LOS ANGELES — Dana Vespoli, the XBIZ Award-winning director and performer, has a treat for those seeking themes that offer arousal as well as horror.
She’s planning on launching her new horror-porn website, TerrorXXX.com, in mid November. The site is nearly finished, with a video editor putting finishing touches on it.
Vespoli, who recently spoke with XBIZ about the site debut, entered the world of adult entertainment in 2003 as a performer, with the goal of eventually directing her own films. For more than a decade she has had a prolific output for a wide array of studios featuring boundary-pushing scenes renowned for their authenticity and intensity.
But for Vespoli, a native of the San Francisco Bay Area, horror titles make her eyes twinkle most.
“I’ve always been drawn to horror; it’s my favorite genre,” Vespoli said. “I love the films of Dario Argento and Pascal Laugier; I also love Stephen King. I find demons kind of hot. This has always been something I wanted to do.
“In horror, the kind of urgency that you feel is comparable to sex. It elicits visceral reactions. Also, it’s so transgressive. I’ve seen many horror films that transcend the genre; they actual move you. They can leave you feeling aroused, for fear and arousal are so closely linked.”
Vespoli previously tried to work horror themes and imagery into works such as “Lesbian Stepmother 3: Succubus Rising” (2017) for Sweetheart Video, which she describes as a kind of “horror Cinderella story.” The mixing of genres was not as well-received and the distributor made her reshoot the scene, she said.
“My partner Sal Genoa is the most talented camera and lighting guy I know, and he knows perfectly how to execute my ideas,” she said. “We talked about collaborating on stuff, and I thought, ‘let’s do horror!’”
Vespoli and Genoa, co-producers of TerrorXXX, agreed to begin shooting at the beginning of October.
Vespoli pulled triple duty as director-producer-performer, but she began thinking about performers who could help her realize her vision.
“If I can picture someone in make-up, in character doing these lines, it makes everything easier,” Vespoli said.
One of Vespoli’s first calls was to frequent collaborator, and multiple XBIZ Best Actress nominee, Sovereign Syre.
“We’re very, very good friends, and I’ve probably shot her more than anyone. She understands what a director needs, she’s an especially good actress, and is not afraid to intake risks.”
Syre told XBIZ that she was “fortunate enough to be a muse” to Vespoli since her debut in porn.
“I’ve always been drawn to her sophisticated female characters, layered and sometimes unnerving narratives about the nature of desire and her unflinching exploration of the darker limits of our sexuality,” Syre said. “I was honored to be included in the inaugural collection of scenes for TerrorXXX.
"The feeling on set was electric. She is an auteur fully realizing a vision that started when she was a teenager watching ‘The Opening of Misty Beethoven,’ developed during her time at Evil Angel with incredible features like ‘She’s Come Undone’ and ‘Hollywood Babylon.’
“She is fearless and always pushing the limits of what can be depicted on screen. I can’t wait to see what dark twisted fantasies grow out of this studio. As a writer she is rebellious, as a character full of integrity and empathy for her subject matter and unlike anyone else in the adult industry. There is a reason she is loved so fiercely by her fans and peers alike.”
Vespoli’s next calls were to adult star Lily Love, a 2014 XBIZ nominee for Best Actress, and male performer Small Hands, the 2018 XBIZ Male Performer of the Year.
“I shot him with Romi Rain for my Red Light District movie [“Secrets That We Keep” (2018)]. He’s just incredibly charismatic and one gets the feeling he can do pretty much everything,” Vespoli said.
An upcoming TerrorXXX shoot is planned with starlet Emily Willis, Vespoli noted.
“For TerrorXXX, I’m picturing a series of standalone stories set in universe where these characters can return,” Vespoli said. “The Little Shop of Terrors will be a recurring place. It’s basically a creepy sex shop. Some people come in for toys, books, movies, magazines and are served in the main shop; others come in and want something else, and the keeper either leads them to the place where they can find it or brings the thing out to them.”
Although shooting began in October, TerrorXXX is not a Halloween project, Vespoli stresses.
“It’s horror all year round. Christmas will be terrifyingly festive,” she joked.
“I’m trying to be true to the genre,” Vespoli said. “The stories are meant to be scary, even existentially scary — like Pascal Laugier’s ‘Martyrs.’ But there’s a fine line between freaking people out a little and people being repulsed. I’m trying to strike a balance between being sexually appealing on the one hand and and creepy and spooky on the other.”
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