Dante Tomaselli (born October 29, 1969, in

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Italian-American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, w ...

horror

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

, and

score composer A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...

. In 2013 ''

Fearnet Fearnet was an American digital cable television network, website and video on demand service owned by Comcast. The network specialized in horror entertainment programming through a mix of acquired and original series, and feature films. Backgr ...

'' named Tomaselli one of their "Favorite Underrated Horror Directors", as they found his work "unique and eccentric". Tomaselli is currently working on a remake of the 1976 film ''

Alice, Sweet Alice ''Alice, Sweet Alice'' (originally titled ''Communion'') is a 1976 American psychological slasher film co-written and directed by Alfred Sole, and starring Linda Miller, Paula Sheppard, and Brooke Shields in her film debut. Set in 1961 New Jers ...

'', which was directed by his cousin

Alfred Sole Alfred Sole (July 2, 1943 – February 14, 2022) was an American production designer, film director, producer, and writer best known for directing such films as ''Alice, Sweet Alice'' (1976) and '' Pandemonium'' (1982). Prior to beginning his car ...

Biography

Tomaselli was born on October 29, 1969 in

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.The Exorcist ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty W ...

'' and ''

Don't Look Now ''Don't Look Now'' ( it, A Venezia... un Dicembre rosso shocking, lit=In Venice... a shocking red December) is a 1973 English-language film in the thriller genre directed by Nicolas Roeg, adapted from the 1971 short story by Daphne du Mauri ...

'', which he would watch with his mother at local theaters. He studied filmmaking at

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...

and later transferred to the

New York School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...

, where he received a B.F.A. degree in Advertising. In 1999 he released his first film, ''

Desecration Desecration is the act of depriving something of its sacred character, or the disrespectful, contemptuous, or destructive treatment of that which is held to be sacred or holy by a group or individual. Detail Many consider acts of desecration to ...

'', which he based on an earlier-made 23-minute

short Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...

. On January 14, 2014, Tomaselli released his first audio CD of electronic horror music, ''Scream in the Dark'', through Elite Entertainment and MVD Audio. Tomaselli is

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

and was involved with a project called '' Gay of the Dead''.

Themes and influences

Tomaselli heavily utilizes themes of Catholicism and Christianity in his work, which is inspired partly by his Catholic upbringing as a child though he is critical of the concept of

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

as a whole. Other factors that influenced his work include Tomaselli's relation to Sole and

surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

, as well as severe nightmares he had as a child, which he has tried to work into his films. Some critics mistakenly attribute directors such as

Dario Argento Dario Argento (; born 7 September 1940) is an Italian film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and film critic, critic. His influential work in the horror film, horror genre during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the subgenre known as ...

and

Lucio Fulci Lucio Fulci (; 17 June 1927 – 13 March 1996) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. Although he worked in a wide array of genres through a career spanning nearly five decades, including comedies and Spaghetti Westerns, he garn ...

as influences due to some similarities between their work, but Tomaselli stated in an interview with author Matthew Edwards that he did not view those directors' work until his early twenties.

Reception

Critical reception to Tomaselli's films is usually very polarized, with some criticizing the films as lacking a linear plot line. Other critics have praised the films for this feature and remarked on the variety of filmgoers' reactions by saying that the movies would not appeal to all viewers and especially not to those that favor more mainstream fare or do not prefer surreal films.

Discography

*''Scream in the Dark'' (2014) *''The Doll'' (2014) *''Nightmare'' (2015) *''Witches'' (2017)

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tomaselli, Dante American male screenwriters American horror writers Film producers from New Jersey American male writers Pratt Institute alumni Writers from Paterson, New Jersey 1969 births Living people LGBT film directors American gay writers American LGBT musicians LGBT producers American LGBT screenwriters LGBT people from New Jersey Critics of religions Film directors from New Jersey Screenwriters from New Jersey 21st-century LGBT people