Biography: Dante Tomaselli, an Italian-American writer/director/score composer, studied filmmaking at Brooklyn's Pratt Institute, then transferred to the New York School of Visual Arts, receiving a B.F.A. degree there. His first film was a 23-minute short called, Desecration, which was screened at a variety of horror and mainstream film festivals and venues. Tomaselli expanded Desecration, which he also wrot ... show all Dante Tomaselli, an Italian-American writer/director/score composer, studied filmmaking at Brooklyn's Pratt Institute, then transferred to the New York School of Visual Arts, receiving a B.F.A. degree there. His first film was a 23-minute short called, Desecration, which was screened at a variety of horror and mainstream film festivals and venues. Tomaselli expanded Desecration, which he also wrote, to feature length. And in 1999, the film received its world premiere to a standing-room-only audience at the prestigious Fantafestival in Rome. The release of "The Desecration (1999)" on DVD by Image Entertainment resulted in laudatory notices unique for an independent horror production. Made on the minuscule budget of $150,000, Desecration received instantaneous acclaim for its nightmarish visuals. The supernatural chiller quickly established itself as a modern horror cult favorite and became an Amazon.com Top 10 Best Seller under the category of Horror & Suspense. Tomaselli has been a lifelong supernatural/horror aficionado and is also the cousin of film director Alfred Sole, whose "Communion (1976)", made its own mark in the world of Catholic-themed horror films 28 years ago. His second feature film, "Horror (2002)", began principle photography January 15, 2001, in Warwick, upstate New York. Final cost of production and post production: $250,000. Horror, a visually arresting chiller, had a group of runaway teens escape from a drug rehab and encounter demonic forces in a rural farmhouse. In a bizarre casting twist, the film starred celebrity mentalist/magician Kreskin. Dante Tomaselli's Horror was released on DVD in the United States and Canada by Elite Entertainment May 27th, 2003. The film garnered raves in the horror and cult press and was even favorably reviewed in Variety Magazine. It was also an Amazon.com Top 10 Best Seller under numerous horror categories. Most surprisingly, with a surge of online articles and a devoted cult following, it charted # 7 out of all movies on the IMDb for the week of September 21, 2003. Tomaselli just completed his third feature, "Satan's Playground (2005)". Satan's Playground stars 70s & early 80s cult-horror icons Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp), Ellen Sandweiss (The Evil Dead), and Edwin Neal (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre). Tomaselli is now looking ahead towards the creation of a fourth feature, _Ocean (2007)_ , an occult shocker about mysterious and deadly riptides. Continuing in his tradition of casting leads from horror greats of yesteryear, Judith O' Dea (Night of the Living Dead) is slated to star. hide |
