Smash Cut

Smash Cut

A film by Lee Demarbre
Toronto Premiere, One Night Only
The Bloor Cinema, 506 Bloor St., W.
Thursday October 15, 9:00pm

In Attendance Opening Night:
Director, Lee Demarbre
Actor, David Hess
Writer Ian Driscoll

Smash Cut, the new film from director Lee Demarbre (The Dead Sleep Easy; Jesus Christ, Vampire Hunter) will have its Toronto premiere Thursday, October 15 at 9:00 PM, with Lee in attendance, along with his writer Ian Driscoll and making a special trip for this opening, actor David Hess (Last House On The Left.

While Sasha Grey is currently garnering attention for her role in Steven Soderbergh’s The Girlfriend Experience, her role in Smash Cut was in fact her first starring role in a mainstream feature.

It is worth noting that casting adult stars in Canadian horror films is not without precedent ­– David Cronenberg cast Marilyn Chambers (Behind the Green Door) in his film Rabid in 1977.

Inspired by the career and filmography of horror-film pioneer Herschell Gordon Lewis, Smash Cut is the story of Able Whitman (David Hess) a horror-film director whose movies are panned by critics and audiences alike – until he starts killing people and using their body parts as props in his movies.  As Whitman’s mind unspools and the bodies pile up, only intrepid reporter April Carson (Sasha Grey) and celebrated private detective Isaac Beaumonde (Jesse Buck) stand between the demonic director and his unquenchable thirst for butchery.

Smash Cut is directed and edited by Lee Demarbre and written by his frequent collaborator Ian Driscoll. The film, an A-list cast of B-film stars, includes:

David Hess (Last House on the Left, House at the Edge of the Park, Hitch-Hike)
Sasha Grey (The Girlfriend Experience, 2007 Penthouse Pet of The Month, 2008 AVN Award ­– Female Performer of the Year)
Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes, The Devil’s Rejects)
Ray Sager (The Wizard of Gore, The Gore Gore Girls)
Herschell Gordon Lewis (director, Blood Feast, 2000 Maniacs)
Phil Caracas (Jesus Christ, Vampire Hunter, Harry Knuckles)

The filmmakers also a number of local performers as prolific Canadian actor Peter Dillon, Cirque du Soleil performer Jesse Buck, HILOTRONS front man Michael Dubue and soon-to-be-stars Jennilee Murphy and Guen Douglas.

The film is inspired by the career and filmography of cult director Herschell Gordon Lewis. Known as “The Godfather of Gore”, Mr. Lewis invented the gore genre – a precursor to the slasher film – when he directed Blood Feast in 1963. Mr. Lewis deemed the script for Smash Cut “a hoot”, and appears in a cameo role. Ray Sager, who starred in Mr. Lewis’ The Wizard of Gore (1970) also appears.

While two high-profile remakes of Mr. Lewis’ films have appeared in recent years (2001 Maniacs in 2005 and The Wizard of Gore in 2007), Smash Cut is the first film inspired by Mr. Lewis’ work that he has appeared in and publicly endorsed.

Smash Cut has been playing to sold-out audiences at the Fantasia Film Festival 2009 (Montreal), Fantastic Fest 2009 (Austin) and the FILM4 FrightFest (London). It also has festival dates across Europe and has been sold for commercial distribution in territories worldwide.