Of Unknown Origin is a 1983 horror film directed by George P. Cosmatos. Based on the novel The Visitor by Chauncey G. Parker III, it stars Peter Weller as a New York banker who must fend for himself against a giant rat loose in his renovated brownstone. It was filmed on location in Montreal, Quebec but set in New York City.[2] The film won two awards at the Paris International Festival of Fantastic and Science-Fiction Film.[3]
Plot[]
Mild-mannered everyman Bart Hughes has a great life in New York City. When his wife and child leave for a vacation, Bart stays behind to work on a project that should get him a promotion. Some sort of rodent in his basement starts to bother him and consumes his time. Bart becomes obsessed with it and eventually starts losing his mind while trying to kill the creature, destroying most of his house in the process. The film's title comes from research Bart does and which he shares at a dinner party, stating erroneously that rats have no known origin.
Cast[]
- Peter Weller as Bart Hughes
- Jennifer Dale as Lorrie Wells
- Lawrence Dane as Eliot Riverton
- Kenneth Welsh as James Hall
- Maury Chaykin as Dan Errol
- Louis Del Grande as Clete
- Shannon Tweed as Meg Hughes
- Keith Knight as Hardware Salesman
- Jimmy Tapp as Milton Hughes
- Leif Anderson as Peter Hughes
- Gayle Garfinkle as Janis Wyckoff
- Bronwen Mantel as Florence Riverton
- Earl Pennington as Thompson
- Amber T. Chase as Audra
- Aimée Castle as Girl At Birthday Party
Production[]
Filming[]
Principal photography began November 16, 1982 in Montreal, with additional photography taking place in New York City.[1]
Critical reception[]
Vincent Canby of The New York Times had nothing but disdain for the movie, but lightly praised Weller's performance and opens his review:
| “ | Peter Weller, one of our best young stage and screen actors, is not at all bad in a rather terrible, Canadian suspense-horror film mysteriously titled Of Unknown Origin.[4] | ” |
Home Video[]
Warner Bros. released the film on VHS and DVD.
Scream Factory released the film on Blu-ray for the first time on May 22, 2018 featuring a new 2K scan from an interpositive element.[5]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Of Unknown Origina". American Film Institute.
- ↑ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086036/locations Template:User-generated source
- ↑
Of Unknown Origin at the Internet Movie Database
- ↑ Canby, Vincent (1983-11-24). "Movie Review - Of Unknown Origin - 'UNKNOWN ORIGIN' - NYTimes.com". Movies.nytimes.com.
- ↑ "Of Unknown Origin". Shout! Factory.
