| Desecration | |
| Director: | Dante Tomaselli |
| Producer: |
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| Starring: |
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| Music: |
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| Cinematography: | Brendan Flynt |
| Editing: | Marcus Bonilla |
| Runtime: | 88 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | $150,000 |
Desecration is a 1999 American horror film written and directed by Dante Tomaselli. The film stars Irma St. Paule and Christie Sanford, who would both return in several of Tomaselli's later films.[1] The film originally started off as a short film that Tomaselli created in 1994 and is his feature film directorial debut.[2]
Tomaselli drew inspiration for the film from his childhood and also heavily utilized dream sequences to impart the film's story.[3]
A 16-year-old teen named Bobby is emotionally damaged by the early death of his mother. After accidentally causing a nun's death, he unleashes a chain of supernatural events that lead him into the pits of Hell.
Merle Bertrant of Film Threat panned the film and gave it one and a half stars, stating, "All moody funky art-crap visuals and no cohesive narrative to speak of, the only thing desecrated in Desecration is the rapidly fading art of storytelling."[4] In contrast, Sean McGinnis of DVD Verdict called it a cult film that it would "engender strong feelings one way or the other". McGinnis said that he "found the film entertaining and creepy in a palpable way."[5]
Tomaselli created the initial short that inspired the full-length film in 1994. The film was experimental and explored themes such as drug usage within the clergy and Catholicism in specific.[6]