Dante Tomaselli's second film, "Horror" is destined to be a classic of the genre. "Horror" is the first film to truly terrify me in 25 years. "Horror" almost defies definition. After watching this eerie assault on my most primal fears, I thought that if someone put Dario Argento and David Lynch into Jeff Goldblum's transporter pod from "The Fly," Dante Tomaselli would pop out the other side. In the film "Horror," Dante Tomaselli invites you to enter a disturbing and surreal world of hopelessness and fear.

I've watched "Horror" three times so far. Each time, the subversive brilliance of Tomaselli's vision of hell continues to amaze me. I went to Atlanta to cover the Dragon*Con 2002 convention recently. I took Tomaselli's film to show the somewhat jaded Jonathan Hickman. Jonathan quizzed me with questions throughout. He wanted me to alleviate his discomfort as the film's twisted logic played out on his TV screen. I offered him no comfort or insight. This was one cinematic acid trip he would have to figure out on his own. Jonathan was effected as strongly by what Tomaselli had wrought as I had been. "Horror" is pure, unadulterated horror on an intimate scale. "Horror" reminded me of an acid trip. The film's lack of logic makes perfect sense as you watch it. Afterward, when the mind clears, you wonder what it meant and why you can't shake the visions of terror it embedded into your psyche.

"Horror" has a couple of plot lines, which stray far a field from the path of reality and reason. By breaking every rule of storytelling, Tomaselli creates a vision of utter hopelessness and fear. Dario Argento reinvented the horror genre in the 1970s by paring down the plot to a bare minimum from which he could hang his thrilling set pieces. Tomaselli moves past Argento's mark with "Horror." This is the kind of film Argento may have been capable of had he remained young and hungry. While Argento pared down the storyline, Tomaselli implodes it. This results in an inner vision of hell that has not been achieved on film before. The old "Seinfeld" joke about doing a show about nothing comes to mind. On the surface, the plotline of "Horror" seems to be about nothing. Ultimately, "Horror" turns out to be about everything. Tomaselli's first film "Desecration" proved that he was a filmmaker with something to say. While inferior to "Horror," "Desecration" examined questions usually treated in a superficial manner in other films. In "Horror" Tomaselli returns to the realm of 'ultimate questions.' His film both terrifies the audience and generates discussion. Like the best films of the 1970s, "Horror" doesn't wrap its message up in a nice clean package for the viewer to digest and forget. "Horror" sits in your mind like an undigested piece of gristle and forces you to examine dark areas hidden in all of us. You may start out watching this film with the lights out, but you'll be turning on every light in the house and checking your windows and doors to make sure they are secure before it is over. After it is over, you will be checking you inner lights to see where you stand. "Horror" is powerful filmmaking.

The plot! How to describe the plot? A group of teenagers kill a guard and escape from a drug rehab center. They head for a farm run by a preacher who visited the center the day before. The preacher gave one of the kids a grocery sack full of drugs. The kids get to the farm, stoned out of their minds, and discover the daughter of the preacher being drugged by her father. The leader of the gang kills the preacher and unleashes a maelstrom of evil spirits on the farm. You will not watch this movie for the plot. Tomaselli surrounds that bare bones story line with a creepy atmosphere of utter dread which is frequently interrupted by scenes that deliver just what the title says: "HORROR!"

In "Horror," writer/director Tomaselli takes images and ideas from numerous sub-genres of the horror field and breaths new life into them. "Horror" includes occult overtones, demonic possession, zombies, cultists, wayward teens and a scary fucking goat. The great thing about "Horror," other than the pure thrills it delivers, is the ambiguity of the script. This leaves the movie open to many interpretations. This makes the film a great focal point for discussion among friends. "Horror" could be an anti-drug film or a first-day-in-Hell film or an anti-organized-religion film or a pro-faith film or who knows! Tomaselli provokes the audience to think. Of course, you won't be able to think until the movie is over because you'll be too busy taking all of the images in as you peek at the screen through your fingers.

I grew up in the 60s. I remember seeing "The Amazing Kreskin" on the "Tonight Show with Johnny Carson." I always remember thinking what a flake he was. I was just a kid. When I heard that Kreskin was one of the lead actors in this movie, I cringed. I can't begin to describe how wonderfully surprised I was by Kreskin's performance as the Senior Reverend Salo. In Tomaselli's world of altered reality, Kreskin's Salo is both savior and all-consuming beast. What a genuinely original and frightening protagonist! Kreskin performs several of his mentalist feats in the film. Tomaselli claims that the acts were authentic. Whether they were or not doesn't matter. The scenes just add further depth to this wonderful film. Kreskin is just one cog in Tomaselli's torture machine.

Several cast members from Tomaselli's first film, "Desecration" return, along with Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp) in a nice cameo toward the end of the movie. Danny Lopes was the star of the first film. In "Horror," Lopes plays Luck, the psycho-killer leader of the runaway teens. Mr. Lopes has matured as an actor. As we watched the film, Jonathan Hickman commented, "this guy's good!" Lopes' role in "Horror" isn't as demanding as the role is "Desecration." However, Lopes has honed his skills, the improvement is noticeable. I particularly liked the scene in which he tries to get into the farmhouse after first seeing the zombies. Christine Sanford, who played Lopes evil mother in "Desecration," returns to inflict her peculiar brand of motherhood in "Horror." Ms. Sanford is a one-note actress in this film, but it is the perfect note! The woman creeps me out like no other I have ever met. She is nightmare personified. Sanford plays Mrs. Salo. She and her husband redefine the meaning of dysfunctional family. As her husband, The Rev, Salo Jr., Vincent Lamberti comes close to stealing the show from The Amazing Kreskin. Lamberti played the disturbing, pill-pushing priest in "Desecration." Lamberti has a strong screen presence. He resembles Chris Sarandon in this film. I thought that the Devil must be a little like the two characters Lamberti played in Tomaselli's films. His words don't match his actions. He is evil pure and simple, yet he is charming in a weird sort of way. The happy Salo family wouldn't be complete without a child to dote on (or stretch out on the rack!) Lizzy Mahon plays Grace Salo. She seems to represent purity of spirit. Even after her parents are murdered by Luck, she cries for them. I guess that is the nature of Grace.

Mr. Tomaselli comes from good stock. His cousin is writer/director Alfred Sole. Mr. Sole directed the proto-slasher film "Communion" a.k.a. "Alice Sweet Alice." That film was famous for having a very young Brooke Shields murdered in the opening. Tomaselli shot this movie on film for around $250,000. The movie makes incredible use of the claustrophobic setting. The lighting and photography are excellent. The movie has the look of a much more expensive film. Tomaselli also wrote the creepy, atmospheric electronic score. The music over the credit sequence sounds like Bernard Herrmann on crystalmeth. Tomaselli's direction is much tighter and more focused than it was on his very good debut film, "Desecration." One of the wonderful things about this movie is the fact that Tomaselli doesn't telegraph his great ideas. He is a director of vision who manipulates the audience with dazzling visuals fronting his unique ideology.

I haven't yet interviewed Mr. Tomaselli. I want to ask him about the choice of character's names. I don't think that the names Luck and Grace were just happenstance. Of course, "Horror" is too well crafted to bludgeon the viewer with symbolism. I think that Tomaselli wants the audience to figure out the movie for themselves. That is very smart. Hopefully, those with the power to assist young filmmakers will recognize the cinematic genius that Mr. Tomaselli possesses. That would be very smart also.

Rusty White, 2002