Customer Reviews

Horror - DVD

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I quite enjoyed "Horror" the eerie black goat sceans where creative and the scares where actualy unpredictable.
the sound effects and music was fantastic, good visual effects great makeup and NO CGI for the other computer graphic haters out there!!!
I realy wish I could understand just what the hell was the meaning of all of it, but i guess the films creepyness and gore made up for having no storyline what so ever.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. I'm a fan of (but not zealous towards) Argento's movies, but really prefer horror to slasher, so this one hit me just right. Every possible creep shtick is utilized; it's both very effective and embraceable. I found myself nodding in appreciation while still being creeped out---the director knows how to pull it off, even with a lower budget than most slasher films use. Great fun, play this one as part of a halloween mini film-fest!

This film is horrible. I am in awe that anyone would hype this movie at all. I cannot believe I actually saw it on the rack at a major chain video store. I have flushed better movies. It's hard to know where to begin panning this turd. It isn' teven funny/bad and I was stoned. Honestly. This Dante guy seriously needs to stop attempting to make films. There isn't enough room for crap like this while Romero is still struggling to get good films made. The people that gave this film a good review are friends of Dante's. They must be. Skip this one and watch ANYTHING else

Dont bother wasting your money on this low budget movie. Besides Kreskin the acting was terrible. The story line is hard to follow, and isn't really that good to begin with. I have no idea why people are hyping Tomaselli, his work is cr*p. I wish I could get my money back.

The second effort from independent filmmaker Dante Tomaselli, "Horror" blazes much of the same trail set forth with his first film "Desecration". "Horror" is a non-stop assault of strange imagery, drugged-out hallucinations, unexplainable continuity jumps and zealous religious fanaticism. Despite the obviously limited budget, "Horror" manages to raise some serious scares and contains some memorable scenes.

5 drug-addicted teenagers escape from a rehab clinic, steal a van and head on their way to the house of Salo, a psychotic preacher who visited them while they were locked up and offered promises of salvation. On the drive to Salo's house, the youths indulge themselves in all the booze, marijuana and mushrooms that their hearts desire. Upon arriving to Salo's house "Luck" the leader of the gang and most intoxicated of the group, stumbles into the house to find a young woman (Grace) being physically abused by what he sees as two demons. After shooting them both with his revolver, he discovers that he has in reality shot Salo and his wife, Grace's abusive parents. Somehow, the killings trigger a supernatural force over the house and its surroundings. The woods bordering the house are now filled with satanic symbolisms, trippy-looking trees with candy canes and Jack-O-lanterns attached to the branches and hordes of night-crawling ghouls.

It is noticeable right away that "Horror" is trying mightily hard to be a scary genre effort. For the most part, it succeeds. The woods bordering the house are filled with mist and fog and impending doom. This is one of the best examples I've seen in a while of a movie that effectively employs the use of sound as a tactic to scare the viewer using such devices as creaking doors, insane female giggling and blowing wind. And shooting the movie in the middle of winter amid heavy snow and blistering cold add to the feeling of dread.

Curiously enough, one of the things that failed to spook me was the goat itself. On the DVD cover as the film's mascot and a species that has long been linked with Satanism, the goat appears in several scenes, usually as the terror factor is mounting. But instead of being scary I found this goat, with its fluffy fur and "who me" look of innocence, to be kind of cute and cuddly-looking. I'm quite certain that's not the effect the director was hoping for but that's how I took it. And of course this being an indie low-budgeter, the acting is at times quite horrid. Although Reverend Salo Sr. (played by "The amazing Kreskin") and the character of Grace (Lizzy Mahon) gave admirable performances, everyone else's acting left LOTS to be desired especially the woman who plays Marissa, one of the 5 escaped addicts. To say that woman couldn't act her way out of a paperbag would be putting it kindly.

Despite the low-budget cheapness, I found "Horror" to be highly enjoyable and very creepy. Dante Tomaselli is a stylistic director whose work conjures up flashes of Mario Bava and Dario Argento's classic Giallos. I admire Tomaselli for playing it straight-up and going for scares instead of resorting to comedic gore or self-referential nonsense like so many horror movies that are manufactured for the masses.

Apropriately, Dante Tomaselli's new scarefest,HORROR, has three "R's" in its title. Its a pulse pounding 77 minutes that deals with Religion,Rehabilitation and Redemption.
Structured like a chinese puzzle box, the director immediately puts the viewer on edge with an outrageous attack from a sinister black goat. Your immediately plunged into the world that Dante Tomaselli has created , one of a seemingly picture perfect, idyllic, snow covered small town that isnt all it seems from its look. Its like peering at a Currier and Ives snow globe depiction of a quaint town, only its glass boundaries encase a sea of blood with particles of drugs, not glistening snowflakes, floating about. The inhabitants include a teen girl, Grace, her wicked parents, her paternal grandfather, the Reverend Salo, and a group of wayward, drug addled teens, led by a boy named Luck.
Grace is force fed drugs by her offkilter parents and searches for and finds momentary solace with her paternal Grandfather, the Reverend Salo. Luck and a group of inmates kill a guard and escape from their rehabilitation center and find themselves in this small town. They unwittingly try a bagful of hallucinogens given to them by Salo, Jr, and trip out . Soon after they break into Grace's home, as bleak and hermetically clean as anything in an Ingmar Bergman film, and bludgeons her mother and the Reverend, Jr. The Chinese puzzle feel of thefilm beautifully intertwines with its colorful cast of characters and horrific sequences all leading to a mouth gaping denoument.
This film is non linear in structure and plot but more than makes up for it in visual pizzaz that bewilders , beffudles and blinds you with its brilliance. Its an artichoke of a film that has so many layers that when peeled away reveals a pounding heart of excitement in a genre that usually produces lima beans of blandness, sameness and no depth. It can be enjoyed on so many levels-as a frightening journey, a psychological thriller ripe with meanings or as a encyclopedia of 70s/80s horror film references. There are setpieces in this film that are not easily shaken from memory. Tomaselli doesnt resort to cheap thrills-there is artistry at work here that often chills to the bone simply by his use of camera placement, lighting and music. Its so densely populated in its compact running time that its bursting at its seams. The goat attacks are horrific but thats only the surface of much more scarring images as torture chambers, crimson robed clergyman , and shadowy figures that percolates the eye as it burrows into the psyche. Every viewer can relate to the films themes of religuous misfortune, parental deception, drug and child abuse. You become disturbed by these vivid reenactments of our inert fears and don't know quite why until you realize its a very unreal reality under its core that overwhelms you.
The acting by mostly unknowns(but not for long) is quite expressive. Lizzy Mahon is innocence reborn as Grace-a radiant actress who elicits compassion very easily. Danny Lopes-a major discovery in a Tomaselli's last film, DESECRATION(a companion piece to this film that demands to be seen in tandem)-has wordless scenes that convey beautifully to the audience his betwixtness in life; Christie Sanford, also continuing her Tomaselli relationship, is Karen Black reincarnated as the daffy mom. Two surprises are the Seventies mentalist, The Amazing Kreskin, as Reverend Salo who gives a performance very insync to the films discombulated rhythms. Never once does the viewer know who Salo really is and what his true purpose with Grace is-its keeps you guessing and on your toes. In a cameo is Felissa Rose as an art therapist . Forever etched in the stone of horror film history as Angela from SLEEPAWAY CAMP, she has such presence in one sequence(of which I wont reveal) that has people wanting to see more of her-its that good.
HORROR is the film horror fans have been clamoring for. Its scary as Hell without resorting to cgi effects or whimsy. There is a climactic zombie scene unlike any you've seen that will thrill horror audiences in its reference to the DEAD films but non genre audiences can as easily channel SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER . HORROR is a multi tiered masterpiece that you will find yourself immersed inmany times and coming out of its 77 minutes with something newly siscovered each time. Dante Tomaselli is a name to be reckoned with soon his portrait will hang in the gallery of horror director greats. HORROR s three "R's" can also stand foe Revisionary, Reverberating and Remarkable. Its one to savor.

Horror geeks like to justify an unmotivated storyline by throwing David Lynch at you and making a comparison. Comparing Tomaselli's Horror to Lynch would require David to defend himself, and I don't think someone with his talent needs to do that. Dante Tomaselli shows an eye for stylistic filmmaking, an ear for sound, but not much for storytelling. One thing must be understood, just because you spend some time and/or money on a particular scene, doesn't mean you should carry the shots beyond human patience.

This film wanders and detaches itself from any clarity or flow. Even if you don't understand a David Lynch film, you can still respect his ability to deliver clarity and flow within the cinematic elements and character interaction. I see a bit of arrogance here. In the behind the scenes section of the dvd, Tomaselli seems so aloof, distant from the crew, a pretentious swagger to his walk and mannerisms. Come on, you're not that good.

Horror seems to base itself on the Tarantino/Shyamalan type twist in filmmaking (loosely and poorly), throwing everything else in just to fill in that pesky little time standard required to call a film a FEATURE.

You must understand this movie has a special meaning to me. I live in the town where it was filmed (Warwick, NY) and am friends with a good deal of the people who stood in as zombies. Recoqnizing them stumbling around in the snow with bloody face paint on was a hoot in itself. The movie itself is an average SOV horror/gore romp if anything. Sure with a few beers it starts to shine a little more...and the fact that the "hospital" i suppose in the movie is actually my old elementary school adds some novelty as well. It'd be hard for me to recommend this over any other movies in the sea of low budget modern horror, but Siege of the Dead and Shatter Dead (which oddly enough was filmed in a town not but 15 min from me, Middletown NY) do come to mind as recommendations. Is Orange County, New York becoming a haven for ambitious directors? I doubt it. Can I expect your regular joe on Amazon to get as much from this movie as I did, knowing the people and places? Hardly. Still though, I have seen much much worse when it comes to low, and even higher, budget horror flicks. You could do worse. My only regret is my being out of town when the movie was being filmed otherwise I too would have appeared as a zombie, ah well. What can you do :-)

Having seen Dante Tomaselli's first feature film, Desecration, his latest, Horror, demonstrates that this up-and-coming filmmaker is perfecting his own style of filmmaking. While he does harken back to Italian horror maestros like Mario Bava and Dario Argento, the complex soundscapes Tomaselli creates for his movies are quite reminiscent of David Lynch's movies. And like John Carpenter, he also composes much of the soundtrack for his movies. This puts Tomaselli in good company indeed.

Horror is a creepy, waking nightmare a la Lost Highway where the protagonist is eternally damned. There are some truly striking images in Horror that linger in the brain long after the film ends. This is a truly unsettling, old school horror movie that is a breath of fresh air after the self-reflexive cycle of Scream films.

The DVD is packed with some nice extras. The real stand-out is the audio commentary by Tomaselli. He provides many fascinating insights into what inspires and influences him and unravels a bit of the ambiguity that the film creates.

Along with Larry Fessenden's Wendigo and the low budget Canadian werewolf film, Ginger Snaps, Tomaselli's Horror heralds a new wave of horror films that echo the no-holds-barred aesthetics of the '70s generation. Horror is definitely worth a look and remember the name Dante Tomaselli -- he's a filmmaker who's going places.

I actually really enjoyed this movie but I still don't have a terribly good grasp of what it is supposed to be about, if anything. It is TRULY disturbing and is very much like the narrative form of a nightmare. As a filmed look at a nightmare, it works very well.
A lot of the the quirks of the film are sort of homages to LUCIO FULCI and ARGENTO...some of the obviously cheesy gore and very wierd acting. These things are omnipresent in anything by FULCI especially. Characters that do very wierd things in absolutely bizarre situations for reasons that no matter how many times you watch the films, never become clear. I mean look at THE BEYOND. Half that movie is people looking at each other with blank expressions that somehow the viewer is supposed to figure out. I never understand quite what that stuff is about but it does work.
I really like HORROR and was really creeped out by it. Obviously it is not the type of film that everyone is going to like. I normally HATE this kind of narrative, but it really does work in HORROR when viewed as a whole.
FELISSA ROSE as "THE NEW ART THERAPIST" is a quite amusing role for her. I kept watching for her through the whole film.
The guy who plays Luck, or Lock is also extremely hot.