Wow, where does one start with these things ?, so much to say, so much to tell!. Anyhow, it all started when my parents took me the wee lad of only 3 years of age to the drive-in , to witness Bob Clarke’s classic cult film CHILDREN SHOULDN'T  PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS. Of course , after that the horror began !. Maybe not directly after, but the moment in time has stuck with me to this very day. As I began to mature so did my tastes in cinema. One film in particular which had a direct impact upon me would be Stanley Kubrick’s classic tale of youth gone bad a la future A CLOCKWORK ORANGE. Everything about the film appealed to me, the score, the imagery and most of all the message. There was more to film than just what trash Hollywood was pumping out. Sure Kubrick’s tale was a big budgeted film, but it still defied the regular Hollywood formula and still does to this day!. Though my interests in film were mostly of the horror scene, I had my side dishes of cult favourites as well. Then in the early 90's, my taste in cinema would take a drastic turn with the viewing of Dario Argento’s artful masterpiece, SUSPIRIA. Sure, I had seen many Italian based horror films like Fulci’s ZOMBI, Franco’s JACK THE RIPPER and Pupi Avati’s ZEDER, but nothing quite like SUSPIRIA. Like A CLOCKWORK ORANGE’S affect on me a decade before, I was experiencing that same feeling. My eyes had witnessed the second coming. Again, everything about SUSPIRIA had me wanting more. The flawless score by Goblin, to this day their most extensive piece of work. The images, including Argento’s use of and manipulation of them. Further more, the actors involved. This was my first serious trip into something that has now become my first love in cinema, European cinema and most of all Italian horror, cult and crime.

The next step was unknown to me until the birth of the internet. Well a few years later really … late 1998 … I had finally surfed the great unknown, the www. Of course at first I had no real direction, I just wanted to see what all the hype was all about. Then the direction came when I did a general search for horror based material. Then came the horror based fan sites with their message forums. They were great and I still have numerous fond memories of many of them. Lots have long since passed, but there are still many of them that still stand to this day.

I finally got my calling though , I wanted to create a fan based web community of sorts that catered to films that we here in North America. Either not known about, or have little known knowledge about. Well, with how the world has grown with the spirit of the internet that would be hard. Still my drive was there, I wanted to share the knowledge I had with others who saught it out and were just discovering it as well. Though my knowledge is surpassed by others that would be my next step, to assemble a core group of fans with great knowledge of many of these films. To share their thoughts and knowledge with others. Finally in late 2002 after the death of my best friend, and fellow Euro-horror aficionado, I decided to start the recruitment and get things going.

The birth of what is now called CINEMA NOCTURNA is pretty much that of the way a new website goes. Only instead of recruiting the main core after the fact, I had a team of what I considered the cream of the crop when it came to the facts. People like Paul Cooke, with his wizardry of words and his vast knowledge and love for many of the same films I enjoyed. Devin Kelly, who’s love and passion for Euro-Cult and more only made the right sense to recruit. Frankie Marino, who’s knowledge of Euro-crime inspired my own adventures into many films I had no idea about, but now hold close to my heart!. There’s nothing quite like those Merli flicks!. Sean Patrick Dolan, who I had known something of from another genre site, in which he had contributed to. He too writes with such passion, this was another must have for Cinema Nocturna’s founding strength and still is to this day. Finding Michael Bolvary was on a different level all together. Standing in the main train station in Toronto, I was waiting for my train when he approached me about the t-shirt I was wearing at the time. That t-shirt was none other then Lucio Fulci’s CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD. He announced that he was a huge fan of Fulci’s. We talked the whole train ride. Upon my departure I had pointed him toward Cinema Nocturna and of course you know the outcome of that!. As for all the little things that make up CN - for instance our whacked out rating system, THE BITCH SLAP, I would like to thank Frankie for that concept. The various section titles here as well, like our European forum SPLATTER MAFIOSO, just some word mixing of mine. Our Asian cinema section's title of Ballistic Blood Bullets comes courtesy of none other than CN's wizard with words, Paul Cooke!.

Today, Cinema Nocturna is truly a world based community, the one I envisioned right from the start. With new additions to our collectice cause like our man in Sweden, actor/screenwriter Fred Anderson, who continues the CN passion in his own right. My good friend Kit Gavin, who’s knowledge and expertise has extended my love for many new films. His writing displays such a great passion and desire that guide those who seek the knowledge. Finally, with the next stage in Cinema Nocturna’s evolution, my new right hand man (co-webmaster), David Zuzelo. Again, another great addition to the family. The time, care and attention he always put into Tomb of DVD/Morpho’s Lair is forever immortalised in film fan lore. It will be forever duly noted and most sincerely welcomed around here too. I would also like to thank others who have contributed to the cause in the past, and continue to do so in the future. To all those sites / people and associates who spread our good name, in the same cordial manner that we tirelessly do for them.

 

(2004)

 

Staff Bios

David Zuzelo-BIO (as reported:) Obsessed with Trash at a young age, David seeks further exposure to toughen his eyelids and brainhide by digging deep intoEuroschlook, CineTrash and worships as many movies about sharks devouring topless women with large breasts that have, to date, been developed. Dubbed as a Post Nuke Historian, he roams the virtual globes. Thrillseeker by trade he wanders the world with eyes... and mouth...wide open.
 

was born in Cambridge. His birthday lies a week after Jean Cristophe Bretigniere and just shy of a week before Catriona MacColl’s. Born to Scottish and Danish parents, pretty much no sooner was he out of the womb, was his photo being taken for a passport and he was on the move, growing up in Mexico, West Africa, South East Asia and England. This moving around has made him a restless spirit, seeking stability yet yearning to travel and discover. He thinks of himself as European, not British in any way shape or form. The whole film thing started when he was 9 and his mother taped Psycho (it took him a week and a half to remember how to pronounce it), The Fog, and various non-English speaking movies of the television. After watching those the die was cast. Also living in the oh censorious UK, he developed an interest outside of the films being shown on television and delved into what were termed the video nasties, but still watching and retaining an interest in the arthouse foreign films. Blow Up, The Damned and The House By the Cemetery made a major impact.

In the mid 90’s he started writing and compiling cast lists (by hand), and articles for the short lived fanzines Delirium as well as Flesh and Blood. However he tired of the fan scene and the back stabbing that took place therein. After a hiatus for a couple of years, he returned and with the advent of the internet, he and Tim Lucas started communications and he contributed his first interview – with Brigitte Skay – to Tim Lucas. He then joined various web forums, some he stuck with, some he didn’t. He started to teach himself Italian, corresponding and reading Italy’s Nocturno magazine.

At the start, thereabouts, of the new century, he worked freelance for Media Blasters, procuring and compiling the interviews for their European titles, being conversant in three languages other than English, working with his ex-partner in crime, Mike Baronas, travelling around Europe to meet with directors and actors. He can be sensitive, neurotic, stubborn but has a zen for knowledge and most of all he loves, values and respects his friends, some of yet, surprisingly, he has yet to meet in person. He believes in forwarding and improving himself – but not at the cost of others.

Currently he is helping with the compilation of a book of interviews, researching for other books in production, as well as acting as historical advisor on a screenplay, which he is co-scripting. He currently is working for another DVD company which is just starting out, whilst doing freelance work for other companies. He also busies himself with writing (for CN, as well as poems, all sorts of short stories and critiques, etc) and with occasional acting work, mainly taking place in Italy. Despite the fact the film world he loves still has the odd back stabber, here or there, or jealous soul, and despite occasional plans to "chuck it all in", his interest in cinema remains pretty strong.

His love in terms of cinema are Italian and Spanish cinema (mainly thrillers, horror, and exploitation), together with some French, some German as well as US roughies and drive-in movies. He makes no secret of his dislike for action movies, post nukers and Robin Williams. His favorite directors are Hitchcock, Bava, Fellini, and Franco. Outside of movies, he enjoys archaeology, Italian renaissance art and history, classics, language, esoterica, philosophy, to collect World War I trench art and reading up on unsolved murder mysteries. He enjoys communication with his friends, by email, on the phone or in person, enjoys hot bright sunny days, has had his horoscope read by Margaret Lee and enjoys meeting up with Dagmar Lassander on the Via Venato for lemon tea in the afternoon.

He bases himself between London and Rome.

Paul Cooke- Born in the Sixties , grew up in the Seventies and continues to live in a fantastical film world of the Eighties. When a careers officer played down any opportunity at journalism little did the guy know that the writing was only just on the wall , and a ‘misspellt’ youth gave self inspiration for poetic licence to make all things ‘Write !’.

The early years of Universal Horror double features made for a true appreciation of monochrome , outside of being in a family that could only afford Black & White television anyway. The excursions to the local Cinema for big screen terror , such as Jaws , made the bus journey home an interesting one. With an imagination running wild at the thought of the driver accelerating to keep ahead of the killer shark doubtlessly in pursuit. Horror was the drug but with the addictive draw of the reinvention of the Spaghetti Western came the dawn of the Post Apocalyptic revolution. Lucio Fulci was soon arm wrestling with Enzo G. Castellari , and Ian McCulloch was preparing to have his staid brown leather brogues future pimped by Mark Gregory’s ghetto squirrel boots. The future never looked so bright until the dawn of the super shiny DVD format and suddenly all those heroes of the forbidden zones were showing in all their cinemascope glory. VHS wasn’t dead though , just collecting dust and preparing for a monetary renaissance of often quite extraordinary pocket loosening absurdity. Time to switch on and connect up with the super highway we all know and love as the Internet. Stand back there’s an Asian movie invasion coming and I like the look of that too. Not only time to discover new fellow film friends from around the globe but a re-education on all things moviedom. Bring on the ‘Bay , the on line car boot sale with a bootable engine all its own known as Ebay. I know what your thinking did I leave five seconds or maybe six ? , the truth is in all the excitement probably even less. The thrill of the kill saves an American Bill and even Tarantino can’t top Buckaroobanzai ‘Ebay Assassin’ on that !. This bio is ultimately about Bruno , Mattei that is , without him and a wee fella called Deezer I’d be just a regular geezer. Long live freedom of speech and an eternity of ‘Bad’ movies to keep uncovering , both old and new. Oh , and if your career officers try to tell you what you must do with your life just point them in the direction of Cinema Nocturna. Never let anyone tell you what you can’t do , life is about realising your goals and dreams. We all have them and we all need them. As the mighty Brent Huff once said ‘It Can Be Done’.