Giles Cosgrove Interview
The script came through and it was spot on, culty science fiction that could well have been found in a drawer in an office for Hammer Films. James' own Professor Matlock jumped off the page immediately, a character whose voice was clearly defined from the first word. There was so much possibility with the premise as well, a testament to James talent and version, as not only was this to be science fiction but horror also. The stroke of genius came in that it was framed as found footage, presented to the audience as if this could have really happened. I couldn't wait to get started.
James trusted me to take my own approach to presenting, having volunteered as a presenter on community radio since my mid teens. As a result I read it as seriously as possible without crossing the line into self parody, playing everything straight as though I were reading a local news bulletin. There's an occasional Moore-esque raise of an eyebrow but I knew the series hinged on plausibility, that whilst this was clearly fiction, the presentation had to inspire doubt in the audience, could this be fact? The more I think about it the more I realise that subconsciously I was also channeling another sci fi horror icon I greatly admire, writer and creator of The Twilight Zone Rod Serling.
I had hoped James would offer me the chance to write an episode and when the email came through with just such an offer I damn well nearly bit his hand off. I love genre writing and have done from a young age. At school my class was given a creative writing assignment, to write a locally set scary story, and instantly the boys began egging each other on with pages filled with as much blood, guts, gore, and suspense as our 10 year old minds could muster. Suffice to say when parents evening rolled around my teacher promptly pulled out my work, turned to the page where the toys in the local toy shop had come to life and started brutally murdering the child customers, and asked what I was reading at home to have written something so disturbing. I just thought it was funny.
And now James was egging me on. At the age of 22 there were no more parents' evenings. Christmas had come early. Armed with James' initial premise for what would become "Break On Through", a demonic haunting where the haunting could be justified, I set to work. Sat in my armchair I didn't move until the script was finished, the clock edging towards half two in the morning. The Hammer influence on the series as a whole is plain and my own work is no different, here Matlock picks up the pieces from a sex cult gone wrong, and within this I weaved my own love of the slasher genre. The Matlock Tapes is set in the decade where the slasher really entered the cultural zeitgeist, from the first murmurings beneath Leatherface Chainsaw wail in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, to full on shouting at the screen as the Shape entered the frame in Halloween. So the inter-dimensional demon haunting a group of 20-somethings became my Ghostface, picking off University students one by one. Yet all of that is summised in minutes as within the tight half hour run time of an episode, the audience gets the best bit of any slasher, as the final girl remains, the monster is undefeated and only Matlock can help. Add in a dash of local Devonshire flavour, some fake textbook excerpts, and some period details and it all adds up to 30 minutes of horror thrills.
I've loved working with James, his suggestions and feedback come from just the right place and never fail to improve a script. Whilst I'm currently occupied working on scripts for a second series of my own audio production, I can't wait to return to The Matlock Tapes both as a writer and the presenter. Reading through James' scripts is a joy because I know I'm one of the first people to read it and it never fails to give me a kick. I've plenty of ideas of my own for future episodes as well, so if you're not already subscribed to The Matlock Tapes on whatever audio platform you use, what are you waiting for?"
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