Exclusive Trailer for Allan Moyle’s The Rubber Gun Revives Canadian Drug Dealers

      Canadian International Pictures, a sister company of the esteemed Arbelos Films, has taken on the commendable task of restoring and releasing lesser-known films from Canada. Their upcoming project is a film I had honestly never come across before, but after viewing the trailer for its restoration, I am eager to see it: Allan Moyle’s The Rubber Gun features Stephen Lack (Scanners) as a Montreal drug dealer whose improvised family faces a looming threat. Prior to the bicoastal premieres—Los Angeles’ American Cinematheque on March 6 (with a Q&A featuring Moyle) and New York’s Roxy Cinema on March 11 (where Lack will participate in a Q&A on March 15)—we are thrilled to exclusively present the trailer.

      Here’s the synopsis: “Charismatic painter Steve (played by Stephen Lack of Scanners fame) has gained a reputation as Montreal’s top drug dealer, trafficking narcotics alongside a crew of friends (and lovers) living as a makeshift ‘family’ on the fringes of society. However, tensions escalate when the police become aware of their latest shipment, and Steve forms a friendship with a university student keen to study the group’s illicit lifestyle for his graduate thesis. As pressure mounts, old rivalries and new anxieties emerge, forcing the family to either adapt or face downfall. Featuring seven songs by renowned Leonard Cohen collaborator Lewis Furey, Allan Moyle’s directorial debut (Times Square, Pump Up the Volume, Empire Records) presents an innovative drug drama that paved the way for films like Drugstore Cowboy, Trainspotting, and many other groundbreaking titles in later decades. Despite a limited budget, the film's urgent and realistic docu-fiction style received significant acclaim, with the Toronto International Film Festival recognizing it as ‘one of the best films of the seventies.’ Having been out of official circulation for decades, The Rubber Gun is truly due for rediscovery.”

      Watch the trailer below: