The Blood Drinking Queen of Pain: An Interview with Allison S.
The old saying goes that behind every great man who slices himself open for the experience, there is a great woman to drink his blood. Something like that.
Allison S. is the other side of White Gardenia, the usually naked angry looking lady who has been a constant for many a film, including the short bondage ones which she refused to answer any questions about, by the way.
I don’t really think that White Gardenia needs any introduction on Severed Cinema, since the works of art have been displayed proudly on these pages from 2018 onwards. Yes, this is the world where the guy cut his finger off, and women drink his blood, oh plus he dresses up like an old lady sometimes. Everything within is very deep and has symbolic and intellectual overtones – White Gardenia isn’t just some shock value trash! For an idea, here’s the most recent review, How to Raise Women from the Dead (here) and of course the interview I did with Daniel Valient earlier this year (here) which will probably build some background if needed. In fact, I’d say it’s vital to read his interview and see this one as a sequel.
Greetings, and welcome to the Severed Cinema interrogation. What have you been up to today?
Hey, it’s a pleasure to speak with you. Thanks for inviting me to share some of the shit that goes through my brain. Currently I’m in the mountains working my seasonal job and losing my damn mind a bit away from home so this is a nice reminder of my normal life.
First and foremost, when it comes to the realm of White Gardenia, Daniel is usually the central speaker, so more is discovered about him, so this is your turn to truly allow everybody to know you. For instance, I gather that White Gardenia is not just a one person show, how much work do you put into the films personally, other than the acting?
Yeah, Daniel is much better at these interviews than I am, and I think quite a bit more interesting! Daniel is the mastermind for sure, but he’s really great about hearing and including all of our ideas. Usually most of my work is acting but I do have my processes and rituals beforehand that I like to think aid in the overall vision of the films.
Recently you’ve been murdered on film (How to Raise Women from the Dead) and is it right that you handled the effects work?
Oh yeah, I wanted to make everything look as realistic as possible to keep up with White Gardenia’s usual 100% authentic scenes. It was slightly tricky with the make-up and the lighting in my basement, but the roadkill innards were absolutely fucking perfect in my opinion.
Have you acted elsewhere other than White Gardenia productions?
No not yet.
A lot of times you’ve drank blood in the films. How does drinking blood make you feel?
It’s an incredibly powerful, primeval feeling. I’m consuming the very life essence of another human. It is a transcendent erotic sensation. Not between Daniel and I necessarily, but because I am the vessel into which the blood libation is being given. Sex and death are fused as one.
What inspires you?
Oh, just a pure fucking love of and devotion to all things horror, sleaze, and death.
Out of everybody, other than Daniel, you seem to be the mainstay now. What keeps you involved in this realm?
My devotion to death is a HUGE driving force that pushes me to involve it in everything I do in some way. I don’t believe in coincidental happenings. I just see this opportunity as another way to devote myself.
So, will you ever involve yourself in other productions with other people in the future?
I’m not particularly interested in working with anyone else, but I can’t definitively say that I will NEVER involve myself in any other productions with different people. The fetish videos Daniel and I did together aren’t really my thing versus the bigger projects like XXX Dark Web and this most recent one. I would entertain other offers to do such films, but I doubt they would peak my interest as much as Daniel’s ideas. I haven’t found many people as devoted and intentional about their work as him. I also really do not get along with most people.
Ah yeah, Daniel did mention before that the fetish videos are usually commissioned by other people, but they and the films do have a sweet sense of humour throughout.
Yeah, we have our personal meaningful reasons for creating this shit, but we definitely fuck around while filming, and it sometimes takes us forever to stop laughing at certain things. We’re not all fucking serious all of the time.
What’s your proudest moment on film whether it be performance or construction of a movie?
Not really a “proudest” moment but a most enjoyable one… the finger scene in XXX Dark Web. That’s a given.
Ah yes, my Severed brother, Chris absolutely loved that scene (laughs). Has there been any time where you’ve thought that Daniel is going too far?
Not at all. That’s why I think we work really well together because he’s got all of these great fucking ideas and I’m ready for all of them.
Has there been any ideas and concepts that have been scuppered because they may be too dangerous?
(Laughs) There may have been a few but they’re just on the back burner for now until we find proper ways to conduct them. Nothing is outright rejected.
I hear that taxidermy features heavily in your life?
Taxidermy yes, but more importantly death. 95% of my time is spent in some sort of death devotion whether it be hiking to scavenge bones, picking up roadkill, creating taxidermy, preserving people’s pets, reading about death, meditating on death, hanging out at cemeteries, immersing myself in everything horror, etcetera. Death finds me and surrounds me always.
I presume by that you’re a fan of horror films then. What genre is your favourite?
My appreciation for the many genres of horror is pretty vast but I will say I enjoy the artsy visual shit over anything else. I still love my Giallos and erotic horror though.
Do you find self-infliction is a controlled experience rather than the unprepared pain of a cut if you slip with a knife?
Oh, fuck yeah! That’s exactly how it is. Like, a fucking papercut will cause so much initial pain, but I’ll consciously choose to slice up any part of my body and be pouring blood and it feels incredible.
What’s the safety aspects of the films?
(Laughs) Fuck! Daniel’s absolute last resort would be to go to the hospital, but even then, his number one rule is to “just keep filming” under all circumstances. If some really fucked up shit happened, and we missed it on camera I don’t think Daniel could live with himself (Laughs).
Nudity seems to be your trademark.
It’s funny because I honestly am pretty shy and absolutely hate my naked body, but it is what it is. And like the fetish films we made are less of what I’m interested in. In future projects I still might be naked to a degree but maybe more purposefully, like the most recent film.
Tell us a bit about the other members of White Gardenia.
There are a few other members, Bridger, Tim, and Siera are who I know personally. We’re a pretty close group of friends. All fucked in the head I suppose.
Since Domiziano has taken segments of your work and let them loose into the wider world, many more people have noticed you both. Was that your intentions to begin with? Or was it simply meant to be experiments among yourselves and a small circle of viewers?
It’s always a bit of both. Daniel and I have our personal reasons for what we do and at the same time it’s important to share with as many people as possible…hopefully the kind of people who understand the films and what we’re doing. If you’re talking about trying to become famous or anything though that is definitely not my aim. I’d actually prefer it the opposite.
The films, as I’ve mentioned in previous reviews, have so many deeper ingredients. Daniel seems to have a theme of increasing the span of a life. Are you sharing those feelings or is the conclusion and death holding a more fascination?
Daniel and I have completely opposite feelings about life and death. He wants to prolong life and I worship death. It’s sort of what makes us a great team, the duality of these two symbiotic things is clearly portrayed in our films.
The films come over kind of like paintings or images in general reminding the viewer of mortality and the general fragile shells we all exist in.
I heavily appreciate your impression. It’s very similar to how I view the films and hope they are viewed. I do think it’s up to the audience to take what they want from it for themselves though.
Allison it’s been absolutely fantastic chatting, finding out a bit more about the usually nude woman who features in the White Gardenia films. Before this concludes, anything memorable you wish to leave Severed Cinema with?
Thanks for having me. I hope you enjoy future White Gardenia projects.
As for the “anything memorable” part, Daniel, who has been ominously quiet until now, interjected with a few side notes.
We would love it if people would check out our latest Blu-Ray release Blood Tastes Like Perfume (available to order from A Baroque House) and our upcoming release How to Raise Women From the Dead will be available for pre-order starting the November 23rd (also available from A Baroque House and Bizarre Theatre).
XXX Dark Web is currently sold out, but Vore Gore (which also features a segment from White Gardenia) is still available from Tetro Video.
And last but not least, you can view some of our video clips here on our website Mutilation Theatre (sites.google.com/view/mutilationtheatre) as well as on our Film Freeway Profile: https://filmfreeway.com/danielvalient
Thanks, Daniel, you saved me a job there (laughs).
