Upping the Dante

“Genital mutilation, per se, is not my kind of thing. And in close-up, that’s worse. And in a Lars Von Trier movie, it seems like it would be unbearable.” ~ Joe Dante, on why he hasn’t rushed to see ANTICHRIST.

The subject came up when Fiona pointed out that the serial killer’s lair in THE HOWLING, decorated with scary art and news cuttings, was really the first of its kind, giving birth to a genre staple and cliche which LVT’s genital-mutilating art-house horrorshow eagerly embraces. I suggested Von Trier ought to be paying Dante royalties. Dante shuddered slightly.

All this by way of prologue to the fact that part one of my Dante interview is now up at The Auteurs’ Notebook. Many thanks to the Great Man.