John Carpenter's Cigarette Burns 

With a torrid past that haunts him, a movie theatre owner is hired to search for the only existing print of a film so notorious that its single screening caused the viewers to become homicidally insane.

Director:

John Carpenter

Writers:

Mick Garris (creator), Drew McWeeny

Stars:

Norman Reedus, Colin Foo, Udo Kier

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Norman Reedus	...	Kirby
Colin Foo	...	Fung
Udo Kier	...	Bellinger
Christopher Redman	...	Willowy Being
Chris Gauthier	...	Timpson (as Christopher Gauthier)
Zara Taylor	...	Annie
Gary Hetherington	...	Walter
Chris Britton	...	Meyers
Julius Chapple	...	Henri Cotillard
Taras Kostyuk	...	Kaspar (as Taras)
Brad Kelly	...	Horst
Lynn Wahl	...	Cab Driver
Douglas Arthurs	...	Dalibor (as Douglas H. Arthurs)
Gwynyth Walsh	...	Katja
Brahm Taylor	...	Protagonist

Storyline

The bankrupted owner of the movie theater 'Vogue', Kirby Sweetman, is hired by the eccentric private collector Mr. Bellinger to search and find the only existing print of the legendary horror film "La Fin Absolue du Monde" by Hans Backovic. This lost film is considered magic and cursed, and has been presented only once to an audience at the Sitges Festival, driving the people insane and causing bloodshed in the theater. The director, the crew and everybody involved in its production seemingly have died since. Kirby owes 200.000 dollars to his father-in-law, who blames Kirby for the death of his daughter Annie, and accepts the assignment to pay his debt. Bellinger shows him a souvenir from the film in his basement, a chained angel that had his wings torn off in the movie. Kirby travels to France to meet a contact and has glimpses of his beloved Annie, initiating his journey to hell.

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Plot Keywords:

subjective camera | death of protagonist | collector | angel | wing | 

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 December 2005 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

IDT Entertainment, Industry Entertainment, Nice Guy Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

59 min 56 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Cody Carpenter's first time as a composer.

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Goofs

Kirby visits Henri Cotillard's office in Paris, France. When Henri asks Kirby for the name of the film he's looking for, he puts his right hand by his computer monitor. In the next shot, Henri's arm is by his side.

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Quotes

Fung: I know what you want, you want to see the movie!

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Connections

References The Black Cat (1934)

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Soundtracks

Le Fin De Mond Theme
Written by John Roome
Courtesy of Mekong Records

User Reviews

A rarity of originality, has to be seen to be believed

Wow. I was not ready for what this compact hour contained. So much more imaginatively written and better directed and acted than any crap that has passed for horror in the past 30 years.

I have seen most of J. Carpenter's films, some I like, some I don't. But with this piece he has surpassed not only himself but most horror films made either for theaters or TV.

It is hard to write about and describe because it is best to not give away too much, other than the premise involves a rare film that was shown only once, and it caused a riot to erupt in the theater, with deaths involved. The protagonist is hired to find the only known remaining print of the film, and finds himself drawn into something that was much more than he bargained for. Is there something supernatural involved? Does the film drive people insane? How can this be?

In some respects, there are more questions at the the end that remain unanswered. But, as with the best films, that's the way it should be; it stays with you, haunts you, and nags at your brain -- just like the legendary film within the film, "Le Fin Absolue du Monde."

Totally stunning, horrifying and awe-inspiring. A day later, I still can't shake it from my mind.