''Drawing Flies'' is a 1996

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

from

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He came to prominence with the low-budget buddy comedy film ''Clerks (film), Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co-produced, and acted i ...

View Askew Productions View Askew Productions, Inc. is an American film and television production company founded by Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier in 1994. Actors Ben Affleck, Jeff Anderson, Matt Damon, Chris Rock, Walter Flanagan, Bryan Johnson, Jason Lee, Jason ...

. It was written, directed, and edited by filmmakers

Malcolm Ingram Malcolm "Mo" Ingram (born 1968) is a Canadian independent film director and podcaster. Directing Ingram wrote and directed ''Drawing Flies'', which was produced by Scott Mosier and Kevin Smith of View Askew Productions. He also made ''Tail Li ...

and Matt Gissing, with financial backing from Smith and

Scott Mosier Scott A. Mosier (born March 5, 1971) is an American-Canadian film producer, director and editor best known for his work with director Kevin Smith, with whom he occasionally co-hosts the weekly podcast, ''SModcast''. Early life Mosier was born ...

. This was Jason Lee's first leading role. The movie gets its namesake from a song by the American

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

band

Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Cornell switched to rhythm guitar in 1985, replaced on drums initially ...

Synopsis

After they get cut off welfare, Donner (

Jason Lee Jason Michael Lee (born April 25, 1970) is an American actor, filmmaker, photographer and former professional skateboarder. He is known for playing Earl Hickey in the television comedy series ''My Name Is Earl'', for which he was nominated for ...

) leads four of his jobless, penniless roommates spend their last remaining money on a cover charge for a party and get high. After getting evicted, they all embark on a journey to find a cabin in the woods that belongs to his uncle. They get lost and stranded in the woods, without food or water or their bearings when their van breaks down. He eventually reveals to his roommates that the search for the cabin is really a search for

Sasquatch Bigfoot (), also commonly referred to as Sasquatch (), is a large, hairy Mythic humanoids, mythical creature said to inhabit forests in North America, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.Example definitions include: *"A large, hairy, manlike ...

. They, of course, think he's crazy. There is conflict. Donner insists he is onto something, but the others just write him off. But to make matters worse, they uncover all kinds of bizarre and dangerous activity as they wander through the woods in search of not only Bigfoot himself but any hope of a future. Eventually, Donner does find Bigfoot and has a campfire with him (as well as others).

Cast

Production notes

While making ''

Mallrats ''Mallrats'' is a 1995 American buddy comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith and starring Jason Lee, Jeremy London, Shannen Doherty, Claire Forlani, Priscilla Barnes and Michael Rooker. It is the second film in the View Askewnive ...

'', Kevin Smith met Canadian ''

Film Threat ''Film Threat'' is an American online film review publication, and earlier, a national magazine that focused primarily on independent film, although it also reviewed videos and DVDs of mainstream films, as well as Hollywood movies in theaters. ...

'' journalist Malcolm Ingram and his friend Matt Gissing; the three decided to make ''Drawing Flies'', the title of which is based on a

song from the album ''

Badmotorfinger ''Badmotorfinger'' is the third studio album by American rock band Soundgarden, released on October 8, 1991, through A&M Records. Soundgarden began the recording sessions for the album with new bassist Ben Shepherd in the spring of 1991. The a ...

''. Along with much of the cast of ''Mallrats'', Smith headed up to the Canadian wilderness and made the film. The same camera and type of film stock that was used to film ''

Clerks A clerk is someone who works in an office. A retail clerk works in a store. Office holder Clerk(s) may also refer to a person who holds an office, most commonly in a local unit of government, or a court. *Barristers' clerk, a manager and administ ...

'' was used to film ''Drawing Flies''. The film was only featured at a few film festivals before it was given a

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

release in 2002. Kevin Smith wears his " Silent Bob" outfit from ''Mallrats'' and is credited as "Silent Bob", although the character is referred to as "John". He never utters a line. Jason Lee had only appeared in ''Mallrats''. He later said: "nobody’s seen that film, really, but that film really marked a turning point for me in that I thought, Okay, regardless of what happens with this movie, this is the second movie for me. If I can pull this off, then I'll be an actor."

Home media

The film was released on DVD on February 26, 2002.

References

External links

* * 1996 films English-language Canadian films Canadian comedy films Films set in Vancouver View Askew Productions films Films directed by Malcolm Ingram Bigfoot films 1996 comedy films 1990s English-language films 1990s Canadian films {{1990s-comedy-film-stub