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Your new movie Toe
Tags - in a few words, what's it about?
Toe
Tags is a foot-themed horror anthology. It takes something sensual,
strange, taboo, funny, and uncomfortable, then filters it through several
different horror perspectives. It is fetish horror, body horror,
obsession, dark humor, and underground weirdness all in one package.
Now how did the project come into being in the first place, what
inspied you to make a foot-themed horror anthology?
Domiziano Christopharo actually brought the idea to me. It seemed like a natural
progression after our Phallacies and AnalOgies body-part-specific
anthologies. Feet are funny to some people, erotic to others, and
genuinely uncomfortable to many. That made it perfect for horror. Fetish
and obsession have always belonged in horror.
What can you tell us about
Toe Tags' co-creator Domiziano Christopharo, and what was
your collaboration like?
Domiziano lives and breathes art and extreme cinema. He has a very
distinct eye and is never afraid to go somewhere strange, erotic, ugly or
uncomfortable.
Our collaboration was very natural. We both understood that this concept
should not be sanitized. We leaned into the weirdness, but we also wanted
it to have atmosphere and artistic identity beyond just the gimmick.
How easy or hard was it to find other directors to collaborate on
a foot fetish horror film?
The concept gets an immediate reaction, which is great, but you need
filmmakers who are willing to commit to something this bizarre without
treating it like a throwaway joke.
Luckily, horror is full of beautiful lunatics, and we’ve already worked
with and established relationships with a lot of them. Once the right
people understood the tone, the anthology started to come together.
So what can you tell us about your segment in
Toe Tags,
Il Paio
Perfetto? What's it about, and what were your sources of
inspiration when thinking it up?
IIl Paio
Perfetto means “The Perfect Pair”. My segment is about obsession,
projection, and how desire can turn into something poisonous.
It follows a man whose fixation becomes less about attraction and more
about fantasy, control, and possession. I was inspired by fetish
photography, Italian horror/giallo, psychological thrillers, and grimy
character-driven horror where the real monster is someone’s private
sickness. Do talk about your co-writers on Il Paio
Perfetto, Eric E. Poe and Angelica Lee, and about the writing
process!
Eric E. Poe originally planted the seed of the idea in my head over dinner
one night. He is also a writer/director/actor I have worked with
frequently and is full of ideas himself. I knew I wanted to do a giallo,
but Poe helped me find a direction for the story, and I expanded on it.
Angelica Lee and I have established a mutual trust as performers. My films
tend to go into risqué territory that not everyone is comfortable with,
but Angelica has been willing to go the distance with me, no matter how
crazy my ideas get. She wasn’t as familiar with giallo films, so I
explained the tropes and that I was missing the investigative side of the
genre. It’s hard to pull off in a 15-minute segment, but Angelica came up
with a great idea to make her character the police investigator and tossed
a few ideas my way. It worked out really well.
A few words about your directorial approach to your story at hand?
I wanted it to feel intimate, voyeuristic, and slightly wrong from the
beginning. The camera needed to feel like it was participating in the
obsession, not just observing it.
The goal was to embrace the sleaze without making it only exploitation or
parody. I wanted tension, discomfort, and psychology underneath the
surface.
You also appear in front of the camera in Il Paio
Perfetto - so what can you tell us about your character, what did
you draw upon to bring him to life, and did you write him with yourself in
mind from the get-go?
I play a lonely, damaged man who cannot separate fantasy from reality. He
is pathetic in some ways and dangerous in others, which is what makes him
disturbing. I drew from the idea of someone building an emotional world around
something they cannot actually possess. I did write the role partly with
myself in mind because I knew I could bring the right mix of
vulnerability, creepiness, and discomfort.
Do talk about the rest of your cast, and why exactly these people?
Angelica Lee was essential and has been on board with my films for a few
years now. She has a very natural screen presence and can be vulnerable,
strange, funny and intense without forcing it.
Ciera Rae has been my makeup/effects person since I first started
directing. She finally made her acting debut in my films and brought a
different kind of intensity that fit perfectly into the indie horror
atmosphere.
Scara Slayfield also had the right energy for the world of the
segment. She worked with me early on in my Erecting A Monster
films, and I
was glad she was finally able to come back to my set again.
With a short film, casting matters a lot. Everyone needed to immediately
feel like they belonged in this strange little nightmare.
A few words about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmophere?
The shoot was focused but also fun. With indie horror, especially
something this weird, everyone has to embrace the madness.
The set was collaborative and relaxed, even when the material got darker
or stranger. I like when people can laugh between takes and then snap
right back into the scene. That balance keeps the set alive.
What can you tell us about the other segments of
Toe Tags, and their
respective directors?
The best thing about Toe Tags is that every director took the theme
somewhere different. Some segments are erotic, some are grotesque, some
are funny, some are cruel, and some are surreal.
That variety is what makes anthologies exciting. You get to see several
filmmakers interpret obsession, desire, revulsion, and body horror through
the same strange lens.
The $64-question of course, where can
Toe Tags be seen?
Toe Tags will be available through
Dagon Films as part of
The Undertow Collection. We are doing a limited physical release aimed at the
underground horror audience this movie was made for. The
Dagon Films store and social media are the best places to keep up with
availability.
Anything you can tell us about audience and ctirical reception of
Toe Tags?
So far, the reaction has been exactly what I hoped for: curiosity,
laughter, discomfort and people saying, “Wait, did you say foot fetish
horror anthology?”
That is a good sign. I do not want polite shrugs. Horror should provoke
some kind of reaction, and Toe Tags does that before people even press
play. Any future projects you'd like to share?
Dagon Films is continuing to build
The Undertow Collection, focused on
modern underground horror, and From The Abyss, our remastered classics
line. I have acting roles in new features Screw Year’s Eve,
Velvicide,
Gracie and
Get That Dick. Beyond that, I am developing more original work
and continuing to expand
Dagon Films as a home for weird, extreme and
personal genre cinema.
What got you into the filmworld in the first place, and did you
receive any formal training on the subject?
I got into film because I was obsessed with movies before I ever thought I
could make them. Horror, exploitation, cult films and underground cinema
were my film school.
I did not come from formal training. I learned by watching, acting, making
things, making mistakes and being around creative people. My time in pro
wrestling and music also shaped me a lot, especially in terms of
performance, character and presentation.
You seem to be as comfortable in front of the camera as behind it
- so which side do you actually prefer, and why?
I like both for different reasons. Acting is more instinctive. Directing
is controlled chaos.
If I had to choose, directing probably gives me the most satisfaction
because I get to shape the entire world of the piece. But acting is still
a huge part of who I am, especially when I get to play damaged, strange,
ugly or funny characters. And when I’m acting in other people’s projects,
I get to go home and move on from the film instead of spending the rest of
the year editing, marketing, etc.
What can you tell us about your filmwork prior to
Toe Tags, in whatever
position?
I have worked as an actor, writer, director, producer and distributor in
indie and underground horror. I started as an actor in films like Amazon
Hot Box, Joe Stryker and
Mother Noose Presents Once Upon a Nightmare. I
started directing with the trilogy of Erecting A Monster short films. This
led me to talking to Domiziano Cristopharo and getting involved with
Phallacies and AnalOgies, two adult-themed horror anthologies. A lot of my
work circles around horror, transgression, sexuality, technology,
obsession, religion and the body.
How would you describe yourself as a director, and how as an
actor?
As a director, I am instinctive, atmosphere-driven, and drawn to
uncomfortable material. I like beauty mixed with ugliness.
As an actor, I am drawn to damaged characters: creeps, killers, addicts,
occultists, outsiders and broken men. I like roles where I can bring
humor, sadness and menace at the same time.
Filmmakers, actors, whoever else who inspire you?
Alejandro Jodorowsky, David Lynch, John Waters, Frank Henenlotter, John
Carpenter, Lucio Fulci [Lucio
Fulci bio - click here], Dario Argento, Takashi Miike, Clive Barker, Lloyd
Kaufman, Stanley Kubrick and David Cronenberg have all influenced me.
Music also inspires me heavily, especially metal, industrial, goth and
darkwave. Pro wrestling has also been a major influence because it is all
character, mythology, performance and audience reaction.
Your favourite movies?
That changes all the time, but some important ones for me are
The Texas
Chain Saw Massacre, Videodrome,
Hellraiser,
Phantasm,
Re-Animator,
Dawn of
the Dead, Evil Dead II,
Suspiria,
Mulholland Drive, The Holy Mountain,
The
Shining, Possession,
Visitor Q,
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,
Cannibal
Holocaust and
Female Trouble. I like movies that leave a stain on you.
... and of course, films you really deplore?
I do not hate films for being bad. Some of my favorite movies are “bad” by
normal standards. I hate films that feel dishonest, safe, or soulless. I would rather watch
an ambitious failure than a polished nothing.
Your/your movie's website, social media, whatever else?
People can follow
Dagon Films and find our releases through
our store:
www.dagonfilms.bigcartel.com. The store is the main place for our physical releases, limited editions,
and upcoming titles.
Toe
Tags / Dagon Films
updates on social media: Instagram:
devlin_valek Fycebook: Jon Devlin Twitter: Devlin’s Domain
YouTube: DagonFilms2025
Anything else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten
to ask?
Only that I appreciate anyone who still seeks out strange independent
horror. Toe
Tags is not made for everyone, and that is the point.
Support underground cinema. Support physical media. Support the freaks.
Thanks for the interview! Thank you for having me.
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