Dennis Paoli is a screenwriter and playwright known for his work on horror films, specifically those directed by Stuart Gordon. He has written or co-written five of Gordon's films, including Re-Animator (1985) and From Beyond (1986). He has also collaborated with Gordon on the stage productions of Bleacher Bums , Re-Animator: The Musical , and Nevermore: An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe, and on two episodes of the Showtime horror television series Masters of Horror .
Paoli serves as the coordinator of the Hunter College writing center. [1] [2] He established the Heidi Paoli Fund in honor of his late wife (d. 1987) to distribute donations to approved cancer charities from a variety of fundraising sources. [1]
Year | Title | Director(s) | Role | Co-writer(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1985 | Re-Animator | Stuart Gordon | Screenwriter | Stuart Gordon and William J. Norris | [3] |
1986 | From Beyond | Stuart Gordon | Screenwriter and story writer | Brian Yuzna S and Stuart Gordon S | [3] |
1988 | Ghoulies II | Albert Band | Screenwriter | Charlie Dolan S | [3] |
1988 | Spellcaster | Rafal Zielinski | Screenwriter | Charlie Bogel and Ed Naha S | [3] |
1988 | Pulse Pounders | Charles Band | Screenwriter | Danny Bilson and Paul DeMeo | [3] |
1990 | Meridian: Kiss of the Beast | Charles Band | Screenwriter | Charles Band S | [3] |
1991 | The Pit and the Pendulum | Stuart Gordon | Screenwriter | [3] | |
1993 | Body Snatchers | Abel Ferrara | Screenwriter | Stuart Gordon, Nicholas St. John, Raymond Cistheri S and Larry Cohen S | [3] |
1995 | Castle Freak | Stuart Gordon | Screenwriter and story writer | Stuart Gordon S | [3] |
1996 | The Dentist | Brian Yuzna | Screenwriter | Stuart Gordon and Charles Finch | [3] |
2001 | Dagon | Stuart Gordon | Screenwriter | [3] | |
2023 | Suitable Flesh | Joe Lynch | Screenwriter | [4] |
Year | Title | Director(s) | Role | Co-writer | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1992 | Mortal Sins | Bradford May | Writer | Greg Martinelli | Television film | [5] |
2001 | Bleacher Bums | Saul Rubinek | Writer | Mitch Paradise | Television film | [6] |
2005; 2007 | Masters of Horror | Stuart Gordon | Writer | Stuart Gordon | Episodes: "H. P. Lovecraft's Dreams in the Witch-House" "The Black Cat" | [3] |
Title | Role | Co-writer(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Bleacher Bums | Playwright |
| [7] |
Re-Animator: The Musical | Playwright | Stuart Gordon and William J. Norris | [8] |
Nevermore: An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe | Playwright | [9] |
Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely regarded as one of the central figures of Romanticism and Gothic fiction in the United States, and of early American literature. Poe was one of the country's first successful practitioners of the short story, and is generally considered to be the inventor of the detective fiction genre. In addition, he is credited with contributing significantly to the emergence of science fiction. He is the first well-known American writer to earn a living by writing alone, which resulted in a financially difficult life and career.
"The Pit and the Pendulum" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe and first published in 1842 in the literary annual The Gift: A Christmas and New Year's Present for 1843. The story is about the torments endured by a prisoner of the Spanish Inquisition, though Poe skews historical facts. The narrator of the story describes his experience of being tortured. The story is especially effective at inspiring fear in the reader because of its heavy focus on the senses, such as sound, emphasizing its reality, unlike many of Poe's stories which are aided by the supernatural. The traditional elements established in popular horror tales at the time are followed, but critical reception has been mixed. The tale has been adapted to film several times.
"The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a distraught lover who is paid a mysterious visit by a talking raven. The lover, often identified as a student, is lamenting the loss of his love, Lenore. Sitting on a bust of Pallas, the raven seems to further antagonize the protagonist with its constant repetition of the word "Nevermore". The poem makes use of folk, mythological, religious, and classical references.
"The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1843. It is told by an unnamed narrator who endeavors to convince the reader of the narrator's sanity while simultaneously describing a murder the narrator committed. The victim was an old man with a filmy pale blue "vulture-eye", as the narrator calls it. The narrator emphasizes the careful calculation of the murder, attempting the perfect crime, complete with dismembering the body in the bathtub and hiding it under the floorboards. Ultimately, the narrator's actions result in hearing a thumping sound, which the narrator interprets as the dead man's beating heart.
Jeffrey Combs is an American actor. He is best known for starring as Herbert West in the Re-Animator film series (1985–2003) and portraying multiple characters in the Star Trek universe, most notably Brunt and the various Weyouns on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1994–1999) and Thy'lek Shran on Star Trek: Enterprise (2001–2005).
Stuart Alan Gordon was an American filmmaker, theatre director, screenwriter, and playwright. Initially recognized for his provocative and frequently controversial work in experimental theatre, Gordon began directing films in 1985. Most of Gordon's cinematic output was in the horror genre, though he also ventured into science fiction and film noir.
Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven" has been frequently referenced and parodied in contemporary culture. Immediately popular after the poem's publication in 1845, it quickly became a cultural phenomenon. Some consider it the best poem ever written. As such, modern references to the poem continue to appear in popular culture.
From Beyond is a 1986 science-fiction body horror film directed by Stuart Gordon, loosely based on the short story of the same name by H. P. Lovecraft. It was written by Dennis Paoli, Gordon and Brian Yuzna, and stars Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Ken Foree and Ted Sorel.
American poet and short story writer Edgar Allan Poe has had significant influence in television and film. Many are adaptations of Poe's work, others merely reference it.
Edgar Allan Poe has appeared in popular culture as a character in books, comics, film, and other media. Besides his works, the legend of Poe himself has fascinated people for generations. His appearances in popular culture often envision him as a sort of "mad genius" or "tormented artist", exploiting his personal struggles. Many depictions of Poe interweave elements of his life with his works, in part due to Poe's frequent use of first-person narrators, suggesting an erroneous assumption that Poe and his characters are identical.
The Raven is a stylized silent 1915 American biographical film of Edgar Allan Poe starring Henry B. Walthall as Poe. The film was written and directed by Charles Brabin from a 1904 play and 1909 novel by George C. Hazelton.
Nevermore was an American heavy metal band from Seattle, Washington, United States.
Paul Roland is an English singer-songwriter, author and music journalist. Roland typically writes his songs in the form of stories, often addressing historical figures, characters from literature and film, or his own creations. He has explored genres including gothic rock, psychedelic pop, folk and baroque.
Catalyst Theatre is a multi-award-winning theatre company based in Edmonton, Alberta. Founded in 1977 as a social action theatre, it was taken over by Artistic Co-Directors Jonathan Christenson and Joey Tremblay in 1996. Christenson and Tremblay drastically changed the company's mandate to focus on "creating original Canadian work that explores new possibilities for the theatrical art form and the process through which it is created, to exposing the work locally, nationally and internationally, and to challenging the artists and audiences who participate in the creation of that work.” Since 2002, Catalyst Theatre has been developing new work under the creative leadership of Artistic Director Jonathan Christenson in collaboration with Resident Designer Bretta Gerecke. Catalyst Theatre's artistic team has created original productions that have toured the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and the United States.
Nevermore: The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe is a musical that was written, composed, and directed by Jonathan Christenson and designed by Bretta Gerecke. It follows the life of Edgar Allan Poe and the internal and external struggles he faced which are depicted as inspiring his writings. In the play, Poe struggles with tragedies such as death, abandonment, addiction, poverty, and loss. The script contains many references to Poe's poems and short stories. The script fictionalizes true events that took place in his life while also incorporating his creative works and poems. It was originally produced at the Catalyst Theater in Edmonton, Alberta, for an 11-week production that then went on to be performed at theater festivals, theaters across Canada, to the Barbican Theater in London, and the New Victory Theater in New York City.
The Steve Allen Theater at the Center for Inquiry in Hollywood, California, was a 99-seat theater which was developed by founding artistic director Amit Itelman. Moved to The Carl Sagan & Ann Druyan Theater.
Edward W. Hardy is an American composer, music director, violinist and violist. He is known as the composer, co-conceiver, music director, and violinist of the Off-Broadway show The Woodsman and is the owner of The Black Violin.
The Bloodhound is a 2020 American mystery thriller film written and directed by Patrick Picard, inspired by the Edgar Allan Poe short story "The Fall of the House of Usher." It was to be released at the Emergence Films Festival, but was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was later purchased to be distributed by Arrow Films in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Rosalie Mackenzie Poe was an American poet and the sister of Edgar Allan Poe.
"The Black Cat" is the eleventh episode of the second season of the American anthology television series Masters of Horror. Directed by Stuart Gordon and written by Gordon and Dennis Paoli, the episode stars Jeffrey Combs as writer Edgar Allan Poe, who becomes increasingly psychologically unstable as a series of setbacks and tragedies combine with his alcoholism and dark imagination.