The Glow: Energia Vital

I didn't catch the beginning, but seeing the hot Dean Cain sucked me into it. Kinda creapy, very suspenseful, and an all around good tv movie as far as those go. The old people got on my nerves and I would have hurt them, if you see the moive you would understand.

This is a good film, no a very good film. Well acted by Dean Cain & Portia De Rossi (Nell from Ally McBeal). Portia De Rossi surprised me as she was very good as Jackie. I did not like her in Ally McBeal but she proved she can hold her own. A very good performance.

Dean Cain is a very under-rated actor, who deserves more recognition for the good actor that he is. It never ceases to amaze me that he has not been cast as the lead in a major movie. He was absolutely excellent as Matt. Matt was such a trusting soul and was prepared to give the 'twelvers' (the old people) the benefit of the doubt, a touch of Clark Kent here.

The rest of the cast were excellent too. They were very convincing and we were certainly deceived into believing they were just nosy and not evil.

This film gets my vote as a top-rate t.v. movie and one that i would certainly watch again. A thoroughly enjoyable film and one i would recommend.

This was by no means a great film, but it was better than I expected. I only watched it for the hot Dean Cain and adorable De Rossi, but it had a pretty good story line. It was cheesy, but it kept me enterained and that's the purpose of a movie. If you have a night with nothing to do, I highly recomend The Glow.

The Glow is quite an interesting made for TV movie. It stars Dean Cain and Portia DeRossi as Matt & Jackie, a young working couple who by chance find the perfect apartment in New York City. By the time it is revealed that chance has little to do with it, they are in way over the heads.

The kindly older couples who run the building just aren't what they seem...and the last tenants who had leased Matt & Jackie's apartment have disappeared without a trace. And when the young couple upstairs also disappear...well, Jackie suspects the worse. She digs deeper..only to discover the impossible.

The movie is well thought out, well paced, very suspenseful. However, there are a couple of problems with it. For instance, after being abducted, how does Jackie set off the fire alarm with the cigarettes she uses (if you see it, you'll ask yourself where they came from - considering she's hardly wearing anything). Or...what is the Glow? It's never really explained. I would have rather have seen more of an explanation at the end, then the ending we did get (although it was fine).

The casting of the older couples in the building was really top rate. Hal Linden is stellar as the kindly 'fatherly' type who takes Matt in as "the son I never had". It would have been great to see his motivation and character further developed. But, hey, as a made for TV movie, it's much better than a lot of the movies we pay $13.50 to go see.

Shot in Toronto, by the way. If you look closely you'll see Union Station, the Royal York Hotel & other sights.

Usually these TV movies are pretty lame. I was surprised to find myself thoroughly interested in this one from the first scene. The first hour is quite good, filled with spooky innuendo and little clues as to what these kindly old folks are really up to. You know there's something not quite right about them, but what is it?

After the first hour, the story drags a little bit because they just keep heaping more and more of the same clues on the watcher, but it never gets bad enough to ruin the movie. The final twenty minutes or so has one or two cliched camera tricks and plot devices but that can be excused in a made-for-TV movie.

There are no really big surprises in this movie. The viewer has a fair idea of what's really going down pretty early in the movie, but it's fun to watch it all unfold. The cast (especially the old folks) do a great job with their roles and it's interesting to see Hal Linden playing such a two-faced shady character.

All in all, I give this movie a 7/10. The first hour is the best part because of the creepy atmosphere but it's worth watching to the end if you don't want to watch another lame game show or Friends re-run.