Resurrection Man (film)

Resurrection Man
Directed by	Marc Evans
Written by	Eoin McNamee
Produced by	Andrew Eaton Michael Winterbottom (executive)
Starring	Stuart Townsend John Hannah James Nesbitt Brenda Fricker
Music by	David Holmes
Distributed by	PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
Release date	13 February 1998 (1998-02-13) (UK)
Running time	101 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	$2.5 million[1]
Box office	£116,841 (UK)[2]

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.[3]

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".[4][5] 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.[6]

References

1. Dawtrey, Adam (8 November 1996). "Polygram to fund 'Resurrection Man'". Daily Variety. p. 29.
2. "British biz at the box office". Variety. 14 December 1998. p. 72.
3. Donnelly, K.J. The media and the tourist imagination: converging cultures.
4. 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
5. Barton, Ruth (2004). Irish national cinema. Psychology Press. ISBN 0-415-27895-3.
6. Biography: Stuart Townsend, Talk Talk.

External links

• Resurrection Man at IMDb
• Resurrection Man at Rotten Tomatoes