by Joe Maggio (Bitter Feast), Stranger by Jeff Buhler (The Midnight Meat Train), The Crush by Glenn McQuaid (V/H/S) and Caper by Tales co-creator and Glass Eye Pix founder Larry Fessenden. The episodes will be available Sept. 13 for $2.99 each and feature the voice talents of Sean Young, Mark Margolis, James LeGros, Michael Cerveris and Vincent D’Onofrio.