Dante Tomaselli’s Nightmares

December 2, 2015 | By

Back in the fall of 2014, I interviewed writer-director-composer-sound designer Dante Tomaselli for an extensive piece on his films, and unique relationship with sounds, of which three CDs were produced – Scream in the Dark (2014), The Doll (2014), and Nightmare (2015).

Released by MVD Audio / Elite, I reviewed the first two CDs for Rue Morgue magazine, and I’ve ported the first two over (plus the unpublished third) to accompany the Q&A that was featured on RM’s website prior to its 2015 redesign. (Several other pieces – some interviews, a few score profiles – are also being prepped for reposting at KQEK.com.)

Sound is a crucial ingredient in any film, but especially in horror. Atmosphere comes from a rich sound design, or a lack of sound which sets up the audience for a good shock. I’m a complete sucker for big loud stabs (meaning I will jump like a scaredy-cat), but shock sounds are admittedly shopworn tools that are easy to use, and are often overused when filmmakers lack the imagination to craft visual and aural shocks with an obsessive precision.

Tomaselli’s films are reflective of his effort to translate nightmares to film, and the aforementioned CDs are part concept albums and early conceptualizations of what sounds may materialize in his next film project.

In addition to the albums, we also discuss his most recent film, Torture Chamber (2013), and The Ocean, a production that was briefly touched upon in our 2007 Q&A, and was ultimately cancelled due to a number of complexities.

Coming next: a series of soundtrack reviews (including a few recently published in Rue Morgue), and if the sound design for BSV 1172 can be put on pause for a short blip, a podcast of sorts featuring the lengthy intros by the editor’s of  Canadian Horror Film: Terror of the Soul to Julian Rothman’s 3-D extravaganza, The Mask (1961).

A critical review of KINO’s Blu-ray will follow (supported by some bonus audio material), but I’ve pasted below some stills that illustrate the visuals that’ll accompany the intros that were part of the book’s launch in late October.

 

 

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More info on the book, my chapter on Rituals (1977), and ordering info is available via this prior Editor’s Blog.

Cheers,

 

 

Mark R. Hasan, Editor
KQEK.com

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Category: EDITOR'S BLOG

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