Tangento's Movie Reviews: Horror

Horror (2002)
Reviewed by Mike Elms

Director: Dante Tomaselli
Producer: Dante Tomaselli
Screenwriter: Dante Tomaselli
Stars: The Amazing Kreskin, Danny Lopes, Lizzy Mahon, Vincent Lamberti, Christie Sanford, Felissa Rose
Rating: R
Distro: Elite Entertainment Inc.
Run Time: 87 mins.

Horror (2002) VHS

Horror (2002) DVD

IMDB Entry

what dat? Dante Tomaselli's HORROR is precisely that. Unfortunately, it may appeal only to adventurous filmgoers with a taste for David Lynch as opposed to David McNally (www.imdb.com - look 'em up!). PLEASE, don't let this discourage you though, this really is a fine piece of work. In fact, it's the most unsettling film I've seen since viewing DAWN OF THE DEAD at a midnight show when I was 15. It took more than twenty years for something to visually shake me into a paranoid state of checking doors and windows when I go to bed. It also reminded me of how scared sh*tless I was after first seeing THE EXORCIST as a kid..

Wanna Confess NOW?! Before seeing this film though, I believe it would help immensely if you understood that it DOES NOT have a linear path (ie. Nutcase sees kids. Nutcase chases kids. Nutcase kills kids. Kid kills Nutcase... or does she?) This is a VISUAL NIGHTMARE of Hell on Earth! And just like your own nightmares, not everything makes sense. Things represent people, people represent things, and sometimes things and people are just what they are.

S-A-L-O!!! The story follows a group of kids escaping from a drug rehab facility, seeking assylum from one Reverend Salo, Jr. The good (EVIL!) Reverend was kind enough to supply them with a bag full of dope for the TRIP up. Meanwhile, we get to meet Grace, the Reverend's daughter, who's also a junkie, but not of her own free will. It seems as though Reverend Salo, Jr. prefers to keep his daughter sedated for his own perverted urges. Oh yeah, Mama's a sick puppy as well. In fact the only decent character in the film appears to be Grace's grandfather, Reverend Salo, Sr., who comforts Grace... FROM THE GRAVE! Grandpa Salo is played superbly by famed 'mentalist' The Amazing Kreskin. The rest of the cast range from great (Grace and her parents) to just average (the dopes.) However, the film makes up for these minor setbacks with horrific suspense, shocks, jolts, and terrible uncertainty.

The film was written, directed, and produced by Dante Tomaselli. He even recorded most of the soundtrack (consisting of samples and loops) creating an eerie atmospheric sound for this gem. According to the commentary on the DVD, he'd like to continue creating soundtracks for his own films. Let's hope he does. A job well done.

Rating: I give it a 7 out of 10. A great piece of cinema with it's only flaws being the mediocre acting from a few of the cast members and it's inaccessability to the plot/resolution junkies.

So How Was the Music? (covered above)

Best Catch-Phrases/ Quotes:

1. Marissa - "Why would a preacher give you those things?" (The bag of drugs)

2. Reverend Salo, Sr. - "Your mother sold her soul to your father. Did you know that Grace?"

3. Reverend Salo, Sr. - "Grace, did you know that you had a sister? Your mother wanted to tell you about it."

4. Reverend Salo, Sr. - "Never mock what I do... Never, never forget the name Salo! S-A-L-O! You can't forget it. It stays with you forever!"

Click for the
Official HORROR site