'Boondock Saints' won't die, as violent cult film returns to theaters 25 years later

There's just no killing off "The Boondock Saints," 25 years after the ultraviolent vigilante action thriller was dead on arrival at the box office.

The bloody ballad, featuring crime-avenging Boston Irish twins Connor and Murphy McManus (Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus) miraculously surviving a hail of bullets from Russian mobsters, has turned into an indestructible cult classic for its legion of diehard fans, despite theatrical setbacks and a quarter-century of critical scorn (scoring a dismal 26% on Rotten Tomatoes). 

For better or for worse, USA TODAY played a role in the near-mythical, still controversial saga, which has spawned a 2003 documentary, a sequel (2009's "The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day"), tribute bars and tattoos andan anniversary theatrical event release (Nov. 7 and 10; check local listings).

"'Boondock Saints' is like a chunk of uranium," says writer-director Troy Duffy. "The effect this movie has had on its fans, I can't even describe. But they are very loyal."

Duffy's rise from Los Angeles bartender and bouncer to first-time writer and director is baked into the movie's legend, which was first highlighted nationally in a USA TODAY cover story on April 16, 1997.

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The article, two years before the film was released – and without a single frame shot – highlighted Duffy's Hollywood dream tale. The transplanted New Englander, then 25, wrote the screenplay while checking IDs and serving beer at Los Angeles watering hole J. Sloan's. His Tarantino-style script led to an indie-studio bidding war and a "multimillion-dollar deal" from Miramax that shockingly allowed the newbie to write and direct.

Then-New Line Cinema chief Mike DeLuca offered to buy Duffy a Harley-Davidson motorcycle with his movie pitch. The once-powerful, now-disgraced Miramax chief Harvey Weinstein offered to buy the bar and make Duffy a co-owner with his offer. Duffy accepted, completing the "rags-to-riches" rise, as USA TODAY called it.

"That article made me a local legend," says Duffy. "Young writers all over the U.S. had my picture under a magnet on their refrigerator. People would come up to me and say, 'You're that guy!'"

However, the Weinstein deal, including the bar purchase, fell through when Miramax dropped the movie rights later that year. "I wanted to use no-name actors and (Weinstein) was like, 'Not with this!'" says Duffy. "We came to loggerheads pretty quick."

But Duffy persisted with a new studio, casting Flanery and Reedus (the latter now famous for "The Walking Dead") as the siblings inspired by his own relationship with his brother, Taylor. Established star Willem Dafoe came aboard as FBI Special Agent Paul Smecker and comedian Billy Connolly was cast against type as the hired assassin Il Duce (who's actually the brothers' long-last dad).

After filming on a lean $6 million budget, the violent film's release was derailed in the aftermath of the tragic April 1999 Columbine school shooting.

"People were pulling things that depicted violence, from movies to video games," says Duffy. "We were banned from screens, except for two theaters."

But "Boondock Saints" bubbled up directly with fans, first on VHS cassettes in then-ubiquitous Blockbuster stores, then on DVD, and eventually streaming (now on Roku and Peacock). "It always trends as No.1 streaming around St. Patrick's Day," says Duffy. "Go figure."

Critics have consistently fired on the film. A 2000 Variety review, calling the climactic firefight "a pretentiously ludicrous finale," is typical of the bashings that have continued into the online blogger era. "Critics have always hated us, and the 'Boondock' fan base does not," says Duffy. "It's so strange."

Movie-themed bars have popped up around the world, including Boondock Pub in Moscow's Red Square, which has recreated the film's infamous gun room with decommissioned Soviet firearms. "And just Google 'Boondock Saints' and 'tattoos,'" says Duffy of fans' tribute to the inked brothers. "You'll find we're the most tattooed film of all."

Duffy participated in (but disdains) the 2003 documentary "Overnight," which chronicled the ups (the trailer features the picture of the grinning Duffy holding the prized copy of USA TODAY) and the downs of the brash filmmaker at work.

"I didn't watch it until a couple of years after it was out; Billy Connolly advised me not to," says Duffy of the documentary that pulled no punches. "I misbehaved. I said nasty words. But I was 24 years old. So I have to kind of forgive myself at the same time."

Flanery and Reedus reunited for the 2009 sequel, which was critically bashed while eking out $10 million at the box office with an $8 million budget. Somehow, the avenging screen brothers survived another hail of bullets, allowing Duffy to plan a third film — with a new director — to begin production in March and possibly more.

"Those boys are hard to kill," says Duffy, who believes Flanery, 59, and Reedus, 55, can still hold down the parts. "They are both still looking pretty good. But if the third is successful, we better pick up the pace and do four and five real quick, or else these guys are going to be in wheelchairs."