Curtains (1983)

Interesting facts

• Filmed in: Ontario

Curtains is a 1983 Canadian slasher film directed by Richard Ciupka and Peter R. Simpson, from a screenplay by Robert Guza Jr., and starring John Vernon, Samantha Eggar, Linda Thorson, Lynne Griffin, and Lesleh Donaldson. Centered on the world of theater and filmmaking, its plot focuses on a group of ambitious female performers who are targeted by a masked killer while auditioning for a film role at a prestigious director's mansion.

Production

Producer Peter Simpson had wanted to make another successful slasher film after the release of Simcom's Prom Night, which had been a major box-office success. While jogging with writer Robert Guza Jr. in Toronto's Queen's Park, the two began developing the idea of a whodunit-style slasher film about a group of actresses being killed while auditioning for a film at a New England mansion.

John Vernon was cast in the role of Jonathan Stryker, a part that had originally been considered for Klaus Kinski. British actress Samantha Eggar, who had appeared in several Canadian films, was cast as Samantha Sherwood; Eggar stated she thought the characters in the film were "vaguely drawn", the end result "awful", and she took the role chiefly for the work and salary.

Lynne Griffin, who had previously appeared in the slasher film Black Christmas (1974), was cast in the role of Patti, the stand-up comic, and at the time had been working in local theater productions in Toronto. Originally, Celine Lomez was cast in the role of Brooke Parsons, but she was replaced by Linda Thorson after producer Simpson fired her.

Principal photography for Curtains began November 17, 1980, on location in Muskoka, Ontario, and Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on a budget of $3.7 million. Approximately ten percent of the film's budget was allocated to create the elaborate, art nouveau-inspired interior sets for its mansion setting, which were designed by Roy Forge Smith. The majority of the film was shot on these sets, which were constructed at Toronto's Magder Studios.

In preparation for the film's ice-skating sequence, actress Lesleh Donaldson was sent for skating practice by the film's producers. She had very little prior training in the field and even had fellow actress Anne Ditchburn help with her choreography. Nevertheless, when filming for that scene commenced, Donaldson tripped on the uneven ice and injured herself, resulting in a stand-in double being used for her long shots.

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