Resurrection Man (film)

1998 British film
  • Andrew Eaton
  • Michael Winterbottom (executive)
Starring
  • Stuart Townsend
  • John Hannah
  • James Nesbitt
  • Brenda Fricker
Music byDavid HolmesDistributed byPolyGram Filmed Entertainment
Release date
  • 13 February 1998 (1998-02-13) (UK)
Running time
101 minutesCountryUnited KingdomLanguageEnglishBox office£116,841 (UK)[1]

Resurrection Man is a 1998 Irish extreme horror period drama film, set specifically in Northern Ireland, directed by Marc Evans with a screenplay written by Eoin McNamee based on his novel of the same name. The story is loosely based on the real-life "Shankill Butchers", an Ulster loyalist gang in 1970s Belfast who conducted random killings of Catholic civilians until their leader, Lenny Murphy, was assassinated by a Provisional IRA hit squad.

Cast

  • Stuart Townsend – Victor Kelly
  • John Hannah – Darkie Larche
  • James Nesbitt – Ryan
  • James Ellis – Coppinger
  • Brenda Fricker – Dorcas Kelly
  • Geraldine O'Rawe – Heather Graham
  • Seán McGinley – Sammy McClure
  • George Shane – James Kelly

Production

Although set in Belfast, Resurrection Man was not filmed there, with the English cities of Manchester, Liverpool and Warrington serving as the film's locations.[2]

Critical reception and analysis

In an essay entitled "Vampire Troubles: Loyalism and Resurrection Man", academic Steve Baker argues that the film can be interpreted as a vampire film, "situating it within a loyalist self image of vampirism".[3][4] In fact, Stuart Townsend's performance in this film was what prompted Michael Rymer to cast him the role of the Vampire Lestat in Queen of the Damned.[5]

References

  1. ^ "British biz at the box office". Variety. 14 December 1998. p. 72.
  2. ^ Donnelly, K.J. The media and the tourist imagination: converging cultures.
  3. ^ Baker, Stephen (2004) Vampire Troubles: Loyalism and Resurrection Man. In: Keeping it real: themes and issues in Irish film and television. (Eds: Barton, Ruth and O'Brien, Harvey), Wallflower, pp. 78–86. ISBN 978-1-903364-94-9
  4. ^ Barton, Ruth (2004). Irish national cinema. Psychology Press. ISBN 0-415-27895-3.
  5. ^ Biography: Stuart Townsend, Talk Talk.

External links

  • v
  • t
  • e
Works directed by Marc Evans
Feature films
Television films
  • Thicker than Water (1993)
  • Bliss (1995)
  • Doors Open (2012)
Television miniseries
Documentaries