''Enter the Drag Dragon'' is a Canadian action comedy film, directed by

Lee Demarbre Lee Gordon Demarbre (born 8 March 1972) is a Canadians, Canadian cult film maker. As the president and key person in the Ottawa, Ontario based Odessa Filmworks production company, he has led the creation of several internationally shown films suc ...

and released in 2023.Andrew Mack
"ENTER THE DRAG DRAGON: Watch This NSFW Clip From the World's First Drag-Fu, Action-Horror-Comedy"
'' Screen Anarchy'', February 21, 2023. Billed as "world’s first ever drag queen,

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

, comedy", the film centres on Crunch, a drag queen and amateur detective in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

who is drawn into a strange criminal underworld of construction goons, anti-gay

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

vigilantes and an

Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...

mummy, when asked by a client to help find a lost dog.Jim Slotek
"Enter the Drag Dragon: Lowering the Bar for Fun, Zombie Fights and Dildo Nunchucks"
''Original Cin'', March 3, 2023. Crunch is portrayed by three different actors, Sam Kellerman, Jade London and Matt Miwa, over the course of the film, with the narrative rationale being that he is hit by a car more than once and has to have his face reconstructed by plastic surgeons. The film's cast also includes B-movie filmmaker

Lloyd Kaufman Stanley Lloyd Kaufman Jr. (born December 30, 1945) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. Alongside producer Michael Herz (producer), Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director ...

in a small supporting role as a villainous construction foreman. The film premiered on January 27, 2023, at Ottawa's Mayfair Theatre, before opening on a tour of various independent and repertory cinemas across Ontario in March, including the Fox Theatre in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, the Apollo Cinema in Kitchener, the Sudbury Indie Cinema in

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...

, the Gateway International Film Festival in North Bay, and the Playhouse Cinema in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

Critical response

Jim Slotek of ''Original Cin'' rated the film "Z-plus", writing that "you'll know whether you want to see ''Enter the Drag Dragon'' if you’ve enjoyed the work of John Waters or

Troma Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. The company produces low-budget independent films, primarily of the horror comedy genre. Many of them pla ...

’s Lloyd Kaufman, of '' The Toxic Avenger'' fame.

Richard Crouse Richard Crouse (born May 26, 1963) is a Canadian film critic for CTV News Channel and CP24. Life and career He was the film critic for ''Canada AM'' from 2005 until the show's cancellation in 2016. He hosted ''In Short'' on Bravo, was the host ...

rated the film three and a half stars, writing that "''Enter the Drag Dragon'' knows who its audience is. It is an anarchic, queer gorefest that owes a debt to everyone from

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that ...

and Russ Meyer to Luis Buñuel and

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960; stylized as RuPaul) is an American drag queen, television personality, actor, musician, and model. Best known for producing, hosting, and judging the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' ...

. Demarbre is obviously a student of Midnight Madness genre, and delivers, for better and for worse, a movie that simultaneously pays homage to the form while reinventing it for a new generation."

ENTER THE DRAG DRAGON: 3 ½ STARS FOR FANS OF KITSCH. “psychotronic cinema.”
''RichardCrouse.ca''.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 13871422 2023 films 2023 action comedy films 2023 LGBT-related films Canadian action comedy films Canadian LGBT-related films 2020s Canadian films Films directed by Lee Demarbre Films shot in Ottawa Films set in Ottawa Drag (entertainment)-related films LGBT-related comedy films Canadian martial arts films