An Italian American, Tomaselli has been a lifelong supernatural/horror aficionado and is also the cousin of film director Alfred Sole, whose Alice, Sweet Alice (1976), made its own mark in the world of Catholic-themed horror films 26 years ago. The director of cult horror movies such as 'Desecration' and 2002's 'Horror', Dante is currently shooting his long anticipated third feature 'Satan's Playground'. This interview was conducted during the production of 'Horror' (2002).

How did you get into film-making, and why did you choose directing as a profession?
I always wanted to get into filmmaking. It was my goal since I was like 3, in 1973, I remember tearing the Ads out of newspapers and taping them over my bed. Ads for films like EARTHQUAKE. I knew I wanted to make scary horror movies. I would fantasize about it. With my eyes as the camera I would stalk the terrain and imagine... I'd be both victim and monster. All these little characters would talk in my mind. I guess you could say I would drown myself in my imagination. I never stopped doing it.

Directing and writing was all I ever wanted to do. There was never a choice. Though there were periods where I got scared and thought I'd never be able to pull it off. Like midway through college I changed my major from Film to Advertising. I just got nervous and felt it seemed impossible to make a full-length horror movie. From all the film courses I took they made it seem so hard. My strategy was that I was gonna use Advertising as an indirect route and try to break into film by doing commercials. But when I graduated in 92 or was it 93? ...I began searching for jobs in Advertising copywriting and realized hey what am I doing? I'm in my early twenties. I need to make this happen now. I can't waste time. So I set up a voice mail and placed an Ad in the Village Voice looking for a film crew to make a 'hardcore horror film'. I attracted all sorts of NYC FX artists, budding cinematographers and actors. From that Ad, the core crew for Mama's Boy - my first ambitious short film was born. This same crew worked on an earlier verison of my Desecration short. Eventually I developed a network of artists around me who believed in me and wanted to work on my projects. That definitely didn't happen overnight. You just have to keep at it and never give up.

"Horror" is your second delve into the horror genre. What first attracted you to the genre?
There are no boundaries. Taboos can be explored and you don't or shouldn't have to feel gulity. I try to let everything pour out of my subconscious and not censor myself. With me, it all starts with an image and then some kind of story forms itself around that picture. When it's a powerful image, I can close my eyes and it's as clear as a slide projected in my mind.

Felissa Rose stars in "Horror", and also appeared in another 'cult' horror film many years ago ("Sleepaway Camp"). What are your impressions of her?
Actually Felissa Rose doesn't star in Horror, she has a cameo. It's breif but very effective, very startling. I love Felissa and can't wait to have her truly star in my next film, Apparition. She's a real natural in front of the camera, very instinctual, in-the-moment. I just love her as a person and an actress. We'll always be allies.

"Desecration" and "Horror" both contain strong themes of religion, death and hell. What inspired you to explore these ideas, and will they be themes that appear in all of your films?
Yes I think these themes will appear in all my films. I can't seem to escape them. When I was little, I thought hell was a real place, under the ground. I actually felt it rumbling. I guess I kept seeing the dark side of things, the dark side of religion, of family. Things that should be comforting would instead twist around - like nuns, I'm not judging them,I respect nuns, I really do, but to me, sometimes, they seemed ghostly, scary. And I always saw the crucifixion of Christ as the most terrifying sequence, so bloody and disturbing, so nightmarish. I'm not making fun of any of these images. I really don't have an axe to grind with the Catholic church. Maybe it just has something to do with my upbringing, having two Italian grandmothers from Paterson, all the religious symbols in their homes. Also my cousin directed the 70's Catholic shocker, Alice Sweet Alice.

You directing has a very powerful visual style. Who is your inspiration?
Thanks. Well, I try to just be myself. But I would have to say Dali. I remember being in 1st grade and obsessively staring at a book on Dali. I kept on going back to it. I think with my films I want the viewer to stare. I keep a lot of the frame dense with detail, much like a painting would look. Also, Dali conjured imagery from his childhood and made it into some kind of weird art. I really respect that - the way he did it so uncompromisingly.

Cold and tired but directing continues...

If you could remake any horror film in history, which one would it be?
THE BLOB - probably because it disturbed me more than any other film when was I was really young. Actually the film didn't really frighten me - it was the concept of the all-encompassing, all-devouring Blob. At night, when I'd go to sleep, the vision of it gave me so many nightmares. I felt like it was moving under my bed. Actually, right outside my bedroom, in the hallway, the carpet rug was red and the steps leading downstairs also...deep red. I think that's why I used to dream about The Blob all the time.

What is your all-time favourite horror film?
There's not just one. I 'd say Halloween, Alice, Sweet Alice, Don't Look Now, The Brood, The Exorcist, Let's Scare Jessica to Death, Suspiria and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Most of the actors in your films are unknowns, which gives a sense of reality. Was this your aim, and if you could work with big Hollywood actors would you?
I like using unknown actors, especially with horror films, it makes it a much more intimate experience. Though it's definitely not a goal in any way, I'd like to work with a Hollywood name, sure. You know but it should be natural, not forced, also that actor would have to really really want to work on the project. There has to be that kind of chemistry. I prefer cult figures to Hollywood icons anyway.

As a film-maker with a relatively low budget, do you find that this limits what you can do creatively, or does it simply make you and your team more creative?
Oh it definitely makes us more creative. That's why all of the best horror films are independent, low-budget projects. There's so much more passion. Try to name some 50 million dollar Hollywood horror film that you love. I bet you can't.I know you can't. I still feel like I could churn out more films like this because the creativity factor is so strong. It's so rewarding. But truthfully, for my next film, my third film, I want a one million dollar budget, at the very least.

Recently you commenced work on "Apparition", your third horror outing. Could you give any information about the project?
Actually, I'm writing the screenplay right now - I'd love to shoot it in August. So far, it involves supernatural riptides in the ocean, quicksand, weird and disturbing hallucinations like an army of crabs...Felissa Rose, afflicted with stigmata, will play a widowed, church organist trying to come to grips with the loss of her drowned son...Think the Amityville Horror meets The Entity meets Blood Beach... I can't wait to shoot it.

Would you ever consider making a non-Horror film? If so, what other genre is most alluring to you?
Science Fiction.

"Thanks a lot for your time, Dante!"

Visit the official "Horror" website: http://www.horrorthemovie.com