Desecration

"Desecration" is a creepy psychological horror film from Dante Tomaselli; a New Jersey director whose influences include Dario Argento, Mario Bava and Salvador Dali. This film feels hallucinatory in some parts, and it becomes hard to tell what's actually happening or what's fantasy. The plot concerns a boy at a catholic school, who accidentally kills a nun. When his remote control airplane malfunctions, the blade hits the nun. Because of this incident and his long deceased mother, the gates of hell open up. Creepy, bizarre and unexplained things start to happen. Repeated viewings might help as the ending leaves it's viewers confused and in awe. This film is amazing, it shows what you can do on a low budget with creativity and imagination.

I stumbled across Desecration quite by accident, finding the cover artwork captivating. The four paintings of a nun takes on a Lovecraftian feel and the viewer should get a good idea that the horror film contained inside will be more of a cerebral experience than a direct Hollywood one. I liked that clue, because I was in a mindset to see something very different. I wasn't disappointed!

There are so many words that went through my mind watching this tale of a boy struggling to figure out what is happening around him at a catholic school and the accidental death of a nun: Unsettling, surreal, hallucinatory, atmospheric, disturbing, eerie....words that wound up being on the DVDs back cover in quotes and film summary! (I never read the summaries or critical quotes before a viewing so I can come up with my own idea of the film first) One thing is for sure, the viewer will be left with a deep sense of unease. I found myself sitting back for a while, thinking some of the opening was a bit low budget (fog and mist tends to come from a specific point off camera), then part of the way through I was sitting up, then leaning forward by the end of the film, entranced.

There are no direct answers to the story, as Bobby and even his grandmother find that they cannot do much about the supernatural goings-on since they are not sure what is real or not. This is apparent as the grandmother asks a couple times "What do I do NOW?...." but the occurrences seem to throw her off every time. Bobby can't tell if he is dreaming half the time and winds up running away, only to be faced at every turn by a nun that has the most creepy expression. Be careful to take a good look at the nun who is accidentally killed in the film's opening...she seems to have an eerie resemblance to Bobby's dead mother. A scene where Bobby's father and grandmother pass the nun on a road really creeped me out!

Writer/director Dante Tomaselli seemed to have a lot going on creatively for the film's story and visuals. What the film may lack technically because of budget limitations it more than makes up for in ambition and style. Much of the film could easily be made into stills that would hold up on their own as bizarre paintings--the sequence in which earth and plants take over Bobby's room seem to be inspired by Dali (who's name appears in the thank-you's in the end credits). The use of clowns together with nuns as horrifying creatures is a wonderful blend.

The creative process for Desecration is one I'd love to learn more about, as Tomaselli thanks people such as Marc Almond, Ric Ocasek, Laurie Anderson, Martin Gore, and Dario Argento in the credits. One big mention in the opening credits is a "special thanks to Alfred Sole," director of Alice, Sweet Alice (aka Communion). After watching Desecration I was hungry to find out how these artists influenced Tomaselli.

This is definitely not an easy film to experience. The story keeps jumping from one weird scene to another and the ending just APPEARS right when you think something might happen to explain more. All I can gather is that when someone wants to get out of Hell that person will do practically anything! This is not standard horror fare for people looking for cheap and fast thrills, it's a psychological challenge and worth the 88-minute hold it will have on you!

Debut film from Dante Tomaselli gives us a nice little campy atmospheric horror film but other than that there's not much to say about this film. It's good, but not great. There are some very creepy standout scenes that stick in your mind for awhile, but there's nothing really special about this film that would make me rave about it. The negative reviews say that Desecration is lousy and very bad well I've seen a lot worse so don't be discouraged out of seeing this film it's still a decent effort by a then rookie director. Horror buffs out there that like hypnotic creepy horror films that make no sense like this should be/will be pleased with the effort. 6/10

If film making is an art form, then "Desecration" would have to be director Dante Tomaselli's Van Gogh, or perhaps just his ear... The first thing I noticed while watching "Desecration" was how much thought must have went into each shot. From the lighting set-up to the camera angles, Tomaselli's vision comes across in a visually stunning fashion. As for the story, it seems to move slowly and cautiously, at times far too much, and this tends to take away from the picture's prowess. Confusing as it may be, "Desecration" is worth a viewing, if only to enjoy the director's take on "How a low budget film should look", as it is eons above it's contemporaries. Well acted by the unknown cast, I recommend this film to anyone looking for a little something different from the genre, but don't try to figure out the story too hard or you will end up with a headache...

I've got a particular interest in low budget film making, especially if it deals with "the fantastic", horror or otherwise, so I was looking forward to seeing 'Desecration'. Some of the greatest horror movies of all time have been low budget and shot guerrilla style - 'Carnival Of Souls', 'Night Of The Living Dead', 'The Last House On The Left', 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre', and 'Eraserhead' all immediately spring to mind - and directors like Jess Franco and Coffin Joe have made some amazingly imaginative and original movies on very little money. Low budget film making can be a real acid test for an aspiring director. Unfortunately going by 'Desecration' Dante Tomaselli fails that test. This is just a lousy movie anyway you look at it. Much is made of the "miniscule" budget. I'm sorry but $150,000 is far from miniscule! Robert Rodriguez's brilliant action movie 'El Mariachi' only cost $7,000! Closer to home Darren Aronofsky's 'Pi' was released the year before this and that only cost $60,000. Now 'Pi' isn't technically a horror movie true, but it's much more original and disturbing than 'Desecration', it looks brilliant visually and it features some great acting to boot. So what gives? I haven't seen Tomaselli's subsequent movie 'Horror'. Maybe I'm wrong and he really does have talent and that movie will blow my mind, but honestly, after snoozing through 'Desecration' I'm in no hurry to find out!