Papertrail

{{More plot|date=September 2024}}

{{cast listing|

• Chris Penn as Det. Jason Enola
• Michael Madsen as Brad Abraham
• Chad McQueen as William Frost
• Jennifer Dale as Dr. Alyce Robertson
• Terri Hawkes as Rachel Quinn
• Catherine Blythe as Gail Morgan
• Kenneth McGregor as Jerry Saracen
• Thea Gill as Eileen Gibbs
• Shawn Doyle as Chuck Switzer
• Kari Matchett as Alison Enola
• Andrea McCabe as Cynthia Scott
• C.J. Lusby as Rialla Frost (as C.J. Fidler)
• Don "The Dragon" Wilson as FBI Agent Ryu
• Randy O'Connell as FBI Agent Nicky

}}

The film was originally known under the working title of Fear.{{cite web | url =https://playbackonline.ca/1996/10/21/5718-19961021/ | title =Noble House hits the TSE | last1 =Armstrong | first1 =Mary Ellen | date =October 21, 1996 | work =Playback | access-date =May 29, 2023}} It was co-written by Joseph O'Brien, a future writer for the Canadian horror film magazine Rue Morgue. O'Brien was displeased with the finished product, calling it "atrocious" and humorously noting that he tried to avoid conversations about it.{{cite book |last1=O'Brien |first1=Joseph |date=2000 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781551520841/page/250/mode/2up |title=Queer Fear: Gay Horror Fiction |location=Vancouver |publisher=Arsenal Pulp Press |page=251 |isbn=1551520842}} It was the first and only film directed by Damian Lee for the original incarnation of Noble House Entertainment, a short-lived company born of the merger of his existing production outfit, Richmond House, with Canadian distributor United Media (although Lee would later revive the Noble House brand with different investors).{{cite web | url =https://playbackonline.ca/1997/11/03/19865-19971103/ | title =Independent, Noble spawn Mission | last1 =Hoffman | first1 =Andy | date =November 3, 1997 | work =Playback | access-date =May 29, 2023}} Michelle Johnson, who starred in several of Lee's works around that time, was attached to the project late into pre-production, but does not appear.

Photography took place in the Toronto metropolitan area during parts of November and December 1996, under the title of Papertrail.{{cite report |author= |date=August 9, 2022 |title=Shot in Ontario Master Spreadsheet (Up to 2021) |url=https://www.ontariocreates.ca/assets/images/gallery/shot-in-ont-master-spreadsheet-to-2021-draft-may-2022-revised2_08_09_22-en.xlsx |publisher=Ontario Film Commission |access-date=April 16, 2023}} Scenes from the final set piece involving a wounded Chris Penn were filmed on the city's major artery of Yonge Street.{{cite news |author= |date=December 8, 1996 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/949297110 |title=Where's Winnie |newspaper=The Toronto Star |page=C8 {{subscription required|via=newspapers.com}}}} In a Toronto Star article published ahead of release, the actor playing the serial killer mentioned feeling uncomfortable during the shoot due to the nature of the role, revealing part of the ending.{{cite news |last=Zekas |first=Rita |date=7 December 1997 |title=Diva by day if anchor's away |newspaper=The Toronto Star |page=B2 {{subscription required|via=newspapers.com}}}}

The film was promoted to industry professionals at the 1997 Cannes Film Market by Noble House,{{cite magazine |author= |date=May 5, 1997 |title=What's for sale at Cannes |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/What%27s+for+sale+at+Cannes.-a019703650 |magazine=Variety |location=New York | publisher=Cahners Publishing |issn=0042-2738}} and at the 1997 {{Interlanguage link|MIFED|it|Mercato internazionale del film e del documentario}} in Milan, Italy, where its sales representative was the fledgling Shoreline Entertainment.{{cite web | url =https://variety.com/1997/film/news/shoreline-bows-at-mifed-1116677910/ |title =Shoreline bows at Mifed |last1 =Hindes |first1 =Andrew |date =15 October 1997 |work =Variety |access-date =May 29, 2024}}

Papertrail opened in limited release in Toronto on September 11, 1998, through Cineplex Odeon.{{cite news |author= |date=September 11, 1998 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/948122949/ |title=Cineplex Odeon Cinema Guide |newspaper=The Toronto Star |page=C11 {{subscription required|via=newspapers.com}}}}

In the U.S., the film premiered on VHS and DVD on 29 September 1998.{{cite web | url =https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/526017/trail-of-a-serial-killer#notes | title =Miscellaneous Notes: Trail of a Serial Killer | author= | website=Turner Classic Movies |publisher=Turner Classic Movies | access-date =March 14, 2024}}{{cite news |author= |date=September 25, 1998 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/379828024/ |title=Videos: New Releases |newspaper=News-Inquirer |location=Owensboro |page=5D {{subscription required|via=newspapers.com}}}}{{cite web | url =http://dvdlist.kazart.com/download.php | title =The Web's most complete, updated daily and only downloadable list of Region 1 DVDs | last1 =MacLean | first1 =Doug | last2 =Carver | first2 =Michael E.| work =Michael's Movie Mayhem |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321214719/http://dvdlist.kazart.com/download.php |archive-date=March 21, 2023}} On Canadian and U.S. home video, the film was published by Lions Gate Entertainment via their Avalanche Home Entertainment label, and the title was changed to Trail of a Serial Killer.{{cite book |last1=Flowers |first1=John |last2=Frizzler |first2=Paul |date=2004 |url=https://archive.org/details/psychotherapists0002flow/page/598/mode/2up |title=Psychotherapists on Film, 1899–1999: A Worldwide Guide to Over 5000 Films |volume=2 (M–Z) |location=Jefferson |publisher=McFarland & Company |page=598 |isbn=0786412976}}

Papertrail has received mixed reviews. Robert Cettl, author of the book Serial Killer Cinema: An Analytical Filmography, described the film as a marriage of the group therapy setting seen in Color of Night, Schizoid and Canada's Phobia, with aesthetics drawn from Seven. He granted that, while not up to the genre's best, it was "stylish in the expected brooding manner of such derivative works as Bone Daddy [in which Hawkes has a minor role] and Resurrection."{{cite book |last1=Cettl |first1=Robert |date=2003 |url=https://archive.org/details/serialkillercine0000robe/page/480/mode/2up |title=Serial Killer Cinema: An Analytical Filmography |location=Jefferson |publisher=McFarland & Company |page=480 |isbn=9780786437313}} Canadian media watchdog Mediafilm was along the same lines. It deemed that the film boasted "average performances and direction", while offering "a well-maintained suspense, but a botched finale" and "the usual cliches".{{cite web | url =https://mediafilm.ca/films/1997/trail-of-a-serial-killer | title =Trail of a Serial Killer | author= | website =mediafilm.ca | language =fr | access-date =September 14, 2024}}

The film's score was composed by Toronto-based industrial rock band Electronic Dream Factory, who had already contributed the score to the Lee production Specimen.

Lee's 2007 film King of Sorrow takes place in the same narrative universe, and Chris Penn makes makes a supporting appearance, returning as his character Jason Enola. On Canadian home video, the film was released as Trail of a Serial Killer II: King of Sorrow.{{cite AV media | title =Trail of a Serial Killer II: King of Sorrow | medium =DVD | date=2008 | publisher =Alliance Video | location =Montreal | id={{UPC|057373202739}}}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{IMDb title|id=14746685|title=Papertrail}}

{{Damian Lee}}

Category:1998 films

Category:Canadian thriller films

Category:Serial killer films

Category:Films directed by Damian Lee

Category:Films produced by Damian Lee

Category:Films with screenplays by Damian Lee

Category:1990s Canadian films

Category:1990s English-language films