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14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An outstanding homage to Euro-horror of the 1970s, December 14, 2002
This review is from: Desecration (DVD)
I have a feeling that as soon as more people are exposed to Tomaselli's second feature "Horror," they'll be scrambling to get a copy of "Desecration" and sales for that will suddenly go up. It's a good feeling to be one of the first fans of this film. Those weened on "Scream"-influenced comedy/horror/pop soundtrack films will not find anything redeeming with this film, as it is very much a cerebral study. It is the only film in many years that has come anywhere close to capturing the style and mystery of the great 1970s Italian horror films in the vein of Bava and Argento. If you love that, then you won't mind that the plot is not easily played out and that you have to use your mind a bit to get through the story. A boy in a Catholic school accidentally kills a nun, and it either opens the gate to hell or he's plagued with guilt -- have fun figuring it out -- what follows is 88 minutes of hallucinatory images, scary nuns (the main ghoul still gives me extreme creeps), and a great score. Seems when someone wants to get out of Hell, that person would do just about anything! Sure, there are many low-budget things that those who enjoy "teen" fare will gripe about (most likely they'll whine about Irma St. Paule's hacking cough throughout the film or the death by remote control plane). I had no problem with the film's budget limitations, as Tomaselli is quite a visionary and makes up for any flaws with an abundance of ambition, style, and originality even when giving a nod to his influences. It's rare for me to be so excited by a discovery such as "Desecration," and I urge those with open minds to see why, in general, reviews from the press as well as lovers of obscure cinema are raving about this gem. I first got "Desecration" when it was higher-priced, and did not regret it. Now that the price is extremely low, you'll find that this DVD is a great bargain! My only complaint is that we get just an excerpt of the short film this was based on. Maybe someday if its cult status grows, we'll be treated to a special edition with commentary and more. Until then, I cherish this film as it's a treat with each additional viewing. Dane Tomaselli is a director to watch for, he's going to be revolutionizing horror and giving it new life, you can bet on it! This relatively unknown film ranks among one of my favorites. "Desecration" is truly a film done by a gifted talent and is for those who love surreal and imaginative storytelling!
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not that shocking or haunting..., March 1, 2002
This review is from: Desecration (DVD)
Reading all the hype regarding this low budget horror film, I expected a film 10 times more creepy than the Britain made Woman in Black DVD. (Which was creepy, shocking and wonderful) Instead I watched a horror film that had some really great moments (faceless nuns wondering around...demon clowns teasing and taunting), but some really "ho-hum" moments too. (The toy plane scene was ridiculous as were several scenes that went nowhere.) The acting is mostly atrocious. The good points did not overcome the bad ones so this one gets a big fat "C".
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Creepy in spots, March 5, 2004
This review is from: Desecration (DVD)
A nun dies when a model airplane bores into her temple. A troubled youth watches a friend disappear into a hole in the ground. A mess of vines fills a dorm room while a young man lies on his bed in a stupor. Ominous clowns invade dreams. A pair of scissors soars through the air and stabs another nun to death. A ghostly apparition exuding an aura of spine chilling dread appears at random to terrorize the living. A grandmother with a hacking cough frets for her grandson's safety. A jigsaw puzzle has a mind of its own. An insane mother long dead makes herself felt from beyond the grave and from the deepest pits of Hell. Just another day down at the local church, right? Wrong! These elements are only a few of the disturbing images you will see in Dante Tomaselli's ultra low budget shocker "Desecration," a movie that none other than Image Entertainment decided to release on DVD. Someone in Tinseltown ought to give this guy a budget and a chance. "Desecration," in certain respects, is one of the better low budget shockers I have seen. The story focuses on Bobby, a lonely teenager attending a live-in Catholic school somewhere in New Jersey or New York (it's gotta be one of the two after hearing those accents). The kid's life is a mess, partly due to the oppressive atmosphere of the school and partly due to growing up in a household where the mother had a serious mental problem. Bobby's mother died years ago, apparently, and the only family he has left is his aging Italian grandmother and an uncle. His life begins a huge downward spiral when he accidentally kills a nun with his remote controlled airplane. Sadly for Bobby, the nun dies immediately after discovering that she couldn't light her candle during a ceremony in the chapel, an event the movie leads us to believe is some sort of unholy omen about the nun's spiritual state. Further confirmation of the nun's problematic relationship to God arrives when her spirit begins haunting the grounds of the school. Then she starts haunting Bobby in a big way, causing the young lad great stress. Bobby's grandmother and uncle enter the picture after learning about the nun's gruesome death, and they too experience extremely unpleasant encounters with the world of the dead. At some point in the film, it appears that the death of this nun opened a portal to the underworld through which Bobby's loony mother attempts to return to the world of the living. The horror, the horror! "Desecration" has plenty of flaws, plenty of painful, groan worthy cinematic agonies best forgotten. The script, for example, is often extremely tedious. Much of the dialogue simply doesn't make sense in the context of the larger story. Moreover, actors with all the allure of a block of lead deliver these lame lines. Probably the worst actor is the young male priest who turns up from time to time to hassle Bobby. Where did Tomaselli find this guy? The morgue? Regrettably, the rest of the cast isn't much better. As for the special effects, it's a mixed bag. The scissor killing worked in a sort of cheesy way, but that model plane to the head scene towards the beginning of the movie was memorable for the sheer hilarity of the whole thing. You can tell the actress is just holding the plane up to her head while she hams up her death sequence. I see a few people comparing Tomaselli to Dario Argento and even, lord help us, Mario Bava. Now that's just ridiculous. Tomaselli's movie in no way captures the magic of Argento or Bava, not in any way, shape, or form, and to make such a comparison is blasphemy of the most subversive sort. What did work with "Desecration," and worked very well, were certain eerie scenes involving the spirit of the dead nun. She's a creepy lady when she turns up to harass the living. Check out the part where Bobby's relatives are cruising down the highway and the nun turns up on the side of the road. As the car passes by at high speed, you can see the ghastly face of the nun glare into the car as it moves by. I thought the scene was highly effective. I also liked the flashback/dream sequence where Bobby sees his warped mother tormenting him in his crib. And wouldn't you know it? At some point in the film the faces of the deceased nun and Bobby's mother look strikingly familiar. What's the message? Who knows, but it works and helps give what is otherwise a tepid film a few memorable moments. "Desecration" on disc comes with a few extras, most notably a short film made by Tomaselli that served as the impetus for the lengthier feature. Additionally, the film comes with a widescreen picture transfer, surprising for such a low budget effort. I see most people spend a lot of time knocking this movie down, and it is certainly easy to do so on several major points, but I'm going to have to go against the grain with my review. I liked "Desecration" to some extent, so let's give three stars to Tomaselli for crafting a few creepy scenes. I truly think this director could do as good a job with a bigger budget as some of the hacks that churn out some of the studio sludge I have witnessed over the last few months (Ghost Ship, anyone?). Fans of low budget horror might want to check this one out.
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