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Black Bridge '84: Year of the banger
Black Bridge '84: Year of the 'banger

Black Bridge
Black Bridge is an independent 2007 drama/comedy film from Canada and was written and directed by Kevin Doherty. It was shot (and re-shot) over the course of 2002 and 2003 with practically no budget. The film is a period piece that takes place in Canada May 1984 during the height of heavy metal music popularity.

Plot Summary
A close-knit group of headbanging friends all have an equal passion for Heavy Metal music, partying and experimenting with the occult and supernatural. When the mutilated body of murdered 12 year-old Mikey Gay (brother of the Hellrats’ feared, trouble-making gang-leader Vinny) surfaces in Sammy’s “satanic enshrined” bedroom, all six become prime suspects in the murder.

Stolen Tapes
Principal photography began on July 15, 2002 at Grant Park High School in Winnipeg Manitoba and proceeded until the end of August of that same year over the span of fifteen days, 18 different locations. Most of the film was shot without incident and to everyone's satisfaction. The cast and crew then geared up for what would be the final scene to be shot (and would later prove to be the most challenging): the sprawling "bush party" scene which was slated to be shot over the course of several weekends throughout September and October in Lorette Manitoba.

The first night of shooting was Friday September 20. Production was delayed for hours while waiting for the DOP to show. All attempts to contact him were fruitless. Fortunately, the camera and gear was with the crew and filming took place with Doherty behind the camera. The cameraman never arrived to set that night.

It was later discovered that the DOP had fallen victim to an unfortunate incident at an ATM machine that night. On the way out of the city bound for Lorrette, he stopped at a bank machine and took his knapsack with him. After he withdrew his money and was making his way back to his car, a couple of hooded youths asked him for a smoke. He replied that he didn't have any and tried to make his way past when they stepped in his path and then asked him what he had in the bag. He tried to ignore them but before he knew it they'd jumped him and made off with his wallet and the knapsack. Howe managed to get to a hospital where he received treatment for his minor injuries but was then left with the daunting task of explaining to all involved on the project that the knapsack contained ALL of the master footage they had shot up to that moment.

News of the event made headlines throughout the city of Winnipeg and the film community. Some of the actors and crew who worked on the film heard the news through word-of-mouth and even on their favorite radio stations. An on-air plea to the thieves by Doherty on Charles Adler's popular CJOB radio talk show and again on Terry McLeod's talk show on CBC radio would be to no avail. Despite the efforts and cooperation of local radio and television stations the tapes would never surface.

Thoughts of packing it in and giving up were eventually dispelled and an undeterred Doherty rallied his actors and crew and re-scheduled the shoot to take place over the course of the winter of 2002-03 to shoot all interiors (after re-acquiring all of the locations) and in the spring of '03 to shoot all exteriors.

Music
The plethora of metal music featured in the film was generously contributed by Winnipeg metal acts Lawsuit and Labyrinth along with Canadian metal acts Goat Horn, Betrayer, Kick Axe, Thor, Anvil, Helix, Brighton Rock, Trained Bears and the American group Geronimo!

Reception
Black Bridge has received mostly positive reviews. We Love Metal went on to say "...shot with an amazingly small budget, Black Bridge is really quite well put together. The camera work is smooth, the editing is simple, yet well done and I found the pacing to be good. The acting may be a little stiff in places, but Black Bridge isn’t trying to be Shakespeare, it’s trying to be true to life..." Canuxploitation was also generally positive: "Though a few false acting notes are hit, Black Bridge still manages to weave several naturally unfolding stories into a decisively emotional narrative, even working in some very funny flashes of dark humor. A worthy effort deserving of a goat-horn salute or two." and went on to praise the authentic period look of the film: "What's most impressive about this DV film is the incredible attention to detail, though. ColecoVisions, mullet wigs, grungy band shirts and wood-paneled rec rooms easily convince the viewer that it's 1984 all over again." Michael Den Boer at 10K Bullets held the film in high regard due to its accomplishment with such a limited budget and unfortunate set-backs: "What is even more impressive is how this film still got completed even after a major setback where the cameraman was mugged and thirteen days of footage was stolen." He also stated: "Black Bridge presents provocative subject matter in an intelligent and never condescending way...The direction and pacing are both very effective. One of Black Bridge's strongest assets is its colorful array of oddball characters."

Vinnie Rattolle at "Cult Oddities" was a little more critical: "...ploddingly paced with a cast that's a mix of actors and non-actors clad in hilariously bad wigs, the movie is unquestionably rough around the edges (though given the subject matter, that's kind of the point). On the other hand, the movie has a helluva lot going for it. There are some genuinely good performances, a lot of clever dialogue, a rockin' soundtrack and a total WTF twist ending. The way I see it, the pros far outweigh the cons. And a few of the cons are pros. It's a weird little oddity that that deserves to be seen."

Distribution
The film is currently available on Amazon.com and distributed through the Winnipeg Film Group: Black Bridge '84: Year of the banger