Demon Under Glass

As one who is incredibly supportive of any independent film endeavors and who is always looking for new "twists" to an old theme I embraced this movie with open arms... that is until I saw the actual product. My warm embrace turned cold with each passing minute of this available only for home viewing project.

The concept itself is quite thought provoking: Who is the monster? The killer who is believed to be a vampire... or the doctor who is suppose to heal, who instead participates in testing this "specimen". But for all the internet talk etc... this film just did not measure up to what it could have been. There were many scenes that did nothing to move the story along. And the main point of the film was never really addressed to my satisfaction. It seems to have been thrown together ie: written quickly, filmed quickly. The ending was no doubt in contemplation of a sequel. And that seemed to be the strongest point that came across with this movie.

I am not, as another reviewer suggests someone who has a bone to pick with the producer, nor am I someone who requires every nuance of a movie explained to me. It is a low quality attempt and blaming viewers for not liking it is not the way to improve on it.

It seems a waste of money for the company and for anyone who made the purchase.

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.

I heard of the negative hype about this B horror flick and thought I'd buy it and see what all the bashing was about. What a surprise! Generic, white-bread, Disney people need not apply!

"Demon Under Glass" turned out to be an interesting, thought provoking study of human nature and questions what make up "good" and "evil" into day's society--the 'good' doctors doing research for the good of all man kind using a captive, restrained vampire, or the 'bad' creature, killer and vampire? Who was less human, the magnificent creature of the night trying to survive or the single-minded medical people experimenting on him?

Some may feel the dark lighting is a sign of a poor film, but I found the shadowy scenes enhanced the delivery of the intensity and foreboding of the film. Garret Maggart as the one doctor with objects about the vampire's treatment was very convincing and made me sympathetic to his moral dilemma and I don't even like doctors, of any kind, real or make believe. Jason Carter was intense and dramatic as the captured vampire. Vampires ROCK! And this guy proves it. Pure predator and sexual presence.

Gota love this movie! Sexy Vampires, good-looking doctors, some interesting questions about life and , I can't Believe no one has mentioned this before, a half-naked, bloody, sexy KIRA REED, sex goddess! If you like vampires, you'll like 'Demon Under Glass.'

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.

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.