Caleb Goodwin
03-05-2004, 09:38 PM
Sometimes life sucks. We all know this. Then there are days that suck until you get home and find a package awaiting you that contains an extended trailer for Dante Tomaselli’s new film Satan’s Playground. It should go without saying that this day kicks hella ass. It should not be a secret to frequent visitors of HE that we are big fans of Mr. Tomaselli. If this is news for you, or you are unfamiliar with Tomaselli’s work you can check out excellent reviews by Scott Davis of DESECRATION and HORROR, or my review of DESECRATION.
For those of you who are unaware of Tomaselli’s newest effort or his work in general I will get you up to speed. Tomaselli’s first two films were DESECRATION and HORROR. These two films are companion pieces and both succeed in taking the viewer on a surreal journey through a nightmarish hell. His films are known for outrageous imagery and smothering atmosphere. Tomaselli’s directing has a presence that is undeniably his own. Tomaselli’s reuses the majority of his cast on every outing and Satan’s Playground is no exception. The familiar faces in Satan’s Playground are Danny Lopes (Luck from HORROR and Bobby from DESECRATION), Irma St. Paul (Grandma Matilda from DESECRATION), Christie Sanford (Mrs. Salo from HORROR and Sister Madeline/Mary Rullo from DESECRATION), Salvatore Piro (Mr. Rullo from DESECRATION), Raine Brown (Amanda from HORROR), Maureen Tomaselli (Sister Rosemarey from DESECRATION), and Chris Farabaugh (Fred from HORROR). Stepping into Satan’s Playground should be like slipping into warm bath water for long time Tomaselli fans. Other familiar faces, probably very familiar in fact, include Felissa Rose (Angela Baker from Sleepaway Camp) and Ellen Sandweiss (Evil Dead and Within the Woods).
So what is Satan’s Playground about? According to the IMDB, it is about a vacationing family that stumbles across the Jersey Devil. I have read many interviews with Tomaselli where he stated that Satan’s Playground is going to have a far more linear and approachable plotline. If you are like me then all of the above information sort of disturbed you. First of all, I have never been that impressed with the Jersey Devil. The legend is interesting in itself, but I have always found the creature to be lame. I also found the nonlinearity of Tomaselli’s past work to be engaging and beautiful in its on surreal way. Basically, I doubted the potential of a storyline revolving around the Jersey Devil, but have ample faith in Dante Tomaselli. Now, having seen the 5 minute trailer, I can safely announce that is safe to bury any fear that you have been harboring. Of course I can’t go into any detail about plotline (it was a trailer after all), but I can say that this is ALL Tomaselli. Remember his “presence” I was talking about earlier? Well it is all here. As usual the atmosphere is laid on thick with smothering and dense fog shrouding the thespians. Also present is Tomaselli’s excellent use of shadow and overall elegant camera work. I am no longer worried that making the film more linear will remove the blanketing surrealisms that permeated the early works.
As for the creature I cannot comment. The ol’ devil took up very little of the 5 minute running time and present only in POV flying angles. It appears that Tomaselli may have an ace up his sleeve. When I gave the plot synopsis earlier I did not tell the whole truth. I was unaware of this until I watched the trailer, but the family is apparently assaulted by something potentially more dangerous than the Jersey Devil. The family is assaulted by a seemingly crazy family in the woods (Oh hell yes!!!!). I am unaware of what the connection is between the Jersey Devil and the crazy family. I will say that all of the clips involving the crazy family are very intense and would feel right at home in TCM, and that is never a bad thing.
I know it is just a trailer. I have seen films with good trailers bite the dust and vise versa. If the trailer is an indication of the film’s total quality then we are all in for a treat my friends. I am genuially psyched about the film and all I can say is let the buzz begin. As soon as this trailer is up for public access I recommend you all check it out immediately.
For those of you who are unaware of Tomaselli’s newest effort or his work in general I will get you up to speed. Tomaselli’s first two films were DESECRATION and HORROR. These two films are companion pieces and both succeed in taking the viewer on a surreal journey through a nightmarish hell. His films are known for outrageous imagery and smothering atmosphere. Tomaselli’s directing has a presence that is undeniably his own. Tomaselli’s reuses the majority of his cast on every outing and Satan’s Playground is no exception. The familiar faces in Satan’s Playground are Danny Lopes (Luck from HORROR and Bobby from DESECRATION), Irma St. Paul (Grandma Matilda from DESECRATION), Christie Sanford (Mrs. Salo from HORROR and Sister Madeline/Mary Rullo from DESECRATION), Salvatore Piro (Mr. Rullo from DESECRATION), Raine Brown (Amanda from HORROR), Maureen Tomaselli (Sister Rosemarey from DESECRATION), and Chris Farabaugh (Fred from HORROR). Stepping into Satan’s Playground should be like slipping into warm bath water for long time Tomaselli fans. Other familiar faces, probably very familiar in fact, include Felissa Rose (Angela Baker from Sleepaway Camp) and Ellen Sandweiss (Evil Dead and Within the Woods).
So what is Satan’s Playground about? According to the IMDB, it is about a vacationing family that stumbles across the Jersey Devil. I have read many interviews with Tomaselli where he stated that Satan’s Playground is going to have a far more linear and approachable plotline. If you are like me then all of the above information sort of disturbed you. First of all, I have never been that impressed with the Jersey Devil. The legend is interesting in itself, but I have always found the creature to be lame. I also found the nonlinearity of Tomaselli’s past work to be engaging and beautiful in its on surreal way. Basically, I doubted the potential of a storyline revolving around the Jersey Devil, but have ample faith in Dante Tomaselli. Now, having seen the 5 minute trailer, I can safely announce that is safe to bury any fear that you have been harboring. Of course I can’t go into any detail about plotline (it was a trailer after all), but I can say that this is ALL Tomaselli. Remember his “presence” I was talking about earlier? Well it is all here. As usual the atmosphere is laid on thick with smothering and dense fog shrouding the thespians. Also present is Tomaselli’s excellent use of shadow and overall elegant camera work. I am no longer worried that making the film more linear will remove the blanketing surrealisms that permeated the early works.
As for the creature I cannot comment. The ol’ devil took up very little of the 5 minute running time and present only in POV flying angles. It appears that Tomaselli may have an ace up his sleeve. When I gave the plot synopsis earlier I did not tell the whole truth. I was unaware of this until I watched the trailer, but the family is apparently assaulted by something potentially more dangerous than the Jersey Devil. The family is assaulted by a seemingly crazy family in the woods (Oh hell yes!!!!). I am unaware of what the connection is between the Jersey Devil and the crazy family. I will say that all of the clips involving the crazy family are very intense and would feel right at home in TCM, and that is never a bad thing.
I know it is just a trailer. I have seen films with good trailers bite the dust and vise versa. If the trailer is an indication of the film’s total quality then we are all in for a treat my friends. I am genuially psyched about the film and all I can say is let the buzz begin. As soon as this trailer is up for public access I recommend you all check it out immediately.