I define VISCERAL as a “body-horror drama” because, in the structure of the screenplay, the rules of the horror genre are evident, resulting in a dramatic story of infected flesh and blood.
The protagonist is the tragic and devastating image of the STALKER, but above all he is an incel—an Involuntary Celibate—attracted to that Toxic Manosphere that few people know about yet, but which represents the dangerous “virtual ecosystem” where misogyny, sexism, and outright hatred of women spread.
In the short film, he is represented by the figure of FECCIA XX, who will lead him to cross the moral and rational limits of sexual frustrations and paraphilias, reaching a tragic and bloody finale.
Therefore, a second chapter that continues to explore, as in the previous MAGNIFICA CREATURA, the theme of FEMINICIDE, but much more deeply and with greater attention, focusing on the male figure, scrutinizing the darkness of the human soul. The abyss, where our inner monster lies, patiently waiting to be summoned.
It’s important to note that the short film draws inspiration from Ricardo Lopez—Björk’s Stalker—and the first vlogger in contemporary history—and from the mass murderer Elliot Rodger, as well as figures like Andrew Tate and the Milwaukee Cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer.
I am certainly not the first to consider the Horror genre as the true and only vehicle capable of making politically visible what has been evident for decades… The true EVIL of the 21st century is Mental Illness and if this is not diagnosed, treated and managed by those who govern us, we will have more and more human tragedies that far exceed cinematic fiction.