Colonel's Crypt: What was your earliest recollection of the horror genre and what was your biggest inspiration into making films?

DANTE TOMASELLI: I was obsessed with the idea of creating horror movies since I was about 3-years-old. 1973. The same year THE EXORCIST and DON'T LOOK NOW came out. My mother would take me to the Drive-ins and I saw everything. I could go on and on...many 70s horror gems like THE OMEN, CARRIE, and THE SENTINEL. The whole Drive-in experience was pure joy for me; it's a shame the younger generation have absolutely no idea what it was like. For horror buffs it was heaven. So many great horror flicks, nonstop, one after another. In 1976, when I was 6, my cousin directed COMMUNION (aka ALICE, SWEET ALICE). That film proved to me that there's something in my family blood, it's just a natural thing for me...my love of the macabre and my desire to create horror movies. I don't question it. It's just an instinct that is extremely powerful. I'm a slave to these urges. Really though, my horror films are all about me replicating my childhood nightmares. I had many many vivid nightmares that left me completely devastated and confused about what was real and what was fantasy.

CC: SATAN'S PLAYGROUND deals with the mythology of the Jersey Devil. Being a NJ native, was this a story that interested you throughout your life?

DT: Yes. The Jersey Devil mythology always fascinated me. The idea that a demon was lurking in those woods somewhere out there really spooked me. The Pine Barrens woods are very maze-like and whimsical, like a child's storybook. Growing up, I used to spend my summers at the Jersey shore, right near those scary woods. To cross into that forest was like entering a mystical netherworld. That's why the name Satan's Playground fits. It's a place, a location, where the devil has fun.
 
CC: This is your second collaboration with Felissa Rose. How did you meet Felissa and what is it like working with her?

DT: Back in 2000, Felissa sent me her headshot to audition for a role in HORROR. Incredible. I was completely blown away getting a letter from her, because she was at the forefront of my mind. I loved her performance in SLEEPAWAY CAMP so much. When we met we just fell in love with each other. Working with Felissa on a film is pure happiness. I wish I could do it every day. It's a natural high. We had the time of our lives working on SATAN'S PLAYGROUND even though it was brutally cold.

CC: One scene that stays with me is when Sean is sinking in the quicksand, because it was unexpected and just a horrible death to see. You've worked with Danny Lopes on all of your films, and how is it working with him from project to project?

DT: Oh Danny's great. He's very loyal, kind of like my little apprentice. Since he was 15-years-old, he's watched me create three low budget films and now he actually wants to get involved in the producing side. Whether that happens or not, for sure we'll be working together on future films. Yeah, for that quicksand sequence Danny went completely under the earth. These days, you'd see something like that done with CGI, but I wanted it to be totally realistic. The idea of quicksand has always frightened me and I'll definitely explore it more in other films. I like the idea that something strikes you that you have absolutely no control over. That's life. You never really know what is going to happen next.

CC: What made you decide to primarily shoot the Jersey Devil from its point of view?

DT: Well, obviously that was a controversial decision. I've read reviews where they really wanted to see the monster and felt gypped in that regard...and there are many other reviews proclaiming the opposite, applauding the idea that it's an unseen force. So, I just went with my gut. Personally, I just thought it would be stupid to have some guy in a suit or some kind of cheesy CGI effect. I mean, really, haven't we all seen enough movies like that? As the tagline for THE FOG says, "what you can't see won't hurt you, it'll kill you."

CC: What would you say the experience in making SATAN'S PLAYGROUND is compared to your first two features, DESECRATION and HORROR?

DT: Well, every one of my movies has been rough to create with such low budgets...and all have been shot during the coldest winter months imaginable. The budget on DESECRATION was $150,000, HORROR was $250,000 and SATAN'S PLAYGROUND was $500,000. With each film I learn more and hopefully improve. I find it interesting that horror fans seem to take such extreme sides with my movies. Some are diehard DESECRATION fanatics. While others despise that film. Same thing with HORROR, there are those who love it...and loathe it. SATAN'S PLAYGROUND has definitely been my most successful effort in terms of bringing my work to a larger audience. It's even being sold at Wal-Mart (laughs). That in itself is a feat. Finally, with my next film, my fourth feature, I should have a relatively normal low budget, somewhere around 1.3 million. That will be a big step up and I've definitely paid my dues at this point.

CC: How is THE OCEAN coming along?

DT: I just need to secure all the funding and I'm ready to go. We have a great cast, creepy locations, a strong story with an emotional hook. Susan Parsons is producing it. The film will star Margot Kidder (AMITYVILLE HORROR) as a medium haunted by visions of the apocalypse. She travels to Puerto Rico to be with her estranged family. It's about God's wrath, his punishment for our sins. There's a mysterious Ebola-like virus spreading along the coast, so in some ways, THE OCEAN is my zombie splatter horror movie. Everyone who reads the script (co-written by Fangoria's Michael Gingold) says it has an Italian horror Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci feel. That's good. I'm embracing that notion for the first time. I'm Italian American, maybe there's just something in the blood, because these images and themes are completely organic. I have big plans for THE OCEAN, a film about water dominating the earth. All my budgets have been poverty-row and I always shoot on film. I'm very anti-video. These other guys I get lumped together with a lot, Rob Zombie. Eli Roth...you have to consider that all their films have had budgets over 1 million. Against all odds, I've carved a reputation for myself for my experimental low budget movies, but I do feel it's time to break out.

CC: Is there anything you can say about SALEM, to which you've posted a teaser poster on your Myspace page?

DT: That poster should give you an idea...but I really don't want to say anything about SALEM yet. It's looming. I'm interested in locations, areas, that reverberate evil.
 
CC: Christopher P. Garetano is currently developing a documentary on you entitled THE HORROR OF DANTE TOMASELLI. How did you meet Chris and what brought on the idea for this project?

DT: I actually met Chris when I was going to School of Visual Arts in the 90s. We met on the streets right outside an art store and it was a brief exchange. I'm pretty sure I complimented him on a horror shirt he was wearing. I gave him one of my weird haunted house business cards. There was just something about his aura. I saw multicolored streaks in the atmosphere. Little did I know that years later we would reconnect. He started a genre magazine called Are You Going? and eventually he did a cover story on me called THE HORROR OF DANTE TOMASELLI. We became fast friends and during one of our phone conversations I told him that some filmmakers and distributors wanted to do a little documentary about my me and my films. I didn't trust these other entities and I didn't want to create something myself, that would be like propaganda, so we discussed the idea of Chris directing a film. He had his own ideas, which I loved. Chris is one of the best new low budget filmmakers out there. What really convinced me that he'd be perfect for this was his movie, HORROR BUSINESS, a poignant documentary on the struggles of low budget filmmaking.

CC: Where do you see horror in five years?

DT: Independent horror directors will completely take over the scene. I think we're all fed up with the glossy, dumb Hollywood shit being shoved down our throats. Those films are made by committees. There's no singular vision. Independent horror all the way.

CC: Thanks for your time Dante, much appreciated.

DT: Peace.