Dante Tomaselli

 ( American Male Screenwriters ) 

Dante Tomaselli (born October 29, 1969) is an Italian-American film director, screenwriter, and score composer. Known for his "unique and eccentric" work in the horror film, he was named one of Fearnets "Favorite Underrated Horror Directors" in 2013.

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Biography Tomaselli was born on October 29, 1969, in Paterson, New Jersey. He expressed interest in becoming a horror filmmaker while he was still a child, due to his enjoyment of films such as The Exorcist and Don't Look Now, which he watched with his mother at local theaters.

Matthew Edwards (2025). 9780786429707, McFarland. . ISBN 9780786429707

Tomaselli studied filmmaking at Brooklyn's Pratt Institute and later transferred to the New York School of Visual Arts, where he achieved a BFA in Advertising. His debut feature, Desecration, which he based on a previous 23-minute short film, was released in 1999.

On January 14, 2014, Tomaselli released his first CD of electronic horror music, Scream in the Dark, through Elite Entertainment and MVD Audio.

He is openly gay.

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Themes and influences Tomaselli often utilizes themes of Catholic Church and Christianity in his work, partly inspired by his Catholic upbringing as a child; though he is critical of the concept of religion as a whole. Other factors that have influenced his work include his familial relation to Alfred Sole and his interest in surrealism, as well as severe nightmares he had as a child. Some critics mistakenly attribute Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci as direct influences on Tomaselli, but Tomaselli has stated that he did not view those directors' films until his early twenties.

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Reception

Critical reception to Tomaselli's films is usually very polarized, with some criticizing the films as lacking linear plot lines; while other critics have praised them for this feature.

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Discography

• Scream in the Dark (2014)
• The Doll (2014)
• Nightmare (2015)
• Witches (2017)

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Filmography

1999	Desecration
2002	Horror
2006	Satan's Playground
2012	Torture Chamber

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External links

Categories: American Male Screenwriters, American Horror Writers, Film Producers From New Jersey, Pratt Institute Alumni, Writers From Paterson, New Jersey, 1969 Births, Living People, American Lgbtq Film Directors, American Gay Writers, American Lgbtq Musicians, Lgbtq Film Producers, American Lgbtq Screenwriters, Lgbtq People From New Jersey, American Critics Of Religions, Film Directors From New Jersey, Screenwriters From New Jersey, 21st-century American Lgbtq People

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