“The Slaughtered” came about, as so many of my creations seem to come about, as a result of long conversations with Larry Fessenden about politics, philosophy and the state of humanity. In this case, we were discussing John Rawls’ “veil of ignorance,” a thought experiment where individuals must build a society and its attending laws without knowing where they stand in the social hierarchy, and so out of sheer self-interest and self-preservation they will be motivated to create laws which are fair to everyone. I started thinking about this idea and how it applies to our current American society, where so often those at the top, the wealthy, the politically aligned of all colors and stripes, operate with a breezy, carefree nonchalance, buffered from any consequences stemming from their actions and ideas by the wide, soft cushion of their exalted status. I started to imagine a scenario where the chickens come home to roost, where a smug, wealthy, “do-gooder” investor is caught unawares by the savage reverberations of a single act of moral duplicity. Thus “The Slaughtered” was born.
For the cast, I knew I wanted to work again with James Le Gros, with whom I’d made one film (“Bitter Feast” 2010) and one previous tale (“Cannibals, Season 3.) As I wrote the script I imagined James’ voice in my head – refined, intelligent, a little mischievous – in the role of William Baxter, the morally upstanding ethical investor with a dark secret. For the role of Henry Munger, the town wild man, I was unsure, but then I met Alex Hurt on the set of Larry’s film, “Blackout” (2023). Watching Alex as Charley Barrett, the tortured artist/werewolf at the center of the film, it occurred to me that he would be the perfect Henry Munger, a tortured individual who, like Charlie, is highly civilized and utterly savage at the same time, these opposing impulses ceaselessly pulling at the jagged edges of his existence.
The dialogue was recorded in bits and pieces over the course of several weeks due to scheduling conflicts, including one marathon session with James Le Gros in a studio in LA and Alex Hurt in NYC. Underground Audio’s Matt Rocker somehow managed to weave it all together. In what was easily one of the most thrilling recording sessions I’ve ever been a part of, Dave Eggar, cellist extraordinaire, composed the score on the fly, listening to the radio play and then riffing, layering and just generally blowing our minds with the virtuosity of his playing and the acuity of his creative reflexes.
I’m so thrilled to have been given the opportunity to create this Tale. There’s something so pure about audio storytelling, and as a filmmaker it’s always good to be shaken up a bit and reminded of the power of sound as a storytelling engine. So much of what William and Henry say and do and the way they say and do it is ripped straight from my being. I hope listeners enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it.
—Joe Maggio, Nov 12 2025
TOP: Sketches by Trevor Denham for the poster. BELOW: Dave Eggar and Maggio discuss the score.
