By Todd Garbarini
Richard Ciupka’s unfairly maligned 1983
horror film Curtains was screened
recently as part of the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Scary Movies 7 exhibition that also included screenings of Lucky
McKee’s new film All Cheerleaders Die,
Michele Soavi’s highly regarded Cemetery
Man (1994), Eli Roth’s new film The
Green Inferno, John D. Hancock’s ultra creepy Let’s Scare Jessica to Death (1971), the New York premiere of Clive
Barker’s 1990 film Nightbreed - the Cabal
Cut, and Peter Carter’s brilliant Rituals
(1977), better known as The Creeper,
which stars Hal Holbrook and Lawrence Dane in a film that is clearly influenced
by John Boorman’s Deliverance (1971) but
easily stands on its own as a strong piece of independent filmmaking.
Appearing in person at the Curtains screening was actress Lesleh
Donaldson who played Christie Burns, the ice skater in the film. Ms. Donaldson, who made her film debut as
Michael Douglas’ teenage daughter in Steven H. Stern’s 1979 film Running, introduced the film and spoke
at length following the screening with a question-and-answer session. Also at the screening were longtime Curtains aficionados Bryan Norton (he
teaches filmmaking at the New York Film Academy and is the director of Penny Dreadful with Betsy Palmer and Jack Attack with Helen Rogers), actor
Joe Zaso, film directors Bart Mastronardi, Alan Rowe Kelly, Howard Simon, and
yours truly representing Cinema Retro.
Exhibited from a rare 35mm print, Curtains is one of the most under-appreciated
thrillers of the early 1980s. The Canadian production went before the cameras
in November of 1980 and was beset by a multitude of problems which stretched
over several years and included but were not limited to: creative differences
between director Ciupka and the film’s producer, the late Peter R. Simpson, who
directed much of the film; a last-minute change in casting of one of the
supporting characters; and issues of money for the budget. This
tale of director Jonathan Stryker (played by the late John Vernon) and his
desire to bring the story of a woman, Audra, to the screen also features
veteran actress Samantha Eggar as actress Samantha Sherwood having herself
committed to a sanitarium to study mentally disturbed individuals only to find
that Stryker, for reasons never explained, has secretly decided to leave her
there and recast the film by auditioning other actresses at his house. Once she gets out, all hell breaks loose…
“Richard and Peter did not get along
and they both had their own views of what this movie was going to be about,†Ms.
Donaldson said after the screening. “Richard
(Ciupka) was a cinematographer who had a very artistic view of what the film
should look like. On the other hand, Peter Simpson, having done Prom Night prior to this, knew what
worked. He just wanted your typical slasher movie. So, they were constantly
battling and eventually Richard just left the project. They cast Celine Lomez in the Linda Thorson
role (of Brooke Parsons) originally. I
am not sure what happened, if she got another role or whatever, but she left.†When asked if she still has her fake head
that appears in a toilet during a gruesome discovery, she admits that it was an
artificial makeshift toilet and they used her real head for the scene. “The dinner scene and the bedroom scenes were
all done by Richard,†Ms. Donaldson continued. “The ice skating rink scene and the chase through the prop house, that
was all Peter. The other actresses and
myself, we all got along fine. There were no fights of any sort. I liked all of the women, they were all really
great. I didn't get to know Samantha Eggar very much but to be honest I think
she kept herself away from everybody because that’s what the character called
for. I became really good friends with
Lynne Griffin (who played Patti O’Connor and also starred in Bob Clark’s Black Christmas) and she was very
excited that they were screening the movie tonight. She couldn’t be here, unfortunately, but she
really wanted to. Anne Ditchburn was
also a very good friend as well. I did
actually practice a skating routine and she helped me. I didn’t actually get to
do my routine because I had practiced
skating in an arena. When it came time to shoot my ice-skating scene in the
movie, I literally took one glide out on to the icy pond and hit a bump. I fell face-first on to the ice. Looking at it on the big screen I can see the
cut on my chin. Of course, I did it
right behind Peter and Gerry Arbeid (production manager)! Gerry turned to Peter and said, ‘Didn’t we
pay for her training?’ So, they had to
use a double for my ice skating.â€
Ms. Donaldson was nominated for a Genie
Award for her performance in the 1980 horror film Funeral Home but lost out to Margot Kidder in Donald Shebib’s Heartaches (1981). Her other horror film outings include Happy Birthday to Me (1981) and Deadly Eyes (1982).
Released on VHS in 1983 and on DVD in
2007, Curtains is currently
undergoing a long overdue digital film restoration from an interpositive under
the auspices of Don May, Jr.’s company Synapse Films with a Blu-ray scheduled
for release in 2014.
Audra herself couldn’t have done it
better!