Lee Demarbre Vampire Hunter: A Conversation With The Man Behind Ottawa’s Cult Classic Films
In the netherworld of Ottawa film culture, Lee is hailed as an underground king. He has kept the cinephile scene alive with experience working at the now-extinct Bytowne cinema, being the programmer of the Mayfair theater, and directing a number of cult-classic movies based entirely in the city. Among these titles is Lee’s 2001 indie breakthrough, Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter (JCVH)—a kung-fu-action-comedy-horror-musical about the second coming, that received international recognition upon its release. Throughout the paradoxically terrible-and-amazing movie, actor Phil Caracas plays a Jesus who struggles to protect Ottawa’s lesbian community from a horde of punk-esque vampires. Jesus does as anybody would do when faced with this situation: he seeks the help of Mexican wrestler El Santo (played by Jeff Moffet), based on the actor and folk hero of the same name.
As I prepared to enter our scheduled Zoom meeting, I couldn’t help but find myself simultaneously nervous and exhilarated to speak with one of Ottawa’s prominent cult film icons. JCVH premiered on June 10th, 2001, and being a 1999 baby means that I entered the world shortly before Lee’s sensational debut full-length film did. But although our lived experiences might be different, our experiences as shameless movie geeks shined through—What followed next was an hour-long conversation about the upcoming 20th anniversary of JCVH, the directorial experiences of Lee Demarbre, and the past, present and future of Ottawa’s movie enthusiast culture.
Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter was shot entirely on 16mm film, through a clunky device called a Steenbeck. When I ask Lee about the stylistic choice of using film as opposed to digital, he explains meeting Frank Cole at the Bytowne and falling in love with his movies, which were shot entirely on 16mm. “I couldn’t afford 32mm film, but 16mm was a different story,” Lee tells me. “I ended up joining The Independent Filmmakers Co-operative Of Ottawa (IFCO) upon Frank’s suggestion, and next thing you know I was taking a six week course on how to shoot on 16mm, and brainstorming ideas for a short film.” One thing led to the next, and shortly the first Harry Knuckles film was in production; yet the process of getting oriented with this filming technique is a long one, and Lee explains how it took him “two years to film a five minute movie” with the first Harry Knuckles project.
Although Harry Knuckles might have been Lee Demarbre’s first 16mm film endeavour, it certainly was not his first directorial effort. The movie lover tells me about his highschool obsession with shooting short movies on VHS: “In order to afford my first camera, I was working at a Chinese restaurant here in Ottawa that was being operated by the Italian mob. I was washing dishes, and meanwhile the managers were running prostitutes out the back door. I was young and frightened, and I just wanted to save up, purchase my equipment and quit.” Lee elaborates by describing the feeling of being able to abandon his sketchy workplace with enough cash to buy the equipment he needed: “I became the only kid in highschool with a video camera; it was really exciting. I was a crappy writer and a bad presenter, but I always got permission from my teachers to make my projects on video. All the students loved my videos, and it certainly got me more scholastically inclined.” Lee’s passion for video making endured throughout his academic career, and he shares stories from his experiences as a young adult in Carleton University’s film studies program. During his post-secondary career, Lee developed a taste for international cinema and independent movies, worked as a projectionist, and sneaked the projector out of Carleton’s film studies department over the weekend so that he could screen movies on a bedsheet while chilling with his friends. After four years of an undergraduate degree spent watching and studying movies, Lee felt that it was finally time to return to the camera.
When looking back on JCVH with 20 years of hindsight, Lee finds gratification in the fact that watching the movie from start to finish is still a novel experience. “I still talk about it today as though it is a brand new movie,” Lee tells me. “I’m not sure whether it’s because of the pandemic, but I’m on Zoom every other night talking to people about JCVH. During the pandemic I think that a lot of people have discovered it, started watching it. Not to mention that it kind of exploded on TikTok—Somebody sent me a link to a TikTok video of this woman watching it and yelling, Jesus just punched a lesbian in the face! That really killed me.”
Those going into their first viewing of JCVH should not be misled: as mindlessly stimulating as the plot and characters of the movie might be, its message of freedom of self-expression is one that seems reflective, serious, and fully fleshed-out. Jesus prepares to embark on his mission at the beginning of the movie by cutting his hair and piercing his ears; there are countless actors and actresses with tattoos and unconventional haircuts; Jesus justifies protecting Ottawa’s lesbian community by instructing his followers to love one another, and thinking proactively and critically when it comes to their own religious beliefs. “I need to give most of the writing credits to Ian Driscoll, our screenwriter,” Lee says, “but I remember when we were brainstorming the concept, there was a conversation between Ian and myself which we thought really resonated. We wanted to know what could be considered the ‘contemporary leper,’ because in the New Testament the lepers are looked down upon by society, but Jesus sides with them and brings them up. When we started making the movie in 1999, being ‘in the closet’ was still a very big thing for the gay community. Putting lesbian vampires in our film kickstarted this message for the movie: Jesus can side with the entire gay community, and everyone should be living together, not judging one another.”
Speaking about representation in film resulted in a conversational shift towards Lee’s most recent film endeavour—Enter the Drag Dragon will be gracing the screen at some point in 2022, and it purports itself to be the world’s first ever drag-queen-martial-arts-zombie-comedy. As the genre-binding maestro prepares to continue filming Enter the Drag Dragon in Ottawa throughout the summer, he describes its similarity to JCVH with the feeling of ‘going back to his roots’ to create something new. “This will be my eighth feature-length film, and just like JCVH, this one is self-financed and we will be shooting it on weekends.” Lee describes walking away from the industry for some time because of the disdain he felt towards his directorial efforts that were properly financed by producers and investors:
“I’ve been hiding in the Mayfair for the past 10 years, avoiding big contracts with investors; in other words, I didn’t realize that I was living the dream when we made JCVH. I was financing the film myself, with dreams and aspirations of breaking through to Hollywood and making the next James Bond movie someday. I didn’t realize, with all those dreams, that I was actually living the dream. And now that I’ve had the opportunity to make movies in Mexico, and have had multiple films financed with other people’s money, I realize that nothing has been as fun as making JCVH and the Harry Knuckles series.”
In the mind’s eye of someone as wild and whimsical as Lee Demarbre, the creative compromise that comes with bigtime productions is demoralizing. He recalls the experiences of constantly running into producers telling him that they will not make sales if his movie has ‘this, that, or the other thing.’ “For instance, [a director] told me to fire anyone who has a French-Canadian accent, and to never allude to the fact that a movie has scenes that were shot in Ottawa, because they wouldn’t be able to sell the movie overseas if anything looks or sounds Canadian.”
Taking this into consideration, Lee emphasizes the excitement and pride he feels while making Enter the Drag Dragon, a boundlessly creative and unapologetically Ottawa-based project. “It’s a big slap in the face being on the set of this new movie and having so much fun,” he explains. “I’m starting off the movie with a shot of the Ottawa sign, and I like to think about it as a big fuck you to the directors and producers out there who like to hide Canada. It’s ridiculous, really… what on Earth is it even based off of? I find it hard to imagine a European family watching a movie and somebody yelling ‘turn this garbage off, honey, it’s set in Canada.’ That seems pathetic.”
In the final portion of our chat, Lee and I reflect on the impact that COVID-19 has had on Ottawa’s moviegoers, reminiscing about the Bytowne cinema and expressing concerns that—as one of Ottawa’s sole remaining independent theater venues—the Mayfair will make it out of the pandemic unaffected. “It’s been well over a year now,” Lee says, “and for most of this time [Mayfair theater] hasn’t been open. When we have been open, however, our 9pm horror movies have been the best sellers.” Lee gives me a cheeky wink and motions to the tee shirt of The Thing which I am wearing, explaining that in this unprecedented time, the theater’s key target audience has shifted from families to individuals with less accessible and more niche interests.
The Mayfair theater is a staple location in Old Ottawa South that has been inspiring the community with their selection of films since 1932. When discussing the constant lockdowns and their impact on local businesses, Lee articulates his confidence in the Mayfair leaving the pandemic unscathed.
“The reason why the Mayfair will survive the pandemic is because of the members. There’s something special about the Mayfair; it has always triumphed over everything that should have brought it down. When we switched from 35mm to digital format, our community members made a fundraiser which ultimately resulted in our ability to invest in a $250,000 projector. Then there was that short-lived phase where everyone thought that 3D movies were the next thing; luckily people like our 2D movies more, so we survived that as well. But the number one thing was when that multi-screen Cineplex opened up at Lansdowne, basically across the street; that should have wiped us out immediately. When I began running the Mayfair, I traveled to the United States and witnessed many independent theaters that had forced closure because of Multiplex cinemas that opened up right across from them. Why the Mayfair hasn’t lost any business from Lansdowne escapes me, but I believe that it must be due to the community that it has built up. And with such a passionate and dedicated following, I am confident that the Mayfair will get through the pandemic.”
My conversation with Lee Demarbre was inspirational; it is an amazing feeling speaking to an individual who simply knows what he’s interested in, and does what he wants. It was refreshing to hear Lee talk about knowing no boundaries when it comes to mixing genres, which lends his film projects all the qualities of comedy and absurdity, along with a surprising amount of emotion and progressive messaging. Cult movies have been my source for inspiration and entertainment for as long as I can remember—it’s a beautiful thing to see cult classics like Lee’s which are based entirely in Ottawa, and I look forward to seeing Ottawa creatives follow in his path.
Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter is available on Amazon Prime, and fans can purchase their own tee shirt merch based on the movie from here.