Show Me (film)

Last updated
Show Me
Showmeposter.jpg
Theatrical Poster
Directed byCassandra Nicolaou
Written byCassandra Nicolaou
Produced byHoward Fraiberg
Starring Michelle Nolden
Kett Turton
Katharine Isabelle
CinematographyPatrick McGowan
Edited bySaul Pincus
Music by Evelyne Datl
Production
company
Red Plush Films
Distributed by Wolfe Releasing
Release date
  • September 26, 2004 (2004-09-26)(VIFF)
Running time
97 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish
Budget$CAD 900,000

Show Me is a 2004 Canadian psychological thriller written and directed by Cassandra Nicolaou and starring Michelle Nolden, Kett Turton and Katharine Isabelle. [1]

Contents

Plot

The film begins with Sarah caught in traffic. After Sarah (Michelle Nolden) shouts at Jenna (Katharine Isabelle) and Jackson (Kett Turton) when they attempt to wash her windshield, she feels bad and offers them some cash. Jenna and Jackson then enter Sarah's car and persuade her to take them to another corner to beg. After the pair spot some other teenagers on the corner they wanted, Jenna pulls out a knife and tells Sarah to keep driving.

The two teenagers force Sarah to bring them to her newly purchased cabin in a remote part of the wilderness where they begin to tie her up and toy with her. Tensions begin to rise as more is revealed about Jackson and Jenna and Sarah sees her opportunity to seduce Jackson in an attempt to escape. When Jackson attempts to rape her, she knocks him unconscious with a rock. Sarah gets away and runs into the forest after slashing her tires so the pair cannot drive away.

Back at the cabin, Jenna and Jackson get drunk after drinking the wine Sarah brought in the back of her truck. Jackson makes a move on Jenna, and they have sex. However, Jenna seems uncomfortable and in the morning, she leaves Jackson and goes into the forest to self harm. Sarah is still lost and comes across tree carvings by Jenna that lead to a picture of Jenna's mother who supposedly died in a car accident. After finding Jenna asleep on the ground with fresh wounds, Sarah decides to take her back to the cabin.

The trio spend a night drinking wine and celebrating Jenna's 17th birthday. It is revealed to Jenna that Sarah is a lesbian, and her relationship with her partner Sam has become tense in the leadup to their tenth anniversary. Jenna and Sarah kiss. The next morning, Sarah discovers a picture of the two while looking through Jenna's things that reveals they are brother and sister.

A man who Jenna had previously met at a gas station shows up at the cabin, and is confronted by the teenagers. Sarah introduces them as her kids to avoid his suspicion. However, when he notices the broken window on Sarah's car, Jackson hits him in the back of the head, killing him. Jackson and Jenna panic and run into the woods, where they hatch a plan to murder Sarah before leaving, as she is the only witness to the killing. Sarah follows them and promises to lie for them so they can leave. Jackson pins her down and urges Jenna to cut her throat, but Jenna can't kill her. Jackson, feeling betrayed, runs to the lake beside the cabin, and swims far out as Jenna and Sarah watch and scream his name. Jackson drowns, leaving the pair distraught.

The film ends with Sarah dropping Jenna off on a road and giving her her expensive bracelet. Sarah drives away remarking that all she had wanted was to save them.

Cast

Distribution

The film premiered at the 2004 Vancouver International Film Festival, [2] before going into commercial release in 2005. [3]

Critical response

Leah McLaren of The Globe and Mail panned the film, writing that "Perhaps the most off-putting aspect of this picture is the way it portrays the street kids as heartless sociopaths (they stab and kidnap people for fun, and laugh when their captive wets herself), and subsequently tries to arm-twist us into some form of sympathy for their 'unfortunate situation'."(Turns out the poor kittens were adopted.) Conversely, Sarah's brand of bourgeois Stockholm syndrome only makes her seem like a brainless dupe. The emotionally weighted revelation that she's a lesbian is supposed to signify, um, what exactly? That she's somehow morally above the fray? That she's 'one of them'? The soft relativist politics are enough to make any thinking liberal retch. As the story limps toward its painfully obvious moral conclusion (they must lay down their differences and come to understand each other in a yucky campfire make-out scene), the implausibilities pile up in inverse proportion to the film's lagging dramatic tension." [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katharine Hepburn</span> American actress (1907–2003)

Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress whose career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned six decades. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited personality, and outspokenness, cultivating a screen persona that matched this public image, and regularly playing strong-willed, sophisticated women. She worked in a varied range of genres, from screwball comedy to literary drama, which earned her various accolades, including four Academy Awards for Best Actress—a record for any performer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katharine Isabelle</span> Canadian actress

Katharine Isobel Murray, known professionally as Katharine Isabelle, is a Canadian actress. She has been described as a scream queen due to her roles in various horror films. She started her acting career in 1989, playing a small role in the television series MacGyver. She gained fame for the role of Ginger Fitzgerald in the films Ginger Snaps, Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed, and Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning.

<i>Camp</i> (2003 film) 2003 American musical comedy-drama film by Todd Graff

Camp is a 2003 American musical comedy drama film written and directed by Todd Graff about an upstate New York performing arts summer camp. The film is based on Graff's own experiences at a similar camp called Stagedoor Manor, where many scenes of the film were filmed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leah Cairns</span> Canadian actress (b. 1974)

Leah Cairns is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles as Lieutenant Margaret "Racetrack" Edmondson in Battlestar Galactica and as Kathryn MacLaren in the TV series "Travelers."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sophie Webster</span> Fictional character from Coronation Street

Sophie Webster is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street. She was born on-screen during the episode broadcast on 4 November 1994. She was played by Ashleigh Middleton from 1994 until 1997 and by Emma Woodward from 8 June 1997 until 25 April 2004. Brooke Vincent took over the role on 12 May 2004. Sophie is the second daughter born to Kevin Webster and Sally Webster and younger sister to Rosie Webster and elder sister to half siblings Jack Webster and deceased Jake Webster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michelle Fowler</span> Fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders

Michelle Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Susan Tully from the show's first episode on 19 February 1985 up until the character's departure on 26 October 1995. She returned on 24 December 2016, with Jenna Russell taking over the role, before leaving the serial once again on 17 April 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lloyd Mullaney</span> Soap opera character

Lloyd Mullaney is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Craig Charles. He made his first on screen appearance on 20 June 2005. The character departed on 23 July 2006, while Charles was suspended from work. He returned on 12 February 2007. Charles took a temporary break from the show in autumn 2011 to film new episodes of Red Dwarf, with Lloyd departing on 15 December 2011. After a seven-month absence, Lloyd returned on 2 July 2012. Charles announced his departure from the show in May 2015. Charles' final scenes aired on 25 September 2015 after Lloyd departed for good after 10 years alongside his pregnant fiancée, Andrea Beckett when they left the street together to move to Jersey.

<i>Gypsy 83</i> 2001 film by Todd Stephens

Gypsy 83 is an American 2001 drama film, written and directed by Todd Stephens. The film is about two young goths, Gypsy and Clive, who travel to New York for an annual festival celebrating their idol, Stevie Nicks.

<i>Lies My Mother Told Me</i> 2005 Canadian TV series or program

Lies My Mother Told Me is a 2005 Canadian drama television film directed by Christian Duguay, written by Matt Dorff, and starring Joely Richardson, Hayden Panettiere, Kailin See, Tim Henry and Colm Feore. The film is loosely based on the true story of the murder of Larry McNabney by his wife, Elisa McNabney, with the help of college student Sarah Dutra. Elisa fled to Florida, where she was eventually caught. Two weeks later, she hanged herself in her jail cell while awaiting extradition to California.

Mike Barnes (<i>Hollyoaks</i>) UK soap opera character, created 2006

Mike Barnes is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Tony Hirst. He first appeared on 30 January 2006. In 2010, soap opera magazine Inside Soap reported that the character would leave in late January with love interest Zoe Carpenter. This was later confirmed. The character briefly returned in August 2016 and again in March 2017, where his youngest daughter Amy Barnes was killed off in a "whodunit" storyline. He returned again in September 2017 giving evidence against Ste Hay during Amy's murder trial.

Fear Island is a 2009 Canadian mystery-thriller film directed by Michael Storey and starring Aaron Ashmore, Haylie Duff, Lucy Hale and Kyle Schmid. The film follows five student friends partying on a remote island, when they find a dead body and encounter a killer who wants them all dead.

<i>Sea Beast</i> 2008 American television monster movie

Sea Beast, also known as Troglodyte, is a 2008 American television monster movie starring Miriam McDonald, Daniel Wisler, Brandon Jay McLaren and Corin Nemec. It was released to DVD on June 30, 2009. It is the 16th film of the Maneater Series.

<i>See No Evil 2</i> 2014 American slasher film

See No Evil 2 is a 2014 American slasher film directed by the Soska sisters, written by Nathan Brookes and Bobby Lee Darby, produced by Michael Luisi, and starring Danielle Harris, Katharine Isabelle and the WWE professional wrestler Kane. It is the sequel to the 2006 See No Evil feature film. Unlike the original, which had a theatrical release, the film was released in 2014 on a direct to Blu-ray and DVD form.

Rollercoaster is a 1999 teen drama film directed by Scott Smith. It is about five teens who escape a group home and travel to a defunct amusement park, hoping to find a notorious kid-friendly security guard who will run the rides for them. Although pursuing a fun-filled day, two of the teens, a couple expecting a baby, have formed a suicide pact and plan to use the amusement park to carry it out.

<i>13 Eerie</i> 2013 Canadian film

13 Eerie is a 2013 Canadian horror film directed by Lowell Dean, making his feature film debut. It is also produced by Don Carmody, Kevin DeWalt, Mark Montague and David Cormican and written by Christian Piers Betley. The film stars Katharine Isabelle, Michael Shanks, Brendan Fehr, Brendan Fletcher, Nick Moran and Jesse Moss. It entails the story about six forensic undergrads completing a university field exam on a deserted island, oblivious that the island was previously used for illegal biological experiments on life-term prisoners.

<i>Cinemanovels</i> 2013 film

Cinemanovels is a 2013 Canadian comedy film written and directed by Terry Miles. It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. The film holds the record for Canada's second lowest opening weekend box office gross of 2013, earning just $298, opening to just a dozen theatres.

<i>Torment</i> (2013 film) 2013 Canadian film

Torment is a 2013 Canadian horror film directed by Jordan Barker. The film had its world premiere on October 11, 2013, at the Screamfest Horror Film Festival. It stars Katharine Isabelle as a woman who must try to save her step-son from an insane family.

Hunter King (<i>Home and Away</i>) Fictional Australian soap opera character

Hunter King is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by Scott Lee. The actor did not think he would win the role, as he believed that he had performed badly in the audition. However, after receiving a callback, Lee was cast as Hunter and he began filming the following week. His casting was revealed when he attended the 57th Logie Awards alongside other Home and Away cast members. The role marks Lee's television acting debut. Reece Milne, who went on to play Tank Snelgrove in the show, also auditioned for the part. Lee made his first appearance as Hunter during the episode broadcast on 27 July 2015.

A Simple Curve is a Canadian drama film, directed by Aubrey Nealon and released in 2005.

"Find Me" is the eighteenth episode of the tenth season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead. The 149th episode overall, the episode was directed by David Boyd and written by Nicole Mirante-Matthews. "Find Me" was released on the streaming platform AMC+ on March 5, 2021, and aired on television on AMC two days later, on March 7.

References

  1. "Director found inspiration for Canadian film Show Me while stuck in traffic". Canadian Press, August 18, 2005.
  2. Glen Schaefer, "Glen Schaefer's Festpicks Sunday". The Province , September 26, 2024.
  3. Susan Walker, "Actors shine in T.O. thriller". Toronto Star , August 19, 2005.
  4. Leah McLaren, "Not much to show". The Globe and Mail , August 19, 2005.