Getting the chance to interview Lee Gordon Demarbre is like being handed the keys to a cinematic funhouse built entirely out of blood, duct tape, and pure imagination. I was already stoked because Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter has lived rent-free in my head since the first time I saw it. But more than just the outrageousness of that film—or Harry Knuckles, or Enter the Drag Dragon—Demarbre has long been a personal inspiration. He’s a cult legend whose films prove that with enough vision, passion, and audacity, you don’t need permission to make something unforgettable.
His upcoming feature, Dick Toes, might just be his most unhinged work yet. A no-budget kung-fu, action, comedy, horror musical, it follows private detective Richard Toes, a man cursed with ten literal penises for toes, as he uncovers a plot involving lesbian vampires in Ottawa and a looming resurrection of Count Dracula. It’s gloriously absurd, completely independent, and entirely in line with Demarbre’s fiercely DIY spirit.
What makes Dick Toes stand out—beyond its title, obviously—is how it continues his tradition of pushing genre cinema to its weirdest, most joyful extremes. It’s being shot across multiple cities, including Ottawa, Montreal, Los Angeles, and the zombie-movie holy lands of Evans City and Monroeville, Pennsylvania. The cast features underground faves like Elliott Fockyer, Natalia Moreno, and Goth Luna, and the script comes from longtime collaborator Mark Pollesel. The crew is made up of dedicated locals and veterans of Demarbre’s past madness, all rallying around the kind of passion project that feels almost extinct in today’s sanitized industry.
There’s no studio. No big-money producer. Just a director and his gang making the movie they want to make—on their own time, their own terms, and with no compromises. That kind of freedom isn’t just admirable; it’s downright punk rock.
For anyone craving something that breaks every rule and still manages to kick you in the face (or at least toe-poke you with something very inappropriate), Dick Toes is shaping up to be the midnight movie event of the future. You can follow the production and get updates over at www.dicktoes.com.
Talking with Demarbre only confirmed what his movies have always screamed: filmmaking can still be wild, weird, and wonderfully independent. And for the rest of us, there’s something deeply energizing about watching someone make art on their own terms—with or without a budget, and with or without proper footwear.
Jessie Hobson