Exclusive Artwork: Tales from Beyond the Pale – Paul Solet’s The Conformation

Steve Barton |

Dec 6, 2010

If you’re a fan of old school radio horror like The Weird Circle, Lights Out!, Sleep No More, The Hermit’s Cave, there’s a new treasure trove of horrific stories being told by some of today’s best filmmakers and actors called Tales from Beyond the Pale that is just waiting to keep you up at night!

We’ve got an exclusive look at the artwork for this week’s episode, Paul Solet’s “The Conformation”. Solet received numerous awards for his short films before writing and directing his highly lauded first feature, Grace, in 2008. Since its premiere at Sundance ‘09, where two men in the audience passed out from the intensity of the film, Grace has played at festivals all around the globe, including SXSW, Brussels, and Gerardmer, where it won the prestigious Prix du Jury.

Inspired by the classic radio shows of Alfred Hitchcock, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, and Orson Welles, TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE is a half-hour downloadable audio program featuring notable thespians including Vincent D’Onofrio, Ron Perlman, Angus Scrimm, Shea Wigham, James Le Gros, Joe Swanberg, and Kevin Corrigan.

Hosted by Glass Eye Pix CEO Larry Fessenden, each thirty-minute episode is written and directed by one of today’s horror auteurs including Joe Maggio (BITTER FEAST)¸ JT Petty (THE BURROWERS, SOFT FOR DIGGING), Graham Reznick (I CAN SEE YOU, THE VIEWER), Paul Solet (GRACE), Ashley Thorpe (THE HAIRY HANDS, SCAYRECROW), Simon Rumley (THE LIVING AND THE DEAD, RED WHITE AND BLUE), Jeff Buhler (MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN, INSAINTARIUM), and Sarah Langan (Author of THE KEEPER, THE MISSING).

Conceived during a fog-drenched car ride by Fessenden and frequent collaborator Glenn McQuaid (I SELL THE DEAD, effects supervisor on THE ROOST and THE LAST WINTER), this project continues the mission at Glass Eye Pix to celebrate individual voices in the arts and to reassert the broad palette of moods that comprise the horror story.

Says Fessenden: “We thought it would be a great opportunity to get into production, work with some of our favorite people and meet some new ones with a project that was relatively affordable. I’ve always loved radio and audio books. We wanted to try our hand at the format. I’m amazed at what people came up with. Feels pretty special. Like addicts, we’re already looking to Season two.”

McQuaid adds: “Season One has been a tremendous pleasure to work on. Larry and I wanted to gather stories from all walks of life; let each tale stand on it’s own merits, as well as complement the entire season. Listeners will be transported far and wide, from distant moons to misty moors, by stories told with a wide range of styles and sensibilities. The challenge for Larry and I, and all the filmmakers we reached out to, was to close our eyes, let go of our visual technique and concentrate purely on sound and performance.”

Never one to skimp on fanfare, Glass Eye has commissioned the wildly talented Gary Pullin to design the logo and website and a unique poster for each tale, evocative of illustrated one sheets from the 60’s or pulp comic covers from Marvel and EC. Each Tuesday for ten weeks a new episode will be unleashed, and with it, another Pullin original. All the graphics will be available for collectors through the TALES merchandise store.

Rushed into release for the Halloween Season, the first episodes of TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE will only be available through the website ($1.99 by paypal or credit card), but will soon be downloadable from itunes, Amazon and other outlets. In December, all of Season One will be presented in a deluxe CD package just in time for Christmas.

Tales From Beyond the Pale Debuts October 26th!

TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE — SEASON 1

MAN ON THE LEDGE by Joe Maggio (BITTER FEAST)
With Vincent D’onofrio (MEN IN BLACK, FULL METAL JACKET)
IS THIS SEAT TAKEN? by Sarah Langan (Author of THE MISSING, and AUDREY’S DOOR)
With Joe Swanberg (A HORRIBLE WAY TO DIE)
THIS ORACLE MOON by Jeff Buhler (INSANITARIUM)
With Ron Perlman (HELLBOY, I SELL THE DEAD), Doug Jones (PAN’S LABYRINTH, HELLBOY)
THE CONFORMATION by Paul Solet (GRACE)
JOHNNY BOY by JT Petty (THE BURROWERS, S&MAN)
With Shea Wigham (BOARDWALK EMPIRE, SPLINTER), Amy Seimetz (A HORRIBLE WAY TO DIE)
THE GRANDFATHER by Graham Reznick (I CAN SEE YOU, THE VIEWER)
With Angus Scrimm (PHANTASM, I SELL THE DEAD)
BRITISH AND PROUD by Simon Rumley (TRED, WHITE AND BLUE)
THE HOLE DIGGER by Larry Fessenden (THE LAST WINTER, WENDIGO)
With James Le Gros (THE LAST WINTER, ZODIAC), Kevin Corrigan (THE LAST WINTER)
TRAWLER by Glenn McQuaid (I Sell the Dead)
With AJ Bowen (THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL, A HORRIBLE WAY TO DIE), Larry Fessenden (HABIT, I SELL THE DEAD)
THE DEMON HUNTSMAN by Ashley Thorpe (THE HAIRY HAND)
With Michael Cerveris (Sweeny Todd (on Broadway), STAKE LAND, “Fringe”)

For all the latest news keep an eye on Talesfrombeyondthepale.com and follow along on Twitter (@talesbeyond)!

Dig on the plot crunch and the artwork for “The Conformation” below.

Synopsis
When a plastic surgeon obsessed with creating the perfect form falls for a patient obsessed with becoming it, the two lose themselves in a synchronistic psychosis that culminates in a realization of their dreams more grotesque than either could have imagined.