PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Pophorror: Sacrifice is quite strong but Torment really pushes the envelope in sexually graphic violence. It also focuses on a John Wayne Gacy inspired torturer/killer so the viewer gets an explicit up close and personal look at numerous homosexual acts. It’s a very memorable and extreme film. How were you first introduced to the project?
Domizinao Cristopharo: I wrote the story and produced the project, but I gave the directing role to another trustable emerging friend of mine, the porn actor/director Adam Ford. I must say I envy him a bit because actually Torment is a film that I really wanted to direct!
Pophorror: Do you consider any of your films to be political in nature and what is your opinion on politics in general?
Domiziano Cristopharo: Definitively yes. From the first feature, my editor and assistant director Alessandro Giordani said to me, “We have basically two ways to do a movie: entertain, or leave a message to the audience. We obligate ourselves to say something or say nothing… what would you do!?” So I said to myself, “I wanna entertain, but I also wanna give also something to think about when the movie ends.”
All my movies are inspired by real stories, by human errors/horrors… besides a few experiments like the movies in Kosovo, all my films are about exploring the sick side of the modern society and people. The most political is for sure Doll Syndrome.
Pophorror: What are some of your favorite films, anything current that you enjoy?
Domiziano Cristopharo: My favorite movies ever are Gone With The Wind, Cabaret – I love Bob Fosse! – Metropolis and almost all films of Fellini, De Palma, Pasolini and Polanski. In the horror fields, no one can compete with Bava, Fulci and Avati. Recently I loved The VVitch and Neon Demon.
Pophorror: How did the P.O.E. series start? Did a bunch of directors come together and just decide to pay homage to the work of Edgar Allan Poe?
Domiziano Cristopharo: Yes, it started like this, during a small Italian film festival: a bunch of directors says, “Why don’t we do something all together?” and we did!
Pophorror: House Of Flesh Mannequins was your first film, correct? How was this movie conceived and how did you get Giovanni Lombardo Radice on board to star in it?
Domiziano Cristopharo: I wrote that script thinking, “How would it be the Peeping Tom movie, if we reverse all the structure and turn the characters in a very extreme way?” In Italy, all producers rejected it for almost 5 years. I was sad and I quit the idea to realize it. When I meet Giovanni, I didn’t know him to be a horror icon. I gave him the script and he said to me, “It’s amazing!” So, I said to myself, “He is a very expert actor and a very deep man of culture, so is he crazy or the script is really a good idea??” I sent it to the USA to a young producer just because he had my same name – Domiziano Arcangeli – and I believe in fate. He said to me right away, “Let’s do it!” And we did. The movie was really ahead of its time for 2008: real sex, real tortures, no recreations, with body art performers, the snuff sensation… but we remained stuck for 4 years without distribution – same destiny of Doll Syndrome – until the phenomenon of A Serbian Film’exploded, opening some gates for us, too.
Pophorror: You like to base your films on different real life scenarios and facts in particular the movie Red Krokodil which is based on the dangerous drug. I understand Red Krokodil will see a release possibly from Unearthed Films? What research did you do into this drug and its dangerous effects on the human body?
Domiziano Cristopharo: I realized the movie in 2012 when the drug wasn’t famous at all. I like discovering things, to keep my mind excited by ideas, so in 2010, I came across a forum on web, where people were discussing this destructive Russian drug. I was thinking that it was an urban legend because it was hard to discover more about it. Then in 2012, the drug expanded to Germany, so I realized it was a real problem. The idea to use this definitive extreme drug like a symbol of the decay of a soul grew up quickly in me. I found Brock in an online model agency, his face impressed me. No one Italian actor I knew wanted to do it because of nudity. Brock loved the project from the start and I didn’t know that at one time, he was an addicted to codeine in his past life, and this film was for the both of us, a way to deal and exorcise something in our present life.
Pophorror: I notice you have filmed some of your work in Kosovo. What is the reason for this? Is it cheaper to film here or is it just where you choose to go?
Domiziano Cristopharo: In Kosovo, it’s cheaper for sure to film, but this is not the reason. I realized there 2 movies for the HH Kosova production with 3 big artists from Balcani: Halil Budakova, Edi Lushi and Merita Budakova. They loved the idea to experiment something new, hiring a foreign director, and our first feature film together, Virus, is a modern version of H.P. Lovecraft’s Colour From Outer Space melted with the Kosovo war theme. Everything worked so well in production one year after we realized the Shakespeare’s Macbeth in a post war era. More projects for sure to come. We are working on it. I love people there… very passionate, artistic and open minded… and the food is great!
Pophorror: A playful and humorous question next – do you consider yourself a foodie? I notice your posts about cheesecake and desserts and your meetings with friends/actors such as Robert Scorza and Poison Rouge (laughs).
Domiziano Cristopharo: Our meeting point is the best cheesecake place in Rome. Nothing is better than discuss about job and creativity in front a good cake and a coffee: is more inspirational and make us feel more motivated! (laughs) I love to eat. I love spend time in simple ways. And I find myself more sexy with a bit of a belly!
