Film connoisseurs in Ottawa gathered Sept. 17 for a rare screening of Deadly Eyes, the first film in the Canadian Cult Revue series at the Mayfair Theatre.
The series, which runs through April 4, is put together by the Lost Dominion Screening Collective. It plays host to a wide range of different films, released as far back as the early 60s to recent underground films, and hopes to give filmgoers a chance to see material unavailable in any other form.
A lot of people associate Canadian film with concentrating on “artsy” introspective experiences, while the reality is that there were also many quality commercial movies that were never appreciated in the media, said organizer Paul Gordon.
“The movies you see as part of the festival often couldn’t be found anywhere else,” he said. “We have things that aren’t on DVD or VHS.”
Deadly Eyes, which stars Sam Groom, Sara Botsford, and Canadian “scream queen” Lesleh Donaldson, is based on the book “The Rats” by James Herbert. The film is set in inner city Toronto, and deals with an attack of “super-rats” who invade the city through the sewers after being mutated by genetically modified corn.
The film’s quirky premise and over the top acting work in its favour, as do the meagre special effects, which include the “rats” being played by miniature Daschunds, and the lack of very little on-screen gore, which emphasizes many of the film’s absurd plot details and endlessly quotable dialogue.
The film is “a real crowd pleaser,” said Jonathan Culp, an affiliate of the Trash Palace theatre in Toronto.
“Its script, while ridiculous, seems to resonate with the crowd,” Culp said.
A scene in which a health department field inspector, played by American actor Scatman Cruthers, is attacked by the “rats” while he keeps up a steady stream of obscenities, provoked both laughter and outcry from the crowd.
The film is a product of the “tax shelter” era in Canadian filmmaking, where the Canadian government was known to give a 100 per cent tax rebate on any commercial film made in Canada, and allowed many film enthusiasts to pick up their cameras and release a full-length motion picture.
“Most people associate this era with terrible, B-list features,” said Lost Dominion member John Yemin, “but we believe different.”
The next screening in the film series is the premiere of The Ivory Tower at Bytowne Cinema Sept. 28 at 7 p.m.
