The Donor
The Donor | |
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WarnerVision (U.S.) | |
Release dates |
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Running time | 94 minutes |
Country | Canada |
Language | English |
The Donor is a 1995 Canadian medical thriller film produced and directed by Damian Lee, starring Jeff Wincott and Michelle Johnson. Inspired by a popular urban legend, it features Wincott as a man searching for one of his kidneys, which has been stolen from him following a one-night stand.
Plot
Billy Castle, a professional stuntman with a penchant for risky behavior. While on a bungee jumping trip, he gets drunk with his friends Mike and Eric at a bar, where he notices an attractive female customer being harassed by another patron. Castle promptly disables the man, which leads to a conversation, and ultimately a sexual encounter, with the woman, who claims to be from Norway and named Angel. When he wakes up in the morning, Castle is horrified to find that one of his kidneys has been surgically removed. He is taken to the hospital and hurriedly interrogated by a police detective named Como, who suggests that Castle's friends, who left their vacation spot without him, may be implicated. The conversation is cut short by resident doctor Lucy Flynn, who examines the wound and reveals matter-of-factly that the nephrectomy has been performed by a skilled professional. On his way out, Castle meets another doctor, the more cordial Jonathan Cross, who has some words of support.
While attempt to resume a normal life, Castle periodically contacts Webster, the Sheriff of the resort where he was assaulted. The latter has little progress to relay in the following weeks, so he decides to go back there and confront him. He learns that the woman he knew as Angel is actually Karen Nordhoff, the daughter of a local well-to-do family who the Sheriff was reluctant to expose. Castle confronts Nordhoff, who claims she was paid to make him drink by a man she never met in person and who pretended to be a friend of his. Castle visits the small town's liquor stores to trace buyers of the Champagne bottle given to Nordhoff, and finds a past customer with a credit card to the name of Dr. Armand Perris.
During a routine checkup, Flynn discovers that Castle's sutures have become infected. She cuts them open and finds that the issue was caused by a contact lens stuck inside the wound. Meanwhile, at a random bar, an unknown woman is shown seducing one of the patrons, and taking him to her hotel room where he gets sedated much like Castle. Two men enter the room and dress the bed like a surgery table, before two masked surgeons start operating on him. This time, however, the patient dies during the surgery. One of the two surgeons, a woman, shows regret for what happened but she is struck by the other one, who remains unseen, before the room is cleaned and emptied of the corpse.
Castle tracks down Dr. Perris at an academic gathering and confronts him, but he swears his credit card has been stolen and reveals that he is in fact a Doctor in literature. Perris threatens to call security. Dr. Cross, who is an acquaintance of Perris, recognizes Castle and smooths out the situation. He also warns him that should the transplant of his first kidney fail, his attackers might strike again to procure a second one. Castle is still briefly detained for his intrusion, and his friend Mike bails him out. As he exits the police headquarters, he notices that his friend has treated himself to a luxury sedan. Although he was initially reluctant to seek psychiatric help, Castle has seen both his hedonistic lifestyle drastically altered by his rehabilitation, and agrees to meet with a support group recommended by Flynn and headed by assault survivor Cassie. But as he exits the meeting, he nearly gets run over by an unknown car, leaving him certain that his personal investigation has made him a target. When the police refuses to hear his plight, Castle confides to Flynn, for whom he has slowly developed feelings.
Cast
- Jeff Wincott as Billy Castle
- Michelle Johnson as Dr. Lucy Flynn
- Gordon Thomson as Dr. Jonathan Cross
- Christina Cox as Angel
- Amanda Tapping as Cassie
- Richard Zeppieri as Eric Anderson
- Joseph Scorsiani as Mike French
- Tony Nappo as Joe
- Geza Kovacs as Detective Como
- Robert Collins as Sheriff Webster
- Falconer Abraham as Daryl Chambers
- Doug O'Keeffe as Tom Spikes
- Emmanuelle Chriqui as Patty
Production
At the March 1994
The Donor was shot between July 5 and July 26, 1994.[4] After The Killing Machine, which was directed by frequent Lee collaborator David Mitchell in late 1993, it marked the beginning of a series of four new Wincott starrers directed by Lee in the span of just one year. It was quickly followed by Law of the Jungle,[2] while No Exit and When the Bullet Hits the Bone—the latter another medical thriller co-starring Johnson—were made in 1995.[3] As with other films in this informal series, Lee provided production services via his Toronto-based company Richmond House.[5]
Release
Pre-release
International distribution rights to the film were pre-sold to MCEG Sterling in 1994.
Theatrical
In its native Canada, it was announced that The Donor would premiere theatrically in Toronto in the week starting April 14, 1995.[7]
Home media
In Canada, the film debuted on
Reception
The
See also
- The Harvest, a 1993 film starring Miguel Ferrer, which uses a similar premise
- Pound of Flesh, a 2015 film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, which uses a similar premise
References
- ^ a b c "AFM Notes". Variety. March 1, 1994. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
- ^ a b Cuthbert, Pamela (August 29, 1994). "C/FP Buy". Playback. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
- ^ a b "Where in the Horror are they Now? Michelle Johnson!". joblo.com. March 14, 2014. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
- ^ a b c "The Donor: Notes". tcm.com. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
- ^ Lambie, Jim (2021), Production Experience (resume)
- ^ Salem, Rob (May 28, 1995). "Celeb gawkers' paradise". The Toronto Star. p. B1, B5.
- ^ "Openings: Next Week". The Toronto Star. April 7, 1994. p. D14 – via newspapers.com (subscription required) .
- ^ Law, John (June 22, 1994). "On Video". Niagara Falls Review. p. C2 – via newspapers.com (subscription required) .
- ISBN 0563487542.
- ISBN 0007260806.
- ISBN 0440222753.