Demon Under Glass

Demon Under Glass is a standout addition to the "B" movie horror genre.With its touches of satirical humor, Thought-provoking plot and unique twists on an otherwise traditional theme it catches and holds your attention. The actors bring a depth to the characters that is all to rarely seen in this type of movie. The mood created through the writing and direction is straightforward and crisp (moves right along with no dragging), yet has an atmosphere that manages to be eerie and clinically hostile. A small "indie" film it manages to do what many a big budget effort has not - makes you think, and contemplate; what is evil and what capacity is there in every day people given certain circumstances. That's a lot of reach for a little thriller film guys.

Demon Under Glass is a different take on the vampire legend, a detective story, a medical mystery, and a disturbing examination of how far man may go when he believes that the ends justify the means.

The film is by turns thrilling, gruesome, cynically humorous, and thought-provoking, and the cast is up to the task. Jason Carter (Babylon 5) is both appealing and terrifying as the vampire Molinar, and Garett Maggart (The Sentinel) demonstrates emotional range as the conscripted, and conflicted, Dr. Joe McKay. Their relationship as the story develops is well-crafted and draws the viewer in and holds him. The veteran Jack Donner as the lead scientist, Dr. Bassett, well illustrates the occasional moral ambiguity of science, and fascinates as he declines toward madness in his single-minded focus on his research goals.

The film is engaging and enjoyable, and an outstanding first effort for new director Jon Cunningham and writers Cunningham and Deborah Warner. I definitely recommend this film, and look forward to their next effort.

This film has a few flaws, especially the sound & raw video-vs-grainy film look, as well as some ho-hum acting on the part of some minor characters, but I found myself watching it =twice,= it was so thought-provoking. I don't care for vampires (drinking of blood sickens me), but there were surprisingly few of the usual clichés.

Actors I especially enjoyed were those who played Dr. McKay, the vampire himself, whose subtle voice & movements were especially poignant, the female cop, & the man whose daughter's death left him in such anguish.

Very little scenery chewing, here, & a slow pace that was filled with meaning, not flashy special effects, the better to allow the mind to expand, & question itself. I give it a 7. Better acting in the rest of the crew & better production values would make it a 9!

This ultra-low budget flick is simply boring. I can't understand any of the positive reviews. How did you people stay awake for the whole thing? This is the most dull horror flick in years, even worse than all the awful TV movies being pushed off on Horror fans these days. Jason Carter (Marcus Cole from Babylon 5) playing a vampire sounds like it would make for a great movie, but the script is so lame it doesn't give him anything to do but look menacing. Garett Maggart as a doctor is a very poor casting choice, why not just cast Jaleel "Urkel" White as James Bond? How about Fred "Rerun" Berry as Indiana Jones? Save your time and money.

A vampire film, shot on digital, that's nearly two hours long? Hmm. I'm not the biggest vampire film fan in the world. George Romero's Martin was good, as was the original Salem's Lot, and Vamp, when I think of it, but mostly I just don't go for them. Still, I always give them a chance.

This one starts of with a police sting capturing a serial killer whom they've dubbed 'Vlad'. Instead of taking him down to the station for a kicking, a government agency steps in and whisks him off to a laboratory somewhere, where they start to experiment on him. This sets up some sort of moral play where the doctor (replacing the original doctor killed by the vampire) has to struggle with his vows to take care of his patient, and the demands of the government agency in experimenting on the bloodsucker.

That's a pretty good premise, and there's a good set up as they keep the vampire in check by threatening to expose him to sunlight if he steps out of line (crosses and garlic are useless, as they find out). The interaction between the moralistic doctor and the vampire is rather good, with the vampire guy going for 'subtle' rather than 'awful'. So you've got a 'who are the real monsters here' kind of thing going on. Got that? Fine.

Problem: This film is nearly two hours long, and set mostly in a laboratory. That's an awful long time to keep someone's attention. Worse still, there's a subplot regarding the female police officer who helped capture Vlad (she's fallen in love with him) which the film could have done without, and, sadly, the film just sort of descends into predictability. Which is a shame, because I was enjoying this one. It's fairly well acted and well made, but ultimately commits the worst offence of filmmaking: it's boring. A bit of trimming and this could have been good.