Tales from Beyond the Pale, Season One, Vol. 3

'Is This Seat Taken?' and 'The Grandfather'

By: Sarah Langan, Graham Reznick

Narrated by: Larry Fessenden

Conceived during a fog-drenched car ride with nothing beyond the windshield but a horizon-less void, Larry Fessenden and Glenn McQuaid created the acclaimed Tales from Beyond the Pale, audio theater inspired by the vintage radio shows of Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles. Volume 3 features two episodes from the first season, including "Is This Seat Taken?" by Sarah Langan and "The Grandfather" by Graham Reznick.

The series is produced by filmmakers Larry Fessenden, Glenn McQuaid, and Lisa Wisely.

In "Is this Seat Taken?", written by Sarah Langan and directed by J.T. Petty, a young man meets an alluring woman on the Long Island Railroad and slowly comes to realize they have a common past... but maybe not the one she is recollecting. This twisted commuter’s tale stars independent filmmaker Joe Swanberg and New York actress Vonia Lania.

In "The Grandfather", written and directed by Graham Reznick, a perfectly ordinary grandfather feeds his perfectly ordinary cat, waiting for his perfectly happy family to arrive for a perfectly pleasant afternoon… until an unfortunate revelation puts them all on a tragic path, if the grandfather can’t unravel their perfect mess first. This startling tale stars the venerable Angus Scrimm in the titular role.

©2010 Glass Eye Pix, Inc. (P)2010 Glass Eye Pix, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Fans of shows from 'A Prairie Home Companion' to 'This American Life' [who] take their stylistic cues from radio’s glory days - should enjoy these macabre R-rated tales." ( The New York Times)

"ONE OF THE YEAR’s TOP 10 — the team at Glass Eye Pix and the filmmakers they’ve assembled are very much crafting great little spookfests that remind us why we love horror storytelling in general." ( Fangoria)

Eddie view

it was a awful storyline. the performance was great, the story was idiotic and tiresome.