Dante Tomaselli, an American filmmaker/electronic music 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 audienc
...read more Dante Tomaselli, an American filmmaker/electronic music 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 Fantafestival in Rome. The release of 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. Tomaselli has been a lifelong supernatural/horror aficionado and is also the cousin of film director Alfred Sole, whose Alice Sweet Alice (1976), made its own mark in the world of Catholic-themed horror films 40 years ago.
His second feature film, Horror (2003), 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 stunt, the film starred celebrity mentalist/magician, Kreskin. Dante Tomaselli's Horror was released on DVD in the United States and Canada by Elite Entertainment.
Tomaselli then directed his third feature,Satan's Playground (2006). Distributed by Anchor Bay Entertainment, Satan's Playground starred 70s & early 80s cult-horror icons Ellen Sandweiss (The Evil Dead), Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp) and Edwin Neal (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre).
Torture Chamber (2013), the fourth installment in his nightmarish journey exploring the imaginations of Hell and damnation, made its World Premiere at Sitges 2012 Festival in Spain. Torture Chamber was released by Cinedigm January 28, 2014.
The director/composer's first audio CD of electronic horror music, ''Scream in the Dark'' (2014) was released by Elite Entertainment & MVD Audio January 14, 2014. Its follow-up, ''The Doll'' (2014) described as "a ghoulish experiment in fear," was released on CD and Digital download by Elite Entertainment & MVD Audio April 15, 2014. Tomaselli's third dark ambient album, "Nightmare" was distributed by the same label January 13, 2015. TuneCore released his fourth and most successful dark electronic album, "Witches" March 24, 2017. Rue Morgue Magazine awarded Witches five skulls, "A meticulously crafted work...Tomaselli takes us on his most lurid sonic journey to date." Rock! Shock! Pop! added, "Pulsing John Carpenter-esque keyboard work...Dante Tomaselli releases his fourth album of spooky soundtrack inspired instrumental music." Videoscope Magazine's music critic, Tim Ferrante stated, "All of Witches' 13 tracks are praiseworthy...Each cut ignites theater-of-the-mind wonderment, fear and the spiritual world by deeply boring into the psyche...Tomaselli has produced a fiendish and furtive album for fans of 'mood music' of a different kind." Dante Tomaselli's Witches was nominated for Rue Morgue magazine 2017 album of the year.
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