TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE INTERVIEW SERIES 11: THE DEMON HUNTSMAN creator Ashley Thorpe

TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE INTERVIEW SERIES 11: THE DEMON HUNTSMAN creator Ashley Thorpe

British animator Ashley Thorpe discusses his homage to the classic Hammer horror film, Season 1's finale "The Demon Huntsman"

Vegas Outsider: Starting off, how were you first approached to contribute to Tales Beyond The Pale and what about this project caused you to come on board?

Ashley Thorpe: I have to thank Stuart ‘Feedback’ Andrews at Rue Morgue Radio; because it was through his advice that I came to Glenn McQuaid’s attention, which was really the genesis of the whole thing. I had just done an interview with Rue Morgue about my supernatural Highwayman animation Scayrecrow, and seeing the obvious love for the Hammer aesthetic in my work, Stuart suggested that I should really send my films over to Glenn. I guess that it was just a real stroke of luck and some immaculate timing, because he received the films just as plans for the project were being drawn up. I’ve long been a huge admirer of Larry’s work and I’d sought out Glenn’s film - I Sell the Dead - the moment I read about it. It smacked of everything that I love.

Even the title has (classic 60s/70s British horror production company) Amicus written all over it! But once approached I had no hesitation - Glass Eye Pix is everything I’d like Carrion Films to become.I’ve always adored the form of radio theatre; I love the romance of it and the intimacy. It bridges that space between film and reading in terms of engagement. My father was always a huge fan of radio drama, once telling me of how a BBC broadcast of ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ had enraptured him as a boy. Funnily enough, I actually spent about a month relentlessly listening to many of the original radio horror broadcasts towards the end of 2010 whilst putting the finishing touches to my animation ‘The Hairy Hands’. As a result, when the opportunity was presented to me to write something in a similar vein, despite having only ever worked in visual forms, I at least felt that I knew a little about radio conventions.

VO: The Demon Huntsman is a very baroque, old world tale; what was the inspiration behind the story idea and how easy or difficult was the process of crafting the final tale? Were there any particular tales or themes that you made sure to utilize when laying out the plot and characters?

AT: I’ve lived the majority of my life in a small city on the edge of Dartmoor, a region dense with tales of the supernatural. It’s a landscape that has always been a source of constant inspiration. Tales of the devil are common in this region and are - without sounding like something from The Wicker Man - more often than not pre-Christian. The actual tale of a demonic Huntsman and his pack of hellish hounds is based upon a genuine Dartmoor myth that I’d heard as a kid. It’s an ancient legend bound in the conflict between Celtic and Christian religions; the benevolent horned gods of one age becoming the malevolent devils of another.

The real guts of the story, that of a cruel Squire (Lord Capel) persecuting village maidens, hunting them across the moor as sport is, believe it or not, based upon a genuine historical character from the region wherein the story is set. Such was the man’s villainy that when he died it is said that demonic hounds came baying across the moor to mark his passing. Some variations of the story say that they howl beside his grave every year at the anniversary of his death.

Whatever the truth of the matter is, the Squire was laid to rest in a sepulcher set with iron bars for fear of his deals with devils coming to fruition. The tomb is still there, in the churchyard at Buckfastleigh, just like in the play. The story of Richard Capel is also the myth that inspired the framing story for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’, so with ‘The Demon Huntsman’ I wanted to try and craft something that would acknowledge both my local folklore but also a tale that would evoke gothic archetypes, something laden with real 18th and 19th century gothic motifs. There’s actually a line from the Holmes story in there, playing on the interaction between these seemingly disparate filigrees.

The original myth of the Huntsman (delivering your firstborn dead at your feet) functions as both cautionary tale and a tragedy, so the main characters were crafted very much with that in mind. The characters almost have that EC Comics feel to them. They’re purposely slightly larger than life.Capel is a gambler and a rake and that is ultimately his undoing. You don’t get to cut cards with the devil and get away with it. Apart from Capel, who’s an outright megalomaniac, the characters that I had the most fun writing were the comic foil Footmen - my chance to riff on An American Werewolf in London- and Margaret - the sagely housekeeper, full of stories and omens. She’s actually the only truly, savvy character in the narrative, one of those - “Ah, if only we’d listened to her in the first place” types. She’s in tune. And I thought she was played wonderfully.

VO: As I mentioned the story has this very baroque, almost Gothic feel to it, which is exceedingly reflected in the moody, atmospheric sound design. Going in, how much input did you have in determining the overall soundscape and what are your thoughts on the final mix?

AT: It’s very Gothic, Uber-gothic, and intentionally written that way. That was something both Glenn and Larry picked up on straight away. We’d discussed from the outset that I wanted to try and make something that was purposefully retro, a Hammer horror for the radio, and that was something that not only were they very keen on but understood intrinsically. Glenn especially has a great wealth of knowledge about the golden age of Hammer horror, very literate, and knew the stylistic motifs that would be needed to make it work. Glenn directed the finale pitch perfect; it’s as harrowing as I possibly could have hoped for. In technical terms, I didn’t have that much control determining the mix since I’d purposely plumped to be ‘just the writer’ this time.

However, I was constantly consulted during every stage of the production process. I’d written quite a bit of sound direction in there regardless, and Glenn was very true to the script. We had regular discussions about the sort of ambience and feel that the piece should have, sending ideas and examples back and forth, so for a writer to be consulted to that degree and the work treated with such care and reverence was amazing.I’m very happy with the end result. They took my words and built an evocative world around them. You can tell that these radio productions are labours of love. The proof is in the attention to detail.

VO: Taking a step back now that the episode is complete, what are your overall impressions of this experience and of Tales From Beyond The Pale in general?

AT: I listen back to it now and it’s funny because I can barely remember writing it! I was really intimidated by the experience. I’d never written for radio before, never really even written dialogue. I make nearly silent animations but it was a fresh exciting experience, a test. I’m thrilled not only to have finished the script at all, but to have made something that my peers have embraced and enjoyed. Funnily enough, returning full circle, Stuart at Rue Morgue recently wrote a piece about the episode, which summarizes my feelings for it perfectly. He said that it was very much ‘canon’ - ‘beautifully capturing my aesthetic and joining the ranks of my earlier works as yet another charming love letter to the sumptuous Hammer Horror Film.‘ I think that’s very telling.

That Glenn and Larry saw something in the animations that they thought might work on radio through sound, displaying not only the faith to go out on a limb by giving an unknown a shot, but then taking whatever it is that I have and transposing it from one form to another perfectly. I think the idea of ‘reanimating’ horror radio for the 21st century was an inspired one and I’m deeply proud to have been part of it. I’d be keen and intrigued to write more radio. I’d certainly love to try my hand at another ‘Beyond the Pale’ episode....

VO: Finally, what upcoming projects can episode listeners look forward to from you?

AT: There are a number of things on the horizon, many of which have come as result of this collaboration. Some more Devon based shoots. There are some that I can discuss and some that are sworn to secrecy! First and foremost is my first feature - Spring Heel Jack. Produced by Philip Nutman and Tom Atkinson, this film, like my previous animations, once again plunders neglected aspects of British folklore for inspiration. It will be an altogether darker, denser, and richer affair than some of the shorts. But it will retain many of their aesthetic qualities in what I hope will be something of an archetypal Victorian gothic horror whilst serving as something of an origin story for the costumed super-hero.

To learn more about this episode, go to www.talesfrombeyondthepale.com