Acclaimed filmmaker Paul Duane celebrates his favourite Irish cult movie classics...
THE ELIMINATOR (Dir: Enda Hughes, 1997)
What is it? An action movie made for £8000 in the middle of the Troubles by a bunch of teenagers, it tells the story of 'The Organisation' fighting the British secret service for control of a super-vehicle named The Viper, whose plans are in the hands of the rebel O’Brien (played by the now distinguished novelist, Michael Hughes).
Superspy Stone is sent to rescue the plans, but is murdered by his one-eyed boss Hawk only to return at the head of an army of zombies, including Cú Chulainn, Fionn mac Cumhaill, and St Patrick himself. The film ends with a massive explosion and Stiff Little Fingers’ Alternative Ulster over the credits. You want to see this now, right?
Why is it important? You read the bit above about how this film, with all of its stunts, explosions and maggot-covered zombies, was made in South Armagh right in the middle of the Troubles? That in itself is an achievement. The film is also the sole Irish example of the kind of thing Peter Jackson and Robert Rodriguez were doing at the same time in their respective countries.
How did it get made? As the director describes it, they were a little gang who made films together, during school holidays, basically ambitious zero-budget movies inspired by low -budget classics El Mariachi and Bad Taste. They decided to try making a feature-length film with the same tiny crew. Hughes was 19 at the time. They filmed on clockwork Bolex 16mm cameras. The shoot and edit were relatively quick, over a few months, the post-production sound work took the bulk of the time as it was filmed silent.
How did it go down? Launched at the Galway Film Fleadh, to a sold-out cinema, following a guerrilla graffiti campaign that covered the town in the film’s logo, and an on-stage introduction by the then Minister for Arts Michael D Higgins - I was there, it was an absolutely triumphant night. But unfortunately, the film did not receive widespread distribution.
What should have happened? Enda Hughes should have followed in the footsteps of Raimi, Jackson etc and made a bunch more movies in the same vein, eventually becoming a jaded mogul overseeing increasingly poor imitations of the work that made his name. And there’s still time for him to do that! Fingers crossed.
What happened instead? The director received funding for his follow-up film - Flying Saucer Rock & Roll, an award-winning short which debuted at Sundance - and launched his professional career. He went on to adapt Samuel Beckett for film, work with U2 and currently directs TV drama in the UK.
How can I see this? The film was never commercially released and is not available online, though I believe a print still exists somewhere. The thirtieth anniversary is coming up… maybe it will reappear. Until then, as the guy says at the end of Mad Max 2, it lives only in my memories.
Enjoy more Irish Culture Movie Classics here.
