Tuesday, November 11 at 6:30: Q&A with director Rick Alverson and star Gregg Turkington (On Cinema at the Cinema) moderated by Owen Kline
A broken, aging comedian tours the California desert, lost in a cycle of third-rate venues, novelty tourist attractions, and vain attempts to reach his estranged daughter. By day, he slogs through the barren landscape, inadvertently alienating every acquaintance. At night, he seeks solace in the animation of his onstage persona. Fueled by the promise of a lucrative Hollywood engagement, he trudges through a series of increasingly surreal and volatile encounters. In Alverson’s hallucinatory fugue, Gregg Turkington stars as The Comedian, caught in a struggle between being the center of attention and the object of alienation, occasionally challenged by an unexpected cast of characters played by Tye Sheridan, John C. Reilly, Michael Cera, and Amy Seimetz.
Fessenden served as (one of many) Executive Producer.
As Glass Eye Pix celebrates its 40th anniversary this week, the bastion of independent genre storytelling has relaunched one of its perennial projects. Last week, we broke the news that the horror audio series TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE is coming back for its sixth season; below, Glass Eye founder/filmmaker Larry Fessenden talks about that return and how it came to happen.
TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE was launched by Fessenden and co-creator Glenn McQuaid (director of I SELL THE DEAD and the new THE RESTORATION OF GRAYSON MANOR) in 2010, to recapture the thrills and terror of old-style radio shows. Over the course of five seasons and 49 episodes (check ’em out here), TALES has showcased a wide range of horror talent as writers and actors, with a number of the episodes recorded live at festivals and other public events. Then the series encountered an unexpected interruption, as Fessenden relates…
After several years on hiatus, what led to TALES coming back this year?
TALES takes a lot of effort, and Glenn and I worked on it quite regularly for 10 years. Then–and I hate blaming COVID for everything, but it did put a damper on both live shows and studio recordings–that momentum slowed. We did do a 10th-anniversary quarantine Zoom with many of our regular collaborators on October 27, 2020 (see it below).
After the pandemic, Glenn had a movie [RESTORATION] to make and had to focus on that, and I had some films to mount as well, so TALES moved to the back burner. We had updated it to a podcast format, so we felt it was safe for fans to discover in our absence. The only Tale we recorded in the early ’20s was a reading by [Glass Eye regular] John Speredakos of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death” with a sax score by myself. But that was an outlier, because to our mind, the TALES brand has always been about original work. The other exception was an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Hound” by Stuart Gordon. It’s hard to refuse Stuart Gordon!
What was the selection process for the new season of stories?
Our process is fairly deliberate. We approach people we’ve worked with over time who haven’t had a go at it before, like Jenn Wexler [THE RANGER, THE SACRIFICE GAME], who had produced a couple of seasons but never written for us. Or new artisans we might have just worked, with like Emily Bennett [his co-star in the new BLOOD SHINE]. Ted Geoghegan [who directed Fessenden in WE ARE STILL HERE and BROOKLYN 45] had written a Tale years ago that didn’t get made, so it was fun to bring him back. We tend to revisit writers as well, like Joe Maggio, Graham Reznick, April Snellings and Clay McLeod Chapman. Between us, we have a wide circle of horror pals to prod and new people to approach.
I will say it is also curated; even from our pals, we’ll ask for several loglines before deciding, so the season has a rhythm–an old-fashioned creature feature butted up against an AI apocalypse story. Glenn and I have to feel inspired. I don’t believe in making work for the sake of creating content. Life’s too short and the purse strings too tight for that.
Is there any talent involved that you’ve wanted to get for a long time?
The format is such that you can easily imagine getting writers or actors of stature to commit to a short-form project or a couple hours of recording. But there are always logistics in show biz, and this is a project where we try to avoid the trappings of agents and egos. We are grateful for the folks who do hop on board; we’ve engaged some swell talent willing to play in our sandbox.
What new ground were you looking to break this season?
I’ll be happy if we can just keep the quality up, and tell unique, immersive stories that deliver the chills.
What can you say about your and McQuaid’s own stories for this lineup?
I’ll just say that Glenn has already written three great Tales for the season–he is a restless writer–but the one he’s landed on is dripping with atmosphere and quietly chilling. I hope that’s the one we put into production, but you never know… As for me, I like having the challenge hovering over me of needing to write a Tale; as David Lynch might have put it, it keeps me fishing for that idea. In the meantime, I busy myself with getting these others made, along with Jordan Gass-Pooré, our co-producer.
How has TALES evolved over the course of its 15 years?
That’s a question for the listener to answer. We have definitely played with the conventions of the genre in various ways; check out Glenn’s INT. COFFIN – NIGHT, a Tale with no dialogue. But I would say that the most significant thing to happen in the last 15 years is that the idea of audio dramas has gone from an “old-timey” throwback to one of the most potent formats of our time, as the number of podcasts and audiobooks has ballooned. I remember saying in the early days of Spotify that they should carry audio dramas–ha! So here we are.
Your movie BLACKOUT was based on one of your Tales. Do you envision more of them being adapted into feature films?
BLACKOUT was actually an idea I pitched for the TV show FEAR ITSELF, but they wanted me to do something different. Then I pitched it as a found-footage story for V/H/S, and they didn’t see it. I decided to do it as a Tale when I had to come up with an idea for an impending live show, and that production gave me the clarity to see the movie. So TALES is a format for working through ideas, and we hope it is inspiring for all the artisans who get involved to make it part of their creative journey.
Ever since the mad scientist Frankenstein cried, “It’s alive!” in the 1931 classic film directed by James Whale, pop culture has never been the same.
Few works of fiction have inspired more adaptations, re-imaginings, parodies and riffs than Mary Shelley’s tragic 1818 Gothic novel, “Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus,” the tale of Victor Frankenstein, who, in his crazed quest to create life, builds a grotesque creature that he rejects immediately.
The story was first borrowed for the screen in 1910 — in a single-reel silent — and has directly or indirectly spawned hundreds of movies and TV shows in many genres. Each one, including Guillermo del Toro’s new “Frankenstein,” streaming on Netflix, comes with the same unspoken agreement: that we collectively share a core understanding of the legend.
Here’s a look at the many ways the central themes that Shelley explored, as she provocatively plumbed the human condition, have been examined and repurposed time and again onscreen…
…And in the 2019 psychologically bleak thriller DEPRAVED, an Army surgeon, grappling with trauma, pieces together a bundle of body parts known as Adam…
Welcome to The Tower, a podcast that explores the films that took the rulebook, doused it in gasoline and lit a match. The Tower tarot card represents chaos and the upheaval of old forms, and here I will focus on films that did just that for my brilliant guests. The films that changed them forever are the films that belong in The Tower. In each episode, Bennett interviews visionaries in cinema, from directors to festival programmers, from actors to writers, from critics to psychoanalysts, and explores their favorite paradigm-shifting films. The fire is burning. Come dance with us in the flames.
Crew The Tower is created and hosted by Emily Bennett produced by Jordan Gass-Pooré and presented by Glass Eye Pix. Technical adviser is Justin Brooks. Sound engineering by Mark Bush. Original music composed by Graham Reznick. Art by Steak Mntn.
EPISODE 1 FEATURING LARRY FESSENDEN DROPS 11.10.25
Tommy and Gene uncover more than they bargain for when strolling through a graveyard at midnight. Writer and Score, Glenn McQuaid; Director, Larry Fessenden. Featuring Jaxon Bartok and Leon Barrett. Tales Theme by Jeff Grace. Poster by Brian Level.
Glass Eye Pix celebrates its 40th anniversary with a new collection of audio horror.
RUE MORGUE got the first word about the sixth season of TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE, the homage to classic radio terrors overseen by Larry Fessenden (BLACKOUT, DEPRAVED, WENDIGO) and Glenn McQuaid (I SELL THE DEAD, THE RESTORATION OF GRAYSON MANOR). A teaser for the new lineup titled THE HOST, directed by Fessenden, written and scored by McQuaid and featuring young performers Jaxon Bartok and Leon Barrett can be heard below; the poster was created by TALES regular Brian Level, and the series’ returning theme was composed by Jeff Grace.
A new entry in TALES’ season six will be released every second Thursday of the month, beginning on November 13 and available wherever you get your podcasts. The talent involved includes both TALES regulars and exciting newcomers:
THE SLAUGHTERED, by Joe Maggio (BITTER FEAST, BLISS)
ORPHEUS, by Jenn Wexler (THE RANGER, THE SACRIFICE GAME)
THE NEXT VOICE YOU HEAR WILL BE YOUR OWN, by Emily Bennett (BLOOD SHINE, ALONE WITH YOU)
SUPER, by Rigo Garay (SIZE UP, actor in CRUMB CATCHER, BLACKOUT)
THREE RAPS ON THE BUOY, by McQuaid
MADGE, THE WORLD SPIDER, AND ONE LAST DRINK, by Richard Newby (author, WE MAKE MONSTERS HERE)
FOX HUNT, by Craig Ian Mann (author, PHASES OF THE MOON)
EVERYTHING MUST GO, by Ted Geoghegan (WE ARE STILL HERE, MOHAWK, BROOKLYN 45)
Also coming up are new tales from Graham Reznick (I CAN SEE YOU, DEADWAX), Clay McCleod Chapman (author, WHISPER DOWN THE LANE, GHOST EATERS, ACQUIRED TASTE), Roxanne Benjamin (SOUTHBOUND, BODY AT BRIGHTON ROCK, V/H/S) April Snellings (author, FOOD CHAIN), Joe Lynch (SUITABLE FLESH, MAYHEM) and Fessenden himself. The casts are also rife with familiar names and newcomers, such as James Le Gros, Barbara Crampton, Alex Hurt, Bennett, John Speredakos, Jeremy Holm, Garay, Lorraine Farris, Bill Sage, Kareem Savinon, Chloë Levine, Asta Paredes, Clay von Carlowitz, Xero Gravity, David Cardoza, Dante Fiallo, Romanichel and Benjamin Frankenberg.
“Here we are,” McQuaid says, “a little older, none the wiser, and once again trudging beyond the pale with a brand-new collection of TALES. This season gathers some of the sharpest, strangest, and most brilliant writers we’ve ever had the pleasure to work with. The mics are hot, the celery’s snapping, and the tape is rolling.” Adds Fessenden, “It’s delightful to be back making mischief with artisans old and new. In a time when mounting a movie is so arduous, it’s fun and essential to be able to tell stories in a more spontaneous format.”
Also part of the TALES team is producer Jordan Gass-Pooré, with primary recording and mixing by Matt Rocker of Underground Audio. Musical collaborators Reznick, McQuaid and Dave Eggar also make multiple contributions. You can check out the first five seasons of TALES on iTunes, Audible, Spotify, Amazon and at the official website.
Independent horror filmmaker Larry Fessenden began his directing career with No Telling, a low-budget rural riff on Frankenstein featuring heavy relationship drama and animal experimentation. Nearly 30 years later, Fessenden returned to the “Frankenstein complex” with Depraved, a modern take set in New York that begins with the murder of a millennial web designer whose brain is plugged into a stitched-together creation. “Adam” is unaware of the life that was snuffed out to bring him to life. Over its long development period, Depraved suffered a drastic budget reduction, but Fessenden’s threadbare resources are mostly outshone by committed performances from David Call as Henry, our narcissistic creator, and Alex Breaux as Adam. The film honors Shelley’s conception of the Monster with an uncommon degree of sensitivity and notably deploys an array of optical effects to emphasize the experience of Adam’s secondhand eyes taking in the world for the first time.
In the beginning, THE OFF SEASON appears to be the story of a young couple from New York City moving up to Maine to get away from it all. Soon, strange things begin to happen in the one-room apartment that they occupy — things that the once close couple cannot discuss with each other. This is not a typical ghost story resulting from a tragic death, but the tale of a place haunted by guilt and the fear of abandonment.
“The Off Season delivers both remarkable character development and terrific “jump” moments. Prepare to scream, shudder and never shower in a motel again.” —The Chronicle
“deliberately-paced ghost story from executive producer Larry Fessenden. At first glance, the plot plays out like The Shining, but more probing reveals that there’s a lot at work here and that the film has merit on its own.” —DVD & Video Guide 2007
Ramping up to GEP’s 40th Anniversary, we celebrate 40+ projects that have come from our shop
Werewolves haven’t had the same pop cultural penetration as their fright-night brethren like zombies, vampires, and the assortment of slasher villains, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have movies worth howling for. As with most movie monsters, the earliest efforts in the genre are among the best, as they open audience eyes to previously unseen worlds of terror, and illuminate a future of sequels, ripoffs, and remakes. 1941’s The Wolf Man, with Lon Chaney Jr., remains the fast and furriest, though we also pay tribute to its 1935 progenitor Werewolf of London.
Since ol’ Wolfy got a late start compared to other Universal Classic Monsters, at a time when their influence was beginning to wane, the studio was quick to put him in crossover sequels that were the style at the time. 1940s movies like Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man and The House of Frankenstein saw Chaney doing his best in a crowded cast.
Things frankly got quiet for a few decades, until in 1981 no less than three influential werewolf movies came out: Wolfen, The Howling, and An American Werewolf in London. Being back in the spotlight, and this being the ’80s, of course werewolves also got a teen comedy (Teen Wolf) and a kid-friendly romp (The Monster Squad).
Highlights since that ’80s heyday include the feminist deconstruction Ginger Snaps, action-packed Dog Soldiers, and getting the sexy treatment in both Underworld and Twilight.
If it’s a bright night out with a full moon, then you know what that means: Barricade the door, smelt all the silver in the house down into bullets, and get ready for a fur-flyin’ fight. That, or just check out our guide to the 30 Essential Werewolf Movies and settle in for a howling good time. —Alex Vo
Glass Eye Pix is the fierce independent NYC-based production outfit headed by award-winning art-horror auteur Larry Fessenden with the mission of supporting individual voices in the arts. Read more...
