Here lives Grace (Lizzy Mahon), Salo Jr.'s daughter, whom he and his equally
bizarre wife (Christie Sanford) have enslaved through enforced drug addiction
and psychic brainwashing. Grace's only salvation appears to be by the guidance
of her paternal grandfather Reverend Salo Sr. (The Amazing Kreskin).
But this hope is quickly jeopardized when it becomes revealed that his comforting
visitations may be being made from beyond the grave.
Regardless, it is through Grace's visions involving him that she learns of her parent's demonic pastimes, which include abduction, murder, and possibly worse. Shortly after the arrival of the rehab escapees, Luck shoots and kills Salo Jr.and his wife. This eruption of bloody violence becomes the catalyst for the unleashing of dark forces. These include a torture scene in a chamber of horrors, and murderous attacks by demonic manifestation in the forms of a satanic goat and an army of zombies.
But in Tomaselli's nightmarish universe, nothing is what it seems. For by the time of the film's conclusion, the narrative is left deliberately ambiguous and capable of withstanding several interpretations - all of them darkly nihilistic, but nonetheless intriguing.
Interview Conducted By Christopher P. Garetano
AYG: At what stage is your new project (Satan's Playground) and when should we expect a release?
Well, right now, I'm about to go into preproduction. I should start shooting Satan's Playground around late October. I have a feeling I could finish it...photography, editing, sound, everything - - by February 2003. I'd love for it to be released within 2003, but it's an independent film, so you never really know.
AYG: How does Satan's Playground differ from your previous projects?
This is like a detour for me. My first two films were dreams and hallucinations. They were poems...I wasn't trying to please anyone but myself. Satan's Playground will be more straightforward, more realistic, a little less fantasy driven. It won't skip around between past, present and future like Desecration and Horror did. Those films were time/space dislocations. I'm just going to try to entertain an audience with Satan's Playground by making a stripped-down, no-frills monster movie. It's a survival tale, really. In a way, Satan's Playground is a little like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in that there's a rural setting and evil backwoodsy characters. Also, like those films, there's a relentless feeling of being followed, of being watched...and chased. You get some of my usual images of family dysfunction, sleep paralysis and Satanism, but all in all, it's a popcorn scare film...a spookshow. I just want to make it as frightening and engaging as possible. That's my goal.
AYG: Tell us a bit about your cast and why you chose them.
Well, Felissa Rose, who was born in 69, the same year I was born, was going
to be in Satan's Playground no matter what. We loved working together on Horror
and share a very deep connection. We can't wait for our Satan's Playground
'imagination sessions'. On set, she'll have to scream and cry and run over
and over and over. It's going to be a very emotionally harrowing role and
we plan on keeping the horror -- onscreen. I'm going to try to stay very steady,
very calm, almost Zen-like, so is Felissa. We like to keep a light set and
try to bulldozer over conflicts with a stare and a smile. Damn the negative
people, the Internet message board know-it-alls - - screw them.
I know we'll be making horror movies together for a long time.
I sought out Ellen Sandweiss for a role and she accepted. It really had a
lot to do with the fact that The Evil Dead touched me so deeply, when it came
out in 83...I was thirteen. That movie was a staple of my youth. I must have
watched it on tape a thousand times throughout the years. Ellen's sequence
with the Book of the Dead coming alive and automatic writing really struck
a nerve. There are so many other scenes, of course the vine-attack...Ellen's
performance as Cheryl was raw, really fantastic. The Evil Dead rules. When
I found out through Rue Morgue Magazine that she was touring horror conventions
with the other 'Ladies of the Evil Dead,' I thought, well, here's my chance.
I sent her an introductory email with a link to my site. After that, I mailed
out Desecration and the trailer for Horror. We talked on the phone and hit
it off. Then I mailed her a portion of the Satan's Playground script. She
had good things to say about Desecration and the Horror trailer and dug what
she read of the Satan's Playground script. She also agreed that she'd be perfect
for the role I offered her to play, so it was a go...pure synergy. As a horror
fan and fan of The Evil Dead, I was psyched. I mailed her some
Horror behind-the-scenes-footage, so she'd get a feel for how my productions
run. I wanted to make her 100% comfortable. Of course, she hadn't done a movie
since The Evil Dead. That made it even more potent. Just like Felissa Rose,
it was an honor to have Ellen Sandweiss on board. These are two early 80's
scream queens from cult horror classics.
Danny Lopes (Desecration, Horror), a very wild, psychedelic actor, will return in another role in one of my movies. This time, he'll play Sean, an autistic, telepathic teen. In the movie, you'll get the sense that he's like this because of some kind of childhood trauma. Sean is really Bobby and Luck, characters from my previous films, all rolled into one.
AYG: Where are you shooting? What's the location?
Somewhere in Jersey. It hasn't been confirmed yet.
AYG: When should we expect to see Horror released on DVD?
Horror will premiere at certain film festivals nationwide around Halloween.
Most independent films have to ride the festival circuit before they get a
release. I'm thinking for sure 2003. If not in some theaters, on DVD and VHS.
AYG: The media seems to perpetually blame violent cinema. Have you ever felt that the violence in motion pictures could effect a person in a negative way?
No, I think horror films are good for people. They provoke us and we get
to go into some intense state of consciousness where all these pent up emotions
reverberate...there are no bruises, slash marks. It's all fantasy.
Horror can be cathartic...or a release. Horror films allow us to appreciate
how safe our lives are. I just don't think they're harmful in any way. Evil
emotions come from within. The idea that they are stimulated by the media,
by movies and music is so overrated.
AYG: How do you feel about the "Big Budget" horror filmmakers and their inclusion of humor in terror films?
I can't stand it. It's what has ruined horror films since the mid 80's.
AYG: Will you be shooting Satan's Playground on super 16 mm?
Yes, I love super 16 mm. It's better than regular 16 mm and less expensive
than 35 mm film. With the right production values, super 16 mm can look like
35 mm. I plan to shoot my fourth film, Apparition, which deals with the ocean
and supernatural riptides, on 35 mm, but for Satan's Playground - super 16
mm is perfect. It will give it a kind of 70's vibe - - that faded-yet-color-saturated
look.
AYG: How do you feel about the advances of Hi Definition video used in a film like Session 9 ? And would you ever consider shooting on that format?
You know, I never saw Session 9, though I heard a lot of great things about it. Still, I can't get that excited about Hi Definition video. I'm just way too in love with film. I understand it's economical but I refuse. I'll always use film. Even the best video to me looks flat, thin-looking...one-dimensional. I have to say, though, my dislike for the format wouldn't prevent me from seeing another horror film shot on Hi Definition video. I'm not prejudiced about it. It's just my personal decision as a filmmaker. I prefer film.
AYG: Tell us a bit about the look of Satan's Playground. Sets, Photography, lighting, etc.
Overall, very dark and shadowy. Few special effects. Just an old creepy house and the mystery of the woods. Stripped-down. Emphasis here is on suggestion and mood, not gore, though it will definitely have its moments. The film will be mostly shot in the woods. It'll be atmospheric, with lots of fog and eerie lighting. There'll be a devil lurking in the forest. I'm in love with the visual of trees in late October, early November. Trees in the woods at that time are so skeletal. I hope Satan's Playground will be beautiful to look at. And scary.
AYG: Please give us some words of wisdom.
The key is to believe in yourself. That's life's secret. If you don't, the
gate stays closed. The door, locked. Though, I know, there is a long journey
to get to that door. That gate. I still haven't reached it. I see it ahead
of me like a mirage but then the hallways distort and dissolve. I understand
now, the journey to get to it, may never end....