Kings of Coke and the Filmmakers Digging Into Montreal's Criminal Mythology

In Kings of Coke: New Blood and The Legend Of Rory Shayne, filmmakers Nick Rose and Lewis Cohen return to a world they've spent years exploring: Montreal's criminal underbelly. The two latest installments in the Kings of Coke universe examine vastly different corners of that history. New Blood traces the rise of Gerry Matticks and the violent systems that shaped the city's biker war, while The Legend of Rory Shayne follows one of Montreal's most notorious bank robbers through a story that takes unexpected turns.

Now streaming on Crave, Kings of Coke: New Blood and The Legend Of Rory Shayne explore two very different chapters of Montreal's criminal history. We spoke with Rose and Cohen about the city's enduring mythology, the challenge of separating legend from reality, and why these stories continue to shape how Montreal sees itself.

Above: Lewis Cohen (left) and Nick Rose (right)

Both chapters are about crimes that happened in Montreal, but also about how power operates in the city. After spending so much time inside this material, how has your perception of Montreal changed?

Lewis Cohen: Montreal has always been known as a city with an active underground. One of the things that really struck me while working on these stories is how the city's French-English divide created blind spots. Certain police forces weren't always aware of what was happening in other parts of the city. It created cracks where things could flourish. It reinforced what I think is part of Montreal's reputation: it's a somewhat anarchic and lawless place. There's a romantic outlaw quality to the city. It's a place where crazy people survive and thrive.

Nick Rose: Working on the original Kings of Coke film opened the door to a lot of these stories. When you look back at the biker war, you see things that almost seem unbelievable today: police planting evidence, journalists being targeted, public figures being threatened. Growing up in Montreal, a lot of that was just background noise. Digging into it now, you realize how out of control things became in the 1980s and 1990s. It felt less like something you'd expect in Canada and more like stories you'd associate with countries dealing with cartel violence. At the same time, it's important not to romanticize any of it. These crimes took a massive toll on society and on the people caught up in them.

Gerry Matticks and Rory Shayne both arrive as larger-than-life figures. What surprised you most when you compared the legend to the reality?

Cohen: Cities need their mythologies, and Montreal certainly has its share. But when you start looking closely, you realize these two men occupy very different spaces. Gerry Matticks was a true kingpin. He stayed out of the spotlight, which is probably why he survived so long. From everything we learned, he was a very cold and dangerous figure. Rory Shayne was almost the opposite. He was flamboyant. He wanted to make a name for himself. In some ways, both Nick and I found him easier to relate to because he felt more human, more impulsive.

Rose: There's always a seductive quality to these stories. You can understand why some people are drawn into that world. But you also have to constantly step back and ask who is actually benefiting and who is being harmed. Our job isn't to glorify these people, it's to understand them.

Matticks and Shayne feel like opposite criminal archetypes, one defined by invisibility and the other by visibility. Did that shape how you approached the films?

Cohen: Absolutely. Gerry Matticks survived by staying hidden. Rory Shayne almost seemed driven by the opposite impulse. They're very different personalities, which naturally leads to very different storytelling approaches.

Rose: The metaphor I've been using is that we're looking at the same world through different lenses.

With The Legend of Rory Shayne, we're looking through a microscope. It's a deeply personal story focused on one life. With New Blood, we're looking through a telescope. It's a broader examination of Montreal's criminal ecosystem and the structures that allow it to function.