They are the same tattoos on Norman Reedus and Sean Patrick Flannery’s trigger fingers in Boondock Saints and the newly released and long awaited sequel Boon Dock Saints II: All Saints Day.
Ten years have elapsed between the first film and the sequel, due in part to a drawn out lawsuit over the property which has become an underground hit. It has sold more DVDs each successive year over the past decade. And it’s made cult stars of Billy Connelly and Willem Dafoe in previously out of reach demographics.
Cultish Catholicism
Duffy’s violent mashup of Roman Catholicism, violent crime, avenging fraternal twins with the worst gangs in their crosshairs, is driven by duality. Hard rock music blends into ecclesiastical dirges, and the heroes ritually pray over their victims and put pennies on their eyes. It’s a dramatic contrast, a violent and vicious world set within a religious framework.
“It’s a device,” says Duffy. “I'm a fan of the Old Testament where God still had balls and there was the Flood and amazing stuff. The story of the Bible whether we like it or not is in all of us, it is ingrained in us. At first I used it to show the characters aren’t just these good-looking, nonchalant guys who shot the bad guys drank a pint and said a high five. There was a belief system behind that. These guys are devout in what they do. They don’t seek to recruit other people or care if other people believe in them or not. They do what they believe needs to be done and they are the guys to do it.”
“The characters take this very seriously. That’s why we did the black and white scenes where priests put coins on the dead people’s eyes, like in a battlefield. It shows they’re not taking this lightly. Sometimes people don’t like it. There is a lot of anti—religion going on these days, organised religion. Some people don’t buy into it at all. They take a whole different trip on Boondocks. Other people, like me, they love the Old Testament stuff and like to see it. The religious music and prayers take the audience deeper into the story. It’s a device and for me it was a no-brainer.”
Keeping the Fans Happy
Duffy says he had to abide by a strict Boondock Code in writing the sequel, keeping in mind the fans’ sense of ownership.
“Boondock fans deemed that first film sacred ground. They know every frame of that movie. I’m writing a sequel you can’t just sit down and put pen to paper. You have to respect the story not tread on it. It becomes like cracking a code, give them everything they loved about Boondocks’ one, but you have to wrap it completely in an unpredictable story.” However, Duffy says he made some major changes he hopes the fans will appreciate.
Looking to the Future
I put in a female lead – Julie Benz. The fans are like, what? There were no WOMEN in Boondock one, not a single female. It was a male driven film, all about testosterone; it’s strange by the way that our audience is 50% female. The sequel film has things they’re not used to – period piece flashbacks to the fifties which they’re not used to, a female lead, and fantasy sequences. We did all those things and trying to give them what they love but a new high risk unpredictable story.”
The original demographic that watched and purchased the original films is now ten years older. Duffy says that’s not a barrier to finding new fans.
“Some Boondock fans are two days old, some are ten years old. This is a fanbase that has expanded every year; it sells more on video every successive year. People are passing this down, friend to friend, brother to brother, sister to sister. The Boondock fan base is a fluid one, not just this many people and the opening weekend crowds. It’s expanding and I’m sure it will further.”
