Head Cheeze got a chance to chat with the director of Desecration about religion, digital video, and what it's like to be compared to the masters of Italian horror!

So, you've got two features under your belt, you're being compared to the masters of Euro-Shock Cinema and, from what I hear, chicks dig ya! That's gotta feel pretty damned good, no?!

Wow. Thanks for the compliment. I'm glad I have two features under my belt. I never liked seeing first-time filmmaker next to my name. Now I never have to see that again. I'm definitely ready for my third.

With Desecration, your first feature, you used a lot of Catholic symbolism and seemed…err….hell-bent on showing the audience that even the most religious souls are not exempt from the wrath of darkness. Are you a lapsed Catholic, or did you just feel like giving the system a nice kick in the ass?

It wasn't premeditated...the story and concept just came out of me organically. The plot's backdrop was my childhood and I was brought up in a very Italian Catholic environment. I believed in Hell. My grandma would tell me that when it was thundering that the angels were bowling and I believed her. In my Pratt Institute art classes I was painting faceless nuns all the time. It was almost like automatic writing, because I felt that something else was taking control. The writing process for the Desecration screenplay felt like an Ouija board session. I remember I wrote the scissors attack sequence while sitting on the steps of the New York Public Library on 42nd and 5th Ave. Am I a lapsed Catholic? I guess maybe I am. Though, I never really felt connected...to any organized religion. I am spiritual, but my God is an all-seeing eye that watches over the universe. Growing up, I remember many times being in church on my knees and wondering what am I doing here? Why am I on my knees? The chanting would become creepy and robotic and I would just immerse myself in my imagination.

This theme of evil sleeping in the house of God could not have come at a more appropriate time, in light of the controversy surrounding the church recently. While Desecration was made in 1999, it resonated on a whole different level with me when I watched it this month. How has this revelation affected your view of the film, and of the church in general?

That's interesting because I thought the same thing. Desecration does seem to be in sync with what's going on right now even though it was created in 1999. 666? I don't know. Of course in 1999 I was 29 and I was born on October 29th. 2 + 9 = 11. I'm not sure what I'm implying.

Your second film, Horror, focuses on symbolism again, this time within the world of dreams, specifically nightmares. How did you go about bringing this abstract world to the screen and still manage to make a cohesive story out of it?

Making a cohesive story out of it all is always the biggest challenge for me. I'm always trying to improve in that area. The images are as clear as slides projected in my mind. I know what I want visually. And with the right cinematographer, the right art department and actors, these pictures can be brought to life. I love that process. I also hear the sounds very clearly while I'm shooting because in most cases I've already decided what effect or music will be happening at any given moment. I design and produce all my soundtracks. So the movie is very much ingrained in my psyche on the set.

At the risk of sounding Freudian, do your dreams affect your writing?

Very much so. Growing up I had a condition called Sleep Paralysis.
I would actually be awake in my nightmares and unable to move. My dream world and waking reality blurred, especially from the ages of 10 and 17.The nightmares were bad. My body would feel electrified...I just throbbed with fear, sometimes, seriously, this gate would open and phantoms would come out and onto my bed. It was all very hallucinatory. I didn't use drugs or alcohol. If anything, I was repressed.

Horror has been completed for some time, yet the film hasn't been given a wide release yet. When will audiences get a chance to see it?

The film was officially finished and copyrighted February 2002, just a few months ago, so HORROR is actually new. I gave out a few copies around the New Year, to generate a buzz within the horror community, but these critics didn't have the final version. I tweaked the colors and the editing a bit and the soundtrack is more powerful.

While many young filmmakers, particularly within the horror genre, have taken the Digital Video route, you shot both of your features on film. As the DV technology improves and the quality gap between the mediums narrows, what format do you see yourself shooting your next picture on?

Super 16 mm or 35 mm for my next film. I would never shoot a feature on Digital Video. No way. It doesn't matter what anyone says, digital or not, it still looks like video, flat. I'm not putting down other filmmakers who've done that...it's just not for me. I'm too in love with film. Digital Video it great for short films though.

The home video market has become as viable a place for horror as the big screen was during the genre's heyday, much of this being credited to the emergence of DVD. This also negates the need for MPAA meddling and gives the independent filmmaker a lot of freedom. Does this affect how you go about making your films, or are you still aiming for the cineplexes?

Well, when I made Desecration I knew it would go straight-to-DVD and video. I didn't have any expectations. But now, with HORROR, I feel I've made a more accessible film. I think it strikes the balance between popcorn horror and art house horror. It's creepy, weird and fun. There are some theatrical distributors looking at it and there are some strong possibilities. I just can't say anything official right now. I'm not allowed. At the very least you'll see it on DVD in 2003. That's for sure. We have a lot of interest from direct-to-video distributors and could, if we really wanted, have HORROR packaged within six months, but I'm holding out for a limited theatrical release. It will premiere in Film Festivals this Halloween.

Many directors are making films with the DVD release in mind, with extra footage being shot and more behind the scenes documentation being compiled exclusively for home release. How much thought do you put into how your film will be presented "off the shelf" while you are actually making it?

I didn't think about that at all with Desecration, because DVDs were so new, but with HORROR yes I did. I had a videographer on the set shooting behind-the-scenes footage. I learned from all the Desecration reviews that DVD extras are very very important. They're like little gifts and audiences these days demand them.

As mentioned earlier, you have been compared to many of the Italian masters of horror. I imagine these comparisons, however well-meant, must be a double edged sword. On the one hand you are being mentioned in the same breath as Dario Argento, but on the other you are trying to create your own niche. How does this affect you as an artist? Does it make you conscientious of what fans of Desecration may expect from your future work?

Well, what really bothered me was when this one critic, who writes for a magazine called Video Watch Dog, Richard Harland Smith, said, in a review of Desecration, that I am pirating the Argento-Fulci canon. And he said it with such confidence. You have to understand how silly that sounds from my perspective, since I didn't see any Italian horror film until I was 17 - The Gates of Hell. Then the next one I saw was Suspiria - when I was in my twenties. What I'm saying is that it's coincidental that my style resembles Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci. At the same time I'm flattered by the comparison. I'm influenced by many many horror films across the board -- most all of them are the ones I grew up with and saw in the 70s and early 80s, movies like The Brood, The Exorcist, Halloween, Carrie, Videodrome, Don't Look Now, Burnt Offerings, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Fog, Let's Scare Jessica to Death, Creepshow, The Evil Dead, Friday the 13th and The Shining.

What is your take on the state of modern horror?

Well, horror films were definitely more moody and atmospheric in the 70s and 80s. They were more creative and just plain scarier back then. I think the independent horror community is staging a comeback in the new millennium. There's a lot of intense energy on the radar. A lot of terrific fanzines, websites. A lot of emerging horror filmmakers.

Are there any other young filmmakers whose work you appreciate?

I'm really in my own fog. I'm not sure.

What's up next for you? Do you see yourself staying in the horror market, or would you like to branch out into other genres?

I plan to have a whole library of horror films. I'm going to stay right here in this genre. My next film is called SATAN'S PLAYGROUND. It will be an all-out scarefest with a vacationing family lost in the woods and the Jersey Devil lurking in the Pine Barrens.

Dante, we'd like to thank you for your time and wish you continued success! Do you have any words of advice for the all of the budding filmmakers reading this right now?

Focus on making your movie like a laser beam.