Horror
Elite Entertainment
Cast: The amazing Kreskin, Lizzy Mahon, Danny Lopes, Vincent Lambert
Extras: Commentary Track, Photo Gallery, Footage, Trailers
Rating:
Independent horror director Dante Tomaselli is back with one of the most nightmarish films you will be most likely to see in video stores these days. With 'Desecration, ' Tomaselli has shown before that he has a style and signature that is different from most modern genre filmmakers. It is more subtle, more suggestive at times than you'd expect, but at the same time in-your-face overt at others, creating psychological horror stories with extremely strong visuals and an unsettling atmosphere. 'Horror' is once again showing Tomaselli's meticulous ability to scare audiences without splattering the screen for 90 minutes or bombarding the viewer's senses with industrial heavy metal music, erratic editing and furious camerawork. 'Horror' as it stands, is a classic in the rough, made by a director who perfectly understands that silence is sometimes your most powerful tool for suspense.
Elite Entertainment brings us this film in its 1.85:1 widescreen aspect ratio in a transfer that is unfortunately not enhanced for 16×9 TV sets. Though occasional gain is evident in select scenes, the overall image quality is remarkably good. The transfer is clean and clear and doesn't show any notable defects. Colors are natural looking throughout – though by design a bit on the faded side – and the image boasts good black levels that give the picture good visual depth and deep shadows.
The DVD contains a Dolby Stereo track that is rich in quality and has a very good frequency response with good bass reproduction and clear, undistorted high ends. The dynamic range is also very good, nicely reproducing the quietness of certain scenes, and the more explosive, syncopated nature of others. Too bad only that Elite did neither subtitle nor close-caption the release.
The DVD comes complete with a commentary track by the director, in which he discusses much of his approach to the movie and his ambitions. It is interesting and very insightful commentary track that doesn't shy away from becoming quite a bit technical at times.
Also included is an extended trailer for the movie as well as one for 'Desecration.' A Photo Gallery and selected behind-the-scenes footage, including a backstage clip by the Amazing Kreskin, are also part of the disc. As a special highlight, the DVD also contains a never-before-seen video clip from 'Desecration.'
All in all this is not only a solid release by Elite, but also an independent film highlight that has everything you're looking for in a cool horror movie. I am sure we will hear and see much more of Dante Tomaselli in the future… or at least I hope so. His building of atmosphere and style is definitely up to par with the best directors in the genre.
