Of Unknown Origin is a 1983

1983 in film

-Events:*February 11 - The Rolling Stones concert film Let's Spend the Night Together opens in New York*May 25 - Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, the final film in the original Star Wars trilogy, is released. Like the previous films, it goes on to become the top grossing picture of...

 film directed by George P. Cosmatos. The film was written by Brian Taggert, based on the novel The Visitor by Chauncey G. Parker III. It was filmed on location in Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

 but set in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. The film won two awards at the Paris Film Festival.

Plot

Mild-mannered everyman Bart Hughes has a great life in New York. When his wife and child leave for a vacation, Bart stays behind to work on a project that should get him a promotion. Some sort of rodent

Rodent

Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....

 in his basement starts to bother him and consumes his time. Bart starts going crazy trying to kill the creature, destroying most of his house in the process.

Principal cast

Actor	Role
Peter Weller Peter Weller Peter Frederick Weller is an American film and stage actor, director and lecturer.He is best known for his roles as the title character in the first two RoboCop films and Buckaroo Banzai in the cult classic The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension...	Bart Hughes
Jennifer Dale Jennifer Dale Jennifer Dale, née Ciurluini , is a Canadian television, dancer, and actress.- Early life :She is the sister of Canadian actress Cynthia Dale...	Lorrie Wells
Aimée Castle Aimée Castle Aimée Castle , is a Canadian actress.-Biography:She began acting at the age of 5 as a birthday party child in the Warner Bros...	Birthday
Kenneth Welsh Kenneth Welsh Kenneth Welsh, CM is a Canadian film and television actor . He is known to Twin Peaks fans as the multi-faceted villain Windom Earle, and has more recently played the father of Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator.In 1984 he was nominated for a Genie Award as Best Actor for his...	James Hall
Louis Del Grande Louis Del Grande Louis Del Grande is a Canadian television writer and actor. He is best known for starring in the Canadian mystery/comedy series Seeing Things....	Clete
Shannon Tweed Shannon Tweed Shannon Lee Tweed is a Canadian actress and model. One of the most successful actresses of mainstream erotica, she is identified with the genre of the erotic thriller...	Meg Hughes
Keith Knight Keith Knight (actor) Keith Knight was a Canadian actor. He made his screen debut as Larry 'Fink' Finkelstein in the 1979 comedy Meatballs, voiced the White Rabbit in The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland, and voiced Pigface in the BBC drama Ace Lightning. He was also known for voicing Lowly Worm in The Busy World of...	Hardware
Maury Chaykin Maury Chaykin Maury Alan Chaykin was an American-born Canadian actor. Best known for his portrayal of detective Nero Wolfe, he was also known for his work as a character actor in many films and on television programs.-Personal life:...	Dan Errol

Critical reception

Vincent Canby

Vincent Canby

Vincent Canby was an American film critic who became the chief film critic for The New York Times in 1969 and reviewed more than 1000 films during his tenure there.-Life and career:...

 of The New York Times

The New York Times

The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

had nothing but disdain for the movie, but lightly praised Weller's performance and opens his review: