Of Unknown Origin

Of Unknown Origin is a 1983 horror film directed by George P. Cosmatos. Based on the novel The Visitor by Chauncey G. Parker III, it stars Peter Weller as a New York banker who must fend for himself against a giant rat loose in his renovated brownstone. It was filmed on location in Montreal, Quebec but set in New York City.[2] The film won two awards at the Paris International Festival of Fantastic and Science-Fiction Film.[3]

Of Unknown Origin
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGeorge P. Cosmatos
Screenplay byBrian Taggert
Based onThe Visitor
by Chauncey G. Parker III
Produced byPierre David
Claude Heroux
Starring
CinematographyRene Verzier
Edited byRoberto Silvo
Music byKenneth Wannberg
Production
companies
Warner Bros.
Canadian Film Development Corporation
Famous Players Limited
Les Productions Mutuelles
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • November 23, 1983 (1983-11-23)
Running time
89 minutes
Countries
  • United States
  • Canada[1]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$4 million
Box office$1.1 million (USA)

Plot

Mild-mannered everyman Bart Hughes has a great life in New York City. When his wife and child leave for a vacation, Bart stays behind to work on a project that should get him a promotion. Some sort of rodent in his basement starts to bother him and consumes his time. Bart becomes obsessed with it and eventually starts losing his mind while trying to kill the creature, destroying most of his house in the process. The film's title comes from research Bart does and which he shares at a dinner party, stating erroneously that rats have no known origin.

Cast

Production

Filming

Principal photography began November 16, 1982 in Montreal, with additional photography taking place in New York City.[1]

Critical reception

Vincent Canby of The New York Times had nothing but disdain for the movie, but lightly praised Weller's performance and opens his review:

Peter Weller, one of our best young stage and screen actors, is not at all bad in a rather terrible, Canadian suspense-horror film mysteriously titled Of Unknown Origin.[4]

Home Video

Warner Bros. released the film on VHS and DVD.

Scream Factory released the film on Blu-ray for the first time on May 22, 2018 featuring a new 2K scan from an interpositive element.[5]

See also

References
  1. "Of Unknown Origina". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  2. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086036/locations
  3. Awards for Of Unknown Origin at IMDb
  4. Canby, Vincent (1983-11-24). "Movie Review - Of Unknown Origin - 'UNKNOWN ORIGIN' - NYTimes.com". Movies.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  5. "Of Unknown Origin". Shout! Factory.


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