Of Unknown Origin
The Terrifying Last Word In Home Invasion From the Director of Tombstone and Cobra.
When not mired in the corporate rat race, Wall Street executive Bart Hughes is king of his sleek Manhattan brownstone. Suddenly his castle is under siege. Bart takes a stand-with his survival and sanity at steak.
Peter Weller (Robocop, Odyssey 5) plays Bart in Of Unknown Origin, an eerie and nerve-tingling suspense thriller directed by George P. Cosmatos (Tombstone, Cobra) and the winner of Paris International Film Festival Awards (1983) for Best Picture and Actor. Cleverly and compellingly, the film draws us into yet another rat race, namely one with an intruder that's formidable, persistent and clever enough to draw Bart along on an unwitting path to self-destruction. In the battle of man vs. beast, push has come to scream.
Member Reviews
Oh the shame! - fraz2
Oh the shame! This maple syrup coated B-movie polished turd was made back in a more uncertain and developing time in Canadian film history. In 1983 it was common for Canadian productions to hide the fact that they were, well, Canadian. They had Canadian actors, locations, and crew, but they insisted on trying to court American sales and distribution deals by pretending to be set in New York city, for example. Shot in Montreal but set (badly) in New York, "Of Unknown Origin" is a fairly standard B-movie monster film that parades as a thinking-man's thriller as well. The Brooklyn accents that come and go from Peter Weller are cult movie gold. The literary references are obvious and ham-fisted ("Moby Dick", "The Old Man and the Sea"). The production values keep it from bottom-feeding with the likes of Roger Corman, but this Can-Am cinematic rarity left me wondering if somehow this material needed someone just like a Corman to make it truly work? Or a John Carpenter? Or a David Cronenberg? It's slow and plodding, but has just the right amount of Peter Weller wackness and rodent squeakiness to earn it a pass.
Bonus: The title credits list a Canadian treasure that has an early-career minor role - ..."Introducing Shannon Tweed". Riddle me this: When Gene Simmons looks in the mirror, what does he, you know, REALLY see?Peter Weller's almost one man show - Vampenguin
Though I don't really consider it a horror film, if you are one of many who happens to be afraid of rodents this film will terrify you. Hell, even you you don't mind rodents it might freak you out a bit. Peter Weller is always a great actor, and he stars in this film as Bart, a man who wages an all out war with one hell of an angry rat while the rest of his life begins to fall apart because of it. He is the only leading actor in this film, and he carries it almost completely on his own. His dinner table speech about the dangers of rats was both hilarious and a bit unnerving at the same time. I liked how this film was almost self-mocking in parts, though it always kept a straight face about it and never went to far. The rat's point of view shots really show this. The scenes with the rat were all very well done, congrats to whoever trained the rat. The plot was very original, and I liked how smart the rat was. Always a couple steps ahead of poor ol' Bart. I think I jumped a foot when the damn thing came out of the toilet. Last but not least, that was one heck of a bat he made near the end! Overall, this is a great film. Admittedly it's a bit cheesy in places, but it knows what it is and handles itself very well. Highly recommended.
8.5/10Of Unknown Origin - CJG-
Take a "B" movie idea and put it together with clever cinematography, good acting and a reasonable budget, and you will have one of the finest movies of this genre ever made. Peter Weller basically does a one man job on this movie. I have a new found respect for him after this. In this move he plays a straight arrow guy, generally normal, likes to research before making a move. A pretty normal guy however, in this movie we get to enjoy the breakdown of his being while he has to come to terms with the forces of nature (or the Super Natural or Xeno Nature). For everyone who has ever gotten frustrated by a hellish problem or works in a job that should have more cathartic releases, see this movie!
Member Reviews
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Oh the shame! - fraz2
Oh the shame! This maple syrup coated B-movie polished turd was made back in a more uncertain and developing time in Canadian film history. In 1983 it was common for Canadian productions to hide the fact that they were, well, Canadian. They had Canadian ...Peter Weller's almost one man show - Vampenguin
Though I don't really consider it a horror film, if you are one of many who happens to be afraid of rodents this film will terrify you. Hell, even you you don't mind rodents it might freak you out a bit. Peter Weller is always a great actor, and he stars in ...Of Unknown Origin - CJG-
Take a "B" movie idea and put it together with clever cinematography, good acting and a reasonable budget, and you will have one of the finest movies of this genre ever made. Peter Weller basically does a one man job on this movie. I have a new found respect ...