Shadow Builder

source: Shadow Builder

As I watched the credits, I noticed the actor & actress playing Mr. & Mrs. Butterman were the same people that voiced Rudolph and Hermie the Elf in the 60's classic "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer". Just a bit of movie / TV trivia. As far as the movie goes, not the worst I've seen (surely not the best either).

Shadowbuilder may not be the best movie, but I really liked it. The effects were good and the acting was OK. I thought the story was good and it kept me in my seat. The Shadowbuilder was cool. I liked the way he took on the persona of his victims. When the town went postal I really had a good laugh at the man who wanted to use the ax on his wife's head again. LMAO! I would not consider it a true horror movie. It was more of a action/thriller with a little horror. There are no guts flying all over the place - which is what I consider horror. All of the victims are turned to a shadow which isn't horrific or gory. I would recommend Shadowbuilder. It deserved at least one look in my book. I have watched it numerous times.

Father Vassey(a usually intense Rooker) is a mean, motherf-ing servant of god, dual-wielding 9mm pistols with laser sights that he sadly uses all too little, and he's one of the more enjoyable aspects of this. He is introduced gunning down a perverted(not like that! ...then again...) clan of Catholic higher-ups who have just summoned the original titular demon(created when light came about), and it's out to... I don't know, exactly, with all this theism-driven "horror"(this is not all that scary, if there are creepy and atmospheric portions here and there), it's just an alternative to their faith that is the evil, and this one is somewhat vague in that regard. Anyway, it needs to take over a human host to do... whatever, I don't know, maybe to stop chuckling, maybe air tickles it. It's sights are set on a pre-teen boy in a nearby small town, where it hides in a sewer(or, going by what it looks like from it's POV-shots, it's rushing down a lava water slide), and gradually drive the inhabitants to sin and chaos(whether you take it seriously or not, it's another memorable aspect). This is very much a B-movie, though it's not cheesy enough to be fun like that. Yes, there are some good moments but they are few and far between. There is a heavy reliance on CGI with it utilizing a ton of it, and, being the late 90's(and low budget), the FX(in fact, in general) are not of a very high quality(with some exceptions, some of the practical stuff). Also, many things are shown too briefly, where you barely have time to see what you're looking at before it moves on. I don't remember when I last had to rewind so often during one film. While the insidious being is in the shadow some(leaving it to us to imagine what exactly he looks like), he's way too chatty and when you do see some more of him, the design is strange and not that interesting. Acting varies. Characters are forgettable(even Tony Todd as the village idiot... well, he seemed to be entertained by it, himself). Pacing can be an issue, as this can really drag. At the end of the day, there are better camp flicks out there... Mother of Tears had far more going on, and End of the Line was genuinely chilling. There is some disturbing, violent and gory content and a little full female nudity in this. I recommend this to big fans of Christian fantasy with devils or the like. 5/10

This film is not likely to satisfy fans of the horror genre(or Bram Stoker). Despite borrowing cliched plot elements e.g.demonic possessions, light versus darkness, etc. etc. from more popular films and tempering them with style, the whole movie still seems rather dull and derivative. This is not helped by the story's predictability and its lack of any intriguing, unique characters. To make matters worse, what transpires during and after the climax can be accurately guessed about twenty minutes before the film's conclusion. So- do not see "Shadow Builder" unless you are a fan of someone in the cast or need a 'fix' on a boring, rainy day.

This is a decent film. Sure, in modern standards with the top notch special effects, some may say its lacking, but I feel that sometimes its great to watch something with less cgi. The story is okay, and you do get to understand certain characters in the film. There are a couple of well known faces in there. Michael Rooker is the Father, and even better is that Tony Todd is playing the local crazy person. I say watch it, and don't compare to the films that have all well known cast members in. The idea is pretty interesting too. As for the Bram Stoker reference, back in 1881, Bram published some short stories. This wasn't very big, so hence the 'based on..' wording.

Shadow Builder isn't more or less than an average horror-movie with average actors and average special FX. It is not especially bad but it isn't very good either. The story of an evil demon who needs to do something very bad (kill a young boy) to reach his goal (turn the world into hell)isn't exactly original but it's good for 97 minutes of entertainment. The story is highly predictable, though. You almost know exactly what will happen and when it will happen. Don't watch this movie if you expect to see a cool horror movie like Bram Stoker's Dracula only because the name Bram Stoker appears in the title. Watch this movie on a boring, rainy day when you have nothing else to do and you'll enjoy it. 6 out of 10 Stars.

Get the ingredients for a little made b-film and throw Bram Stocker in as inspiration for the story. A demonic force is summoned to take the soul of a young boy who could become a saint and if done it could open a doorway to hell. However this entity can only travel through shadows and needs to collect souls to complete this task. But on its trail is Father Vassey, who's heading to this sleepy rural town to find the boy first. The occult horror "Shadow Builder" is an adaptation of a Stocker story and the screenplay only seems to muddled it up with half-baked theories, as it leans towards its cheesy special effects, nasty shocks and poignant performances led by Michael Rooker's grizzled renegade priest who gets around with pistols than say a bible and Tony Todd as some loony giggling Jamaican hermit that kids are afraid of. Actually "Shadow Builder" isn't all that bad, but in parts it's fairly amusing and surprisingly dark in its atmospherics. The opening scenes are actually quite fun. Over-the-top and silly, but fun especially seeing Rooker at work in his choice of repenting sinners. The demonic entity has some striking facial details, but basically it's black CGI smoke and like most villainous horror characters has something cleverly smart to say. With this last point, I thought it would have been better suited if it said nothing at all. The direction is rather stylised for its low- budget, but the plot doesn't meander much and it has enough thrills in its formulaic patterns of good vs. evil… or light vs. darkness. A young Kevin Zegers stars as the kid caught in the middle of it all. "Are you truly repentant?"

As a direct to video release this isn't half bad. Shadowbuilder is loosely based on a Bram Stoker short story. The first shadow created when God flooded the world with light is out to plunge it back into eternal darkness. I think. This film reminded me very much of The Mummy in structure. Evil dude comes back to life drawing powers from souls he devours in the midst of an avalanche of CGI. The film relies a lot on CGI which I didn't like at first. But if you accept it as more of a fantasy film then horror you will recognise its actually pretty well done. The demon also isn't that bad. The garish pink monstrosity (yes it was pink) on the DVD cover led me to believe it would be a yawn inducing man mincing around in a horned rubber suit but I was pleasantly surprised. Good use too of shadow and darkness so what you see of the creature leaves most to your imagination. Just the way it should be. Some parts of the film drag a lot and there aren't that many great moments. But that isn't to say there aren't any at all. Overrall though Shadowbuilder remains pretty average but still very enjoyable if you aren't looking for something that will blow you away. Unlike the Matrix wannabe priest with the twin 9mm's. The film needed a lot more of Neo shooting vainly at the afro toting bad guy.

A key event in this movie is a total solar eclipse. Much of the action takes place the day and night before this eclipse. During the night, a nice spooky view of the FULL MOON through haze is shown, also moon light seems to be implied. A TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE happens at some NEW MOON. Between the eclipse and a FULL MOON is about 14 days--not overnight. The FULL MOON shot fit the mood of the story. The conflict with the next day eclipse can be overlooked by many who don't think too hard about the science. Other than this I found it an OK suspense story.