The Horror Revolution: First off, what’s your favorite horror movie? What movie scared you the most?
Domiziano Cristopharo: I don't have one... I love very different movies for very different reasons... I can say House by the Cemetery by Fulci, The Fog by Carpenter, The Tenant by Polanski (even if is not strictly an horror), Killer Klowns from Outer Space by the Chiodo Bros... The one scared me the most is probably The House with Laughing Windows by Pupi Avati.
THR: I thought La perdición was an incredible film, brutally violent and wild as hell. What inspired the film?
DC: La perdición is based loosely on the case of the serial killer Robert Hansen. I think is the same - not declared basis - that inspired the Agatis movie by Dora. I wanted to tell the story but turning it into a gay love story based on fetishism and oppression because I see many horror fans have still an homophobic attitude when on screen the victims are men, so... I think as independent artists we need to work in a direction that open the sights and not please only a standard attitude.
THR: The nihilism in the film was reminiscent of a lot of the French Extremity films that I’ve covered in the past. How difficult is it to capture a philosophy like this in a film, and what drew you to including this perspective in the film?
DC: You are right: I had the chance to present the movie in the Amsterdam's University in a round table discussing the staging of gender and violence... one professor described the movie as an "horror Melodrama" and I think it fits!
THR: I’ve always felt like psychological horror is often the hardest to capture on film because so much of it takes place within the audience’s head. What are the challenges in bringing it through to the audiences the way that your film did?
DC: The movie was shot during the COVID pandemic, so wasn't difficult for all of us to put a bit of real desperation and hopeless feelings in it. I just wanted to take a break from standard horror and I wanted to explore other narratives.
THR: I also got to check out your film Eldorado. I loved all of the references to Jodorowsky, and it’s really hard to pull off his type of film. What inspired this one?
DC: Eldorado existed before the Perdición but it was stopped due to the COVID restrictions for more than one year... so in the meanwhile I realized Perdición. When I moved to Gran Canaria I discovered how strong is the presence of Santeria here, and I started to make some researches... so it came the idea to do a road movie exploring those magic rites and symbolisms, in the search of a spiritual journey. But, if in Jodorowsky the message is always positive, I used the alchemy to show how the trip of a man can be just really materialistic if not guided by pure intentions.
THR: What are some of the tricks that you used to pull off some of the more ethereal elements of the film in a way that made them connect with the audience?
THR: What made you want to become a filmmaker? Were there any particular films that made you know this is what you wanted to do?
DC: As child I wanted be an FX artist, and at the age of 14 I was guest on Umberto Lenzi's set. Then I started to work as dancer (and I still do) and FX artists in various films. I wrote many screenplay, one, House of Flesh Mannequins, found a production in USA... and the producer wanted me as director. I never thought about be a director before. But I did...
THR: If you could work with anyone in the industry, alive or dead, who would it be and why?
DC: I had the chance to work with people like Lynn Lowry (The Crazies), Frank Laloggia (Lady in White), Ruggero Deodato (Cannibal Holocaust), Venantino Venantini (Fear in the City of Living Dead), John Morghen (Cannibal Ferox)... I can say I'm pretty happy. My only desire maybe is not to have had the time and opportunity to know Lucio Fulci.
THR: Your films obviously have a horror/fantasy element to them, which I really enjoyed. What other genres would you like to work in in the future?
DC: I'm already experimenting other things, sadly the horror are the films that get more attention... I don't consider Eldorado or Perdición horror for example, and I did Museum of Wonders that is a dark musical, Dark Waves that is a dark fairy tale, Blue Sunset (aka Cyberpunks) that is a sci-fi cyberpunk film, Two Left Arms that is a fantasy sci-fi inspired by Lovecraft... I have recently completed the anthology Phallacies that is a collective of artists that use the penis as subject of art expression to contrast the moralism and censorship on social media!
THR: Finally, who is the most interesting person you’ve ever met?
DC: I will say that working with Romano Scavolini (Nightmares on a Damaged Brain) and Yvonne Scio (The Hideout, Redline) was a real enlightening experience.
