Weirdsville
Encyclopedia
Weirdsville is a black comedy
directed by Allan Moyle
and written by Willem Wennekers. The film premiered January 18, 2007 at the 2007 Slamdance Film Festival
. The film has also been shown at the Edinburgh International Film Festival
, the Toronto International Film Festival
, and the Raindance Film Festival
, among many. The film opened in limited release
in the United States
on October 5, 2007 in 1 theater in Austin, Texas
, and expanded to 2 more theaters (in Atlanta
and Portland
) two weeks later. The film was released on November 16, 2007 in the United Kingdom
.
The film takes place in Northern Ontario
and was filmed in Hamilton, Ontario
, Canada
, and Brantford Ontario, Canada.
where Royce used to work. The two set off to deal with Mattie’s dead body.
While the boys begin to dig a grave downstairs, a Satanic cult led by another former employee and (former classmate of Dexter and Royce) Abel enters the supposedly abandoned drive-in and begins a ritual involving pentagrams and human bloodletting in the upstairs concession stand. Their plan is to resurrect Jason Taylor (hippie turned reluctant but rich Internet entrepreneur and Abel’s unwitting hero) out of his coma. However, when Dexter walks in mid-sacrifice, everything goes awry.
Dexter and Royce are captured, gagged and duct-taped and Mattie’s corpse is discovered. But when some of the sacrificed follower’s blood unexpectedly 'awakens' Matilda an all out chase ensues. Royce and Dexter get to her first, and the trio escapes. After safely stowing Mattie in Dexter’s apartment, the boys run into Omar and his beefy sidekick Garry, who deliver a few swings of a curling stone and an ultimatum — debt (plus interest) paid by last call
or he will severely injure the pair. Knowing that millionaire Jason Taylor has a safe full of money at his place, Dexter and Royce take off to break in and steal it, a plan previously mentioned by Mattie, who knows the combination to Taylor's safe.
With a few unexpected bumps along the way, such as running into, accidentally knocking out and then getting high the nephew of Taylor, who was housesitting, Dexter and Royce successfully manage to steal the safe. En route back to Dexter’s apartment to grab Mattie, they run into Abel. A classic car chase causes our boys to seek refuge in a mall where they encounter a midget
security guard named Martin. After winning his trust (Martin has unresolved issues with cults himself) he lets them leave without further trouble.
Meanwhile at the New Age Resource Centre, Mattie (having been kidnapped by Abel) has been tied to an upside-down cross along with an unconscious Jason Taylor. Abel's plan is to offer Lucifer Mattie’s life in exchange for Jason’s. Dexter and Royce arrive to try and stop the ritual and rescue Mattie. Omar shows up looking to collect his debt and he brought Gary — and his gun — with him. In hot pursuit of Abel and his cult, Martin and his (physically) diminutive friends arrive only to crash into Dex's car, propelling the safe from the trunk into the New Age Centre, crushing Abel.
With Abel plan’s ruined and his life saved, Taylor gives Dexter and Royce the okay to hand off the safe with all of his money to clear their debt to Omar. They happily flee the scene with Mattie in tow.
said the following: "Deconstructionists will delight in divining the influences that inform "Weirdsville," a cleverly constructed, capably crafted and often uproarious shaggy-dog black comedy that riffs on everything from "Trainspotting" and Quentin Tarantino to "Race With the Devil" and Elmore Leonard. Nimbly directed by Allan Moyle, this Canadian-produced potential sleeper could command an even larger cult following than the helmer's enduringly popular "Pump Up the Volume." Savvy marketing and a shrewd release strategymight help it make at least a minor splash with mainstream auds as well."."
Stephen Farber of The Hollywood Reporter
wrote "Director Allan Moyle has described Weirdsville as a Canadian Trainspotting
, which is a bit of wishful thinking", saying "it lacks the inventiveness and biting edge of Danny Boyle
's landmark movie" and while the film "has some quirky pleasures, it seems unlikely to achieve either major cult status or boxoffice success." Farber said that some of the incidents in the script "are bizarrely funny" but "[Allan Moyle] fails to provide the energy necessary to keep us involved." Farber described the film as "frenetic and convoluted rather than pleasingly impudent." Speaking of the cast, Farber said "the cast is generally better than the material", "Speedman and Bentley...demonstrate more charm incarnating these grungy characters than they have sometimes shown in blander heroic parts", and also said "Manning...is wasted here." Farber said "plotting is far too haphazard to hold the audience's attention" and wrote "some of it is funny-weird, but too much is pointlessly weird."
Rich Cline gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and said "this absurd crime odyssey has so much gonzo enthusiasm that it's impossible not to enjoy watching these crazed characters bounce off of each other" and said "the actors are hilariously charming, delivering scruffy, lively performances as a bunch of knuckleheads trying desperately to get out of a mess that gets more and more tangled." Cline also said "as it progresses, the plot gets a bit strained, and perhaps too farcical. But we stick with it because of the amiable cast".
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
directed by Allan Moyle
Allan Moyle
Allan Moyle is a Canadian film director. He is best known for directing the films Pump Up the Volume and New Waterford Girl .-Biography:His first major film was Times Square...
and written by Willem Wennekers. The film premiered January 18, 2007 at the 2007 Slamdance Film Festival
2007 Slamdance Film Festival
The 2007 Slamdance Film Festival took place in Park City, Utah from January 18 to January 27, 2007. It was the 13th iteration of the Slamdance Film Festival, an alternative to the more mainstream Sundance Film Festival...
. The film has also been shown at the Edinburgh International Film Festival
Edinburgh International Film Festival
The Edinburgh International Film Festival is an annual fortnight of cinema screenings and related events taking place each June. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival...
, the Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
, and the Raindance Film Festival
Raindance Film Festival
Raindance is an independent film festival and film school that operates from various cities including: London, New York, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Budapest, Berlin and Brussels...
, among many. The film opened in limited release
Limited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on October 5, 2007 in 1 theater in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, and expanded to 2 more theaters (in Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
and Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
) two weeks later. The film was released on November 16, 2007 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
The film takes place in Northern Ontario
Northern Ontario
Northern Ontario is a region of the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north of Lake Huron , the French River and Lake Nipissing. The region has a land area of 802,000 km2 and constitutes 87% of the land area of Ontario, although it contains only about 6% of the population...
and was filmed in Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and Brantford Ontario, Canada.
Plot
Nothing much happens in the lives of 20-something pals Dexter and Royce except for getting high and hanging out with Royce’s girlfriend, Matilda ('Mattie'). This all changes one evening in Northern Ontario town Weedsville when Mattie overdoses on a stash of Dexter and Royce’s drugs — drugs fronted by local drug kingpin and tough-guy Omar to sell in order to cover their previous drug debt. Thinking her dead and knowing that calling the cops would only land them in jail the pair decide to bury her in the boiler room of the closed drive-in theaterDrive-in theater
A drive-in theater is a form of cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor screen, a projection booth, a concession stand and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, customers can view movies from the privacy and comfort of their cars.The screen can be as simple as a...
where Royce used to work. The two set off to deal with Mattie’s dead body.
While the boys begin to dig a grave downstairs, a Satanic cult led by another former employee and (former classmate of Dexter and Royce) Abel enters the supposedly abandoned drive-in and begins a ritual involving pentagrams and human bloodletting in the upstairs concession stand. Their plan is to resurrect Jason Taylor (hippie turned reluctant but rich Internet entrepreneur and Abel’s unwitting hero) out of his coma. However, when Dexter walks in mid-sacrifice, everything goes awry.
Dexter and Royce are captured, gagged and duct-taped and Mattie’s corpse is discovered. But when some of the sacrificed follower’s blood unexpectedly 'awakens' Matilda an all out chase ensues. Royce and Dexter get to her first, and the trio escapes. After safely stowing Mattie in Dexter’s apartment, the boys run into Omar and his beefy sidekick Garry, who deliver a few swings of a curling stone and an ultimatum — debt (plus interest) paid by last call
Last call (bar term)
In a bar, a last call is an announcement made shortly before the bar closes for the night, informing patrons of their last chance to buy alcoholic beverages. There are various means to make this signal, like ringing a bell, flashing the lights, or announcing orally.Last call times are often...
or he will severely injure the pair. Knowing that millionaire Jason Taylor has a safe full of money at his place, Dexter and Royce take off to break in and steal it, a plan previously mentioned by Mattie, who knows the combination to Taylor's safe.
With a few unexpected bumps along the way, such as running into, accidentally knocking out and then getting high the nephew of Taylor, who was housesitting, Dexter and Royce successfully manage to steal the safe. En route back to Dexter’s apartment to grab Mattie, they run into Abel. A classic car chase causes our boys to seek refuge in a mall where they encounter a midget
Midget
A midget is a short person with relatively average bodily proportions in comparison with other human beings. The term is often improperly used to describe a person with the medical condition dwarfism. The two terms are often used synonymously because both terms originate as words defining small...
security guard named Martin. After winning his trust (Martin has unresolved issues with cults himself) he lets them leave without further trouble.
Meanwhile at the New Age Resource Centre, Mattie (having been kidnapped by Abel) has been tied to an upside-down cross along with an unconscious Jason Taylor. Abel's plan is to offer Lucifer Mattie’s life in exchange for Jason’s. Dexter and Royce arrive to try and stop the ritual and rescue Mattie. Omar shows up looking to collect his debt and he brought Gary — and his gun — with him. In hot pursuit of Abel and his cult, Martin and his (physically) diminutive friends arrive only to crash into Dex's car, propelling the safe from the trunk into the New Age Centre, crushing Abel.
With Abel plan’s ruined and his life saved, Taylor gives Dexter and Royce the okay to hand off the safe with all of his money to clear their debt to Omar. They happily flee the scene with Mattie in tow.
Cast
- Wes BentleyWes BentleyWesley Cook "Wes" Bentley is an American film actor known for his role of Ricky Fitts in American Beauty.-Early life:Bentley was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, the son of Cherie and David Bentley, who are United Methodist ministers....
as Royce - Scott SpeedmanScott SpeedmanScott Speedman is a British-born Canadian film and television actor. He is best known for playing Ben Covington in the coming-of-age drama television series Felicity and Lycan-Vampire hybrid Michael Corvin in the gothic horror/action Underworld films.-Early life:Speedman was born Robert Scott...
as Dexter - Taryn ManningTaryn ManningTaryn Manning is an American actress, fashion designer, and singer-songwriter. She is the vocalist for electronic duo Boomkat and co-owner of the clothing brand Born Uniqorn. Manning gained her first major role as an actress in 2001 when she played the role of Maddy in Crazy/Beautiful...
as Matilda - Joey Beck as Sheldon
- Raoul BhanejaRaoul BhanejaRaoul Bhaneja is a Canadian actor. He was one of the stars on the short lived TV series Train 48 on Global...
as Omar - Greg BrykGreg BrykGreggory Michael "Greg" Bryk is a Canadian film and television actor. He is best known for playing the role of Mallick in Saw V, Vickor Harris in the 2006 film Living Death, Commando #1 in The Incredible Hulk film, Lone Man in Shoot 'Em Up, Keith Rose in Poor Boy's Game, Abel in Weirdsville, Neil...
as Abel - Randy Butcher as Hockey Goalie
- Maggie CastleMaggie CastleMaggie Castle is a Canadian actress, most notable for her appearance in the Disney Channel Original Movie, Starstruck.-Filmography:-External links:...
as Treena - Joe DinicolJoe DinicolJoe Dinicol is a Canadian actor.Dinicol was born in Stratford, Ontario, the son of acting coach and actor Keith Dinicol. He started his career as a child actor at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, and has since appeared on national Canadian television series Train 48 and Rideau Hall...
as Jeremy Taylor - Matt FrewerMatt FrewerMatthew "Matt" Frewer is a Canadian American stage, TV and film actor. Acting since 1983, he is known for portraying the 1980s icon Max Headroom and the retired villain Moloch in the film adaptation of Watchmen.-Life and career:...
as Jason Taylor - Derek Gilroy as Squinty
- James McQuade as Garry
- Mark Parr as Anthony
- Jordan PrenticeJordan PrenticeJordan Prentice is a Canadian dwarf actor. He is known for his portrayal of Rock in American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile and Jimmy in the Oscar-nominated In Bruges. He was also one of the actors to play Howard the Duck...
as Martin - Dax Ravina as Seamus
- Allan Redford as Theo
- Shayne Wyler as Todd
Reception
Joe Leydon of VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
said the following: "Deconstructionists will delight in divining the influences that inform "Weirdsville," a cleverly constructed, capably crafted and often uproarious shaggy-dog black comedy that riffs on everything from "Trainspotting" and Quentin Tarantino to "Race With the Devil" and Elmore Leonard. Nimbly directed by Allan Moyle, this Canadian-produced potential sleeper could command an even larger cult following than the helmer's enduringly popular "Pump Up the Volume." Savvy marketing and a shrewd release strategymight help it make at least a minor splash with mainstream auds as well."."
Stephen Farber of The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
wrote "Director Allan Moyle has described Weirdsville as a Canadian Trainspotting
Trainspotting (film)
Trainspotting is a 1996 British satirical/drama film directed by Danny Boyle based on the novel of the same name by Irvine Welsh. The movie follows a group of heroin addicts in a late 1980s economically depressed area of Edinburgh and their passage through life...
, which is a bit of wishful thinking", saying "it lacks the inventiveness and biting edge of Danny Boyle
Danny Boyle
Daniel "Danny" Boyle is an English filmmaker and producer. He is best known for his work on films such as Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, 28 Days Later, Sunshine and Trainspotting. For Slumdog Millionaire, Boyle won numerous awards in 2008, including the Academy Award for Best Director...
's landmark movie" and while the film "has some quirky pleasures, it seems unlikely to achieve either major cult status or boxoffice success." Farber said that some of the incidents in the script "are bizarrely funny" but "[Allan Moyle] fails to provide the energy necessary to keep us involved." Farber described the film as "frenetic and convoluted rather than pleasingly impudent." Speaking of the cast, Farber said "the cast is generally better than the material", "Speedman and Bentley...demonstrate more charm incarnating these grungy characters than they have sometimes shown in blander heroic parts", and also said "Manning...is wasted here." Farber said "plotting is far too haphazard to hold the audience's attention" and wrote "some of it is funny-weird, but too much is pointlessly weird."
Rich Cline gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and said "this absurd crime odyssey has so much gonzo enthusiasm that it's impossible not to enjoy watching these crazed characters bounce off of each other" and said "the actors are hilariously charming, delivering scruffy, lively performances as a bunch of knuckleheads trying desperately to get out of a mess that gets more and more tangled." Cline also said "as it progresses, the plot gets a bit strained, and perhaps too farcical. But we stick with it because of the amiable cast".
Awards
- In 2007 Weirdsville was nominated for the Directors Guild of Canada's "DGC Craft Award"
- In 2009 Weirdsville was nominated for the Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA's "Golden Reel Award"
Soundtrack
- Struggle Struggle Struggle - The Weber Brothers
- Stoned - Blackie And The Rodeo Kings
- Chicken Soup For the F**K You Too - Shout Out Out Out
- Uneasy - Perfume Tree
- Bandits - Buck 65
- 5th Night's Hallucination - theCreep
- Retox/Requiem - John Rowley
- Pinned Together, Falling Apart - The Dears
- It's Not My Fault - Taryn ManningTaryn ManningTaryn Manning is an American actress, fashion designer, and singer-songwriter. She is the vocalist for electronic duo Boomkat and co-owner of the clothing brand Born Uniqorn. Manning gained her first major role as an actress in 2001 when she played the role of Maddy in Crazy/Beautiful...
- Orchids - The Lovely Feathers
- Beautiful Nothing - Danny Michel
- WinRock Song - Canary Mine
- It Don't Matter - Matt Mays & El Torpedo
- We Sweat Blood - Danko Jones
- To Get Across - Kate Maki
- Sign Says - These Three Cities
- It's Not My Fault - John Rowley/Taryn ManningTaryn ManningTaryn Manning is an American actress, fashion designer, and singer-songwriter. She is the vocalist for electronic duo Boomkat and co-owner of the clothing brand Born Uniqorn. Manning gained her first major role as an actress in 2001 when she played the role of Maddy in Crazy/Beautiful...
(Acoustic)
External links
- Weirdsville Production Notes (DOC) at magpictures.com