Silvia Collatina

Silvia Collatina (born 14 January 1972 in Rome, Lazio, Italy) is an Italian actress who appeared in several movies of the late 70s and 80s. She is best known for her roles in The Great Alligator, The House by the Cemetery and Murder Rock.

Career
Collatina was introduced to a talent agent, through a family friend who was also a child actress and invited her to a casting when she was 5 years old. She made her debut later that year in 1977 with the documentary of Sergio Spina "Child Psychology", in the episode "I don't want to go to school".

In 1979 she was cast in her first feature film role of Minou in Sergio Martino’s The Great Alligator. In an interview with Cryptic Rock, Collatina revealed that as a child she was a little pest, perfect casting for that role. In another interview she also said that Sergio Martino was a very polite person on set and felt at ease with him on set and are still in touch today.

Collatina was cast in 1981 as the ghost child ‘’Mae Freudstein’’ in Lucio Fulci’s critically acclaimed cult horror The House by the Cemetery. In her interview with Cryptic Rock she revealed Fulci could be sometimes a little rude, but had a great respect for him knowing he was a great director, and she followed strictly his directions. She also revealed that Paolo Malco, Catriona MacColl and Giovanni Frezza were like a big family on set and has seen some of them many times at Horror conventions in the US. She believes that The House by the Cemetery still appeals to people thanks to its fascinating setting such as the pastel colours of the movie, the mystery of her character and the finale.

In 1984 Collatina was cast as Molly in Murderock. Her character was a disabled child who had developed a strong sense of sadism and the macabre. In an interview with Lionel Grenier, Collatina recalled Fulci was happy to be working again with her after the success of The House by the Cemetery and looking forward to do another film together. Collatina originally had concerns about the wheelchair being used and began training using it for testing her capabilities. At first, Fulci wanted to put prosthetic legs on her, to make them look even more bony and sickly, but in the end he opted for Collatinas legs, covered by a blanket. When asked about how her character differed from herself; she described Molly as very spoilt and mean little girl because of her disability, while she is more sweet and friendly even if they share the same taste for the macabre.

During the early to mid 1980's Collatina appeared in many commercials including: Polaroid, Barilla, Eldorado, Bauli, Danone, Plasmon, Nestlé, Bassetti, and Findus.

In 1985, Collatina as a teenager made the decision to leave the industry.

Collatina attended the 2009 Horror Hound Convention which took place in Newark (US). She formed part of the Italian delegation of horror movie actors of the 80s and also took part in the 30th Anniversary cast reunion with House by the Cemetery at the 2011 Horror Hound Convention in Indianapolis (US). Collatina attended the International Fantasy Film Festival in 2012 as a member of the jury for horror short films. She was also a honoured guest at the Paranormal Media Festival in 2014 in Italy (Maenza, Latina).

In 2020, as part of the Blu-Ray and 4K re-release of The House by the Cemetery by Arrow Films her 2011 interview with fellow actor Giovanni Frezza was added as part of the bonus features of its release as "Children of the Night".

In 2021, she was a member of the jury for the Italian Horror Fantasy Festival organized by Luigi Pastore.

In May 2022, Collatina played the demonic character of Tiziana in the episode “Ultimo Titivillus” – 2nd season of the web series Fantasmagoria created by Byron Rink (Orefilm Production).

In August 2022 Collatina attended the Vespertilio Awards in Rome as a member of the jury. In February 2023 she also attended the Romford Horror Film Festival as special guest together with Giovanni Lombardo Radice. In an interview with the festival director Spencer Hawken, Collatina revealed she didn't expect to still be going places and talking about this film 40 years later. She continues to attend horror conventions both in Italy and around the world.

Personal
Collatina was born in Rome, Lazio, Italy. Her father Alberto Collatina was an acclaimed Jazz musician. She has a personal collection of more than 50 decorative skulls and enjoys visiting grave yards (monumental or local) wherever she goes.