''Blood and Donuts'' is a 1995 Canadian

supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

comedy horror Comedy horror (also called horror comedy) is a literary, television and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as having three types: "black comedy, parody and spoof." Comedy horror can a ...

film directed by Holly Dale, written by Andrew Rai Berzins, and starring Gordon Currie and Helene Clarkson.

David Cronenberg David Paul Cronenberg (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He is a principal originator of the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation, infectious diseases, and ...

plays a cameo role as the local crime boss. The film features a vampire who is accidentally awakened after 25 years of sleep and starts to shyly make contact with the mortal world around him. As he interacts and begins to care for the people around him, he gets mixed up in their problems and they in his.

Premise

A vampire named Boya is awakened from his sleep by a golf ball. He has not been awake since 1969, and marvels at his new surroundings. He does not feed on humans but instead on rats and animals. He meets up with a cab driver who is in trouble with some criminals, and a female donut shop worker who gets stuck in the middle. Befriending them both, and slowly falling in love with Molly, they take on each other's problems. He tries to protect them, but also endangers them by drawing the attention of an ex-lover from decades past who has not stopped looking for him in 25 years.

Cast

Production

''Blood and Donuts'' was the first film to be produced by the

Canadian Film Centre The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) is a charitable organization founded in 1988 by filmmaker Norman Jewison in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally launched as a film school, today it provides training, development and advancement opportunities for ...

, and it was director Holly Dale's first

narrative film Narrative film, fictional film or fiction film is a motion picture that tells a fictional or fictionalized story, event or narrative. Commercial narrative films with running times of over an hour are often referred to as feature films, or featur ...

. Dale had previously made her reputation in documentary films. Fellow director

Vincenzo Natali Vincenzo Natali (born 1969) is an American-born Canadian film director and screenwriter, known for writing and directing science fiction and horror films such as ''Cube'', '' Cypher'', ''Nothing'', and '' Splice''. Early life and education Natal ...

served as a

stand-in A stand-in, sometimes a lighting double, for film and television is a person who substitutes for the actor before filming, for technical purposes such as lighting and camera setup. Stand-ins are helpful in the initial processes of film and tele ...

for Cronenberg and also provided storyboards.

Release

''Blood and Donuts'' was released on home video on 4 October 1996.

Reception

Brendan Kelly of '' Variety'' wrote that the film fails to deliver on its premise, as Dale has trouble combining the horror and comedy elements. In a retrospective of Canadian horror films, ''Variety'' later called the film "critically acclaimed".

Awards and nominations

''Blood and Donuts'' was nominated in 1996 for the

Genie Awards The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978), known as the "Etrog Awards" for sculpt ...

in 3 categories: Best Achievement in Costume Design ( Emma England), Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role ( Helene Clarkson), and Best Original Screenplay (Berzins).

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 112527 1995 films 1995 black comedy films 1995 comedy horror films 1990s supernatural horror films 1990s vigilante films 1990s exploitation films 1990s monster movies English-language Canadian films Canadian comedy horror films Vampire comedy films Artisan Entertainment films Canadian Film Centre films Canadian vampire films Canadian vigilante films 1995 directorial debut films 1990s English-language films 1990s Canadian films Canadian exploitation films Canadian monster movies Canadian supernatural horror films Canadian black comedy films Supernatural comedy films Doughnuts in popular culture English-language comedy horror films Films produced by Steve Hoban