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I first read Traumatic Descent – Larry Connolly’s short story that would be adapted into “This Way to Egress” 17 or 18 years ago.

Soon after I worked with my dear friend Charly Cantor on ideas to adapt the story into a feature-length film which Charly would write. I loved Charly like a brother and he passed away in 2002 leaving a gaping hole in me.

I would describe the story as a dark but benign fog that infiltrated my subconscious. It resonated for me in ways that took all of this time to become clear.

I’m grateful to Mick Garris and most of all to Larry for allowing me to complete part of this project. It does not fill any part of the hole but it helps.

David Slade, director of “This Way to Egress”

Saturday was the day it all came full circle, some 18-years after two young filmmakers from Sheffield reached out  … [more at The 21st-Century Scop].

A couple of posts ago, I touched on the UK connections of the Nightmare Cinema segment “This Way to Egress.” That post dealt with my collaboration with David Slade (left) and the late Charly Cantor — both from the Manchester area. In this post, I’d like to consider another UK connection.

Eight years ago, the collection This Way to Egress (Ash-Tree Press, 2010) was released at World Horror in Brighton. Featuring a cover illustration by Jason Zerrillo and a re-edited version of “Traumatic Descent” (retitled “This Way to To Egress”), the book launched along with four other Ash-Tree titles: Pieces Of Midnight by Gary McMahon, Tragic Life Stories by Steve Duffy, Walkers in the Dark by Paul Finch, and Lost Places by Simon Kurt Unsworth. The five-title book launch was organized by Ash-Tree’s Christopher Roden and proved to be one of the most successful book events I’ve taken part in. It drew quite a crowd, helped along by the presence of Barbara Roden, who was also on hand to sign copies of her collection Northwest Passage (Prime Books, 2009). Sales were brisk, and friendships … [more at The 21st-Century Scop].

Manchester, England.

Grimmfest.

Day One.

This year’s festival kicks off with the screening of a remastered classic, Stuart Gordon’s Re-Animator, which Entertainment Weekly has called “One of the greatest horror film of all time.”

Based loosely on H.P. Lovecraft’s Weird Tales novella “Herbert West–Reanimator,” the film helped launch the career of Barbara Crampton … [more at The 21st-Century Scop].

Eighteen years ago. It’s spring. Filmmaker Charly Cantor and I are driving around Pittsburgh. It’s his first time in the States, having arrived the day before from London. He’s come to collaborate on a new film adaptation of my story “Traumatic Descent,” and today we’re out looking at locations, places that might provide backdrops for a tale about a slow-burn descent into madness.

We drive down Ohio River Boulevard, past the chemical plants and coke ovens of Neville Island and into the brick-and-brownstone environs of Pittsburgh’s North Side. Charly says it all looks familiar, like the area around Sheffield and Manchester, UK,  where he grew up with his friend David Slade. He tells me to slow down. Then he turns in his seat, looks back the way we’ve come. “That sign. Did it say Manchester?”

“Yeah. That’s where we are. Manchester. Pittsburgh’s North Side.”

“Can you stop?” He … [read more at The 21st-Century Scop].