''Scorn'' is a Canadian dramatic television film directed by

Sturla Gunnarsson Sturla Gunnarsson (born August 30, 1951) is an Icelandic-Canadian film and television director and producer. Gunnarsson was born in Reykjavík in 1951. He moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, with his parents when he was seven years old. As h ...

.Alison Cunningham-McMillan
"Bad boys: Scorn delivers an eerie, chilling tale of manipulation and murder"
''

Edmonton Journal The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is part of the Postmedia Network. History The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunn ...

'', March 16, 2001. It dramatizes the true story of Darren Huenemann, a gay teenager from

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, British Columbia, who manipulated his classmates Derik Lord and David Muir into murdering his mother Sharon and grandmother Doris in his grandmothers's

Tsawwassen Tsawwassen ( ) is a suburban, mostly residential community on a peninsula in the southwestern corner of the City of Delta in British Columbia, Canada. It provides the only road access to the American territory on the southern tip of the peninsul ...

home in 1990. The film stars Eric Johnson as Huenemann,

Brendan Fletcher Brendan Fletcher (born December 15, 1981) is a Canadian actor. He first gained recognition as a child actor, being nominated for a Gemini Award for his acting debut in the made-for-television film ''Little Criminals'' and winning a Leo Award ...

as Lord,

Bill Switzer William Ashton Switzer is a Canadian actor. He is known for his work on the animated television series ''Mummies Alive!'' He had a leading role in '' Eerie, Indiana: The Other Dimension'' and he also performed in '' Sabrina: The Animated Series' ...

as Muir,

Kelly Rowan Kelly Rowan (born October 26, 1965) is a retired Canadian film and television actress and former fashion model. A native of Ottawa, Rowan studied acting in London and New York City before she started working as a model. She was featured in the h ...

as Sharon and

Pam Hyatt Pamela "Pam" Hyatt (born April 9, 1936) is an American-born Canadian actress. Career Pam is best known for voicing Noble Heart Horse in 1986's '' The Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation'' and the voice of Kaede in the English version of '' I ...

as Doris, as well as

Emily Hampshire Emily Hampshire is a Canadian-American actress. Her best known roles include Angelina in the 1998 romantic comedy ''Boy Meets Girl (1998 film), Boy Meets Girl'', Vivienne in the 2006 film ''Snow Cake'', Jennifer Goines in the Syfy drama series ' ...

, Michael Hogan, Jesse Cadotte,

Jerry Wasserman Jerry Wasserman (born November 2, 1945) is an Americans, American professor and film and television actor. Wasserman was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was a professor of English and Theatre at the University of British Columbia. He was also a f ...

Bill Dow Bill Dow is an actor, director and writer in theatre, film, and television. He is best known for playing Bill Lee in the ''Stargate'' franchise. Career He also had a recurring roles as Russ Hathaway in the Canadian drama series ''Da Vinci's I ...

and

Hrothgar Mathews Hrothgar Mathews (born January 27, 1964) is a Canadian actor known for his performance as Gill St. George in the 1999 television film ''Milgaard'' and Ned Yost in ''When Calls the Heart''. Career He has also played the recurring roles of Ma ...

in supporting roles. The film premiered theatrically at the 2000

Vancouver International Film Festival The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October. The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Festi ...

, and received a followup theatrical screening at the 2001

Victoria Film Festival The Victoria Film Festival is a publicly attended film festival in Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada running for ten days in February. The festival shows both Canadian and international films and unreels 150 films wi ...

, before being broadcast by

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

on March 18, 2001.John McKay, "Delving into the twisted psyche of a mother killer". ''

Welland Tribune The ''Welland Tribune'' is a daily newspaper that services Welland, Ontario and surrounding area. The ''Tribune'' was one of several Postmedia Network newspapers purchased by Torstar in a transaction between the two companies which concluded on ...

'', March 17, 2001.

Production

The film was based in part on Lisa Hobbs Birnie's non-fiction book ''Such a Good Boy'', as well as direct personal interviews of Huenemann by screenwriter

Andrew Rai Berzins Andrew Rai Berzins is a Canadian film and television writer. He is most noted as cowriter with Andrew Wreggitt of the television film ''Borealis (2013 film), Borealis'', for which they won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Writing in a Dramatic Pr ...

at Stony Mountain Penitentiary. Around the time of the film's premiere,

Atom Egoyan Atom Egoyan (; ; born July 19, 1960) is an Armenian Canadians, Armenian-Canadian filmmaker. One of the most preeminent directors of the Toronto New Wave, he emerged during the 1980s and made his career breakthrough with ''Exotica (film), Exotica ...

revealed that he had considered making his own film about Huenemann, but had decided against it because as a former resident of Victoria who personally knew many of the locations tied to the story, he felt like he couldn't distance himself enough from it to view it objectively. It faced minor controversy for a scene which briefly depicted Huenemann and his boyfriend Matt (Cadotte) in bed together, with their nude buttocks visible but no private parts."And now the 8 o'clock nudes". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'', March 13, 2001. The CBC permitted the nude scene to be broadcast, but required Gunnarsson to remove usages of the word "

fuck ''Fuck'' () is profanity in the English language that often refers to the act of sexual intercourse, but is also commonly used as an intensifier or to convey disdain. While its origin is obscure, it is usually considered to be first attested ...

" from the dialogue. Both theatrical screenings were also picketed by Lord's parents, who were still proclaiming their son's innocence of the murder, but no legal injunctions were sought or given against the film's distribution.Dana Gee, "Scorn paints terrifying picture: CBC movie riveting in exposing teen's unspeakable crime". ''

The Province ''The Province'' is a daily newspaper published in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format in British Columbia by Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, alongside the ''Vancouver Sun'' broadsheet newspaper. Together, they ...

'', March 18, 2001.

Awards

References

External links

* {{Sturla Gunnarsson 2000 films 2000 television films 2000 LGBTQ-related films Canadian drama television films Canadian crime drama films Canadian LGBTQ-related television films English-language Canadian films Gemini and Canadian Screen Award for Best Television Film or Miniseries winners Canadian films based on actual events Films directed by Sturla Gunnarsson Films shot in British Columbia Films set in British Columbia 2000s Canadian films LGBTQ-related crime drama films