Michael Jackson Movie:

				Salesrank: 217358
		MPAA Rating: R (Restricted) Media: DVD

Editorial Review:
Father Vassey (Michael Rooker) has a problem. Using his two 9mm, laser-sighted cannons he's tracked down and killed the holders of a heretic ceremony meant to bring a demon into the world. Not just any demon, this one's raison d'etre is nothing less than uncreating creation. The problem is that Vassey is too late. The demon has manifested, escaped, and is now on the hunt for the soul of a young boy who is believed to be a saint, due to the stigmata he had at birth. The film is directed by Jamie Dixon, heretofore a special effects supervisor, who shows canny restraint where special effects are concerned. The shadowy demon of the title is depicted often by a fluid black cloud, which is functional without losing its eeriness or credibility. The acting is solid, never campy, though Michael Rooker sometimes feels out of place. And the climactic scenes, built up to with good pacing, are fraught with peril and excitement. All in all, this is a worthwhile effort for a first-time director, and that makes it one of the best direct-to-video releases I've seen in quite a long time. Although I wish I could locate the Bram Stoker story on which it is based. --Jim Gay

Shadow Builder [Region 2] Reviews:
Bram Stoker's Shadowbuilder
2009-06-08 - I had a hard time finding a copy of this movie that I could afford so I am really happy with it

It Stars Michael Hooker - that says it all.
2008-05-21 - Bad effects and storyline. Liked some of the characters including the female vet. Why is it that all professional women, not doctors or lawyers, are vets? Tony Todd has a fun but minor role in the movie. Different from many of the roles he has. Rent it cheaply. Don't buy.

Disappointing In-Name-Only Bram Stoker Adaptation
2008-03-23 - "Shadow Builder" starts with a typical situation involving a religious cult sect and their secret ritual to summon a demon. Gun-wielding "Father" Vassey (Michael Rooker) attempts to stop them, but fails, and the summoned demon seeks the soul of a boy named Chris (Kevin Zegers) living in a small town where the evil begins to wreck havoc on unsuspecting townspeople.

The film is loosely based on Bram Stoker's little-known short story of the same name (included in his book "Under the Sunset," Stoker's earlier work published in 1881). It is a kind of allegorical fantasy, not a tale of horror. The filmmakers are clearly trying to cash in on the name of the author of "Dracula," and most of the film's content has nothing to do with the original.

Actually "Shadow Builder" borrows a lot from other films of the same genre - the evil hiding in the dark, the evil entity getting stronger and the good guys using light as weapon to fight, etc - but borrowing is not always a bad thing. The problem of "Shadow Builder" is it is neither scary as horror, nor exiting as thriller. The story develops too slowly and each scare or action is rather tame. Effects are decent, but the story fails to maintain interest in the middle of the film.

Strong acting from underrated Michael Rooker and special appearance from Tony Todd is not enough for us to keep interested in the film, Its flat storytelling has ruined the potential of the material of the film, which could have been as entertaining as such so-so films as "End of Days."

DVD is iffy. Movie is JUST ok.
2007-08-11 - For a "B" level budget horror flick, the movie's not bad. Going against the current stereotype of Catholic priests, the man of the cloth in this film is a grizzled veteran comfortable with his fists, who protects the boy put under his protection. The demon has some good lines. For a horror movie, it's not bad.

The DVD's iffy. It wouldn't work on one of my newer DVD players, but it DID work on an older player. I suspect this is due to the DVD not being mastered properly. A symptom and a sign of a budget production. No, it's not because the DVD is dirty and needs cleaning. I ordered a replacement copy from Netflix before concluding that the DVD was improperly mastered.



Not too bad for a B horror film
2004-07-20 - This is based on a Bram Stoker story, and I'd love to see the story. Surely his story didn't include electricity, generators, police cars, guns - well, of course it didn't. It couldn't have.

But this is, all in all, a pretty good horror film. There aren't really any points in the film where I'm terrified, but the story line remains solid throughout the film. My main complaints are the casting of Michael Rooker as a priest (even if he has a troubled past), and the special effects - which somehow won an award from an obscure award ceremony, Fantafestival. The Shadowbuilder himself really wasn't all that convincing.

Still, this was a horror film that began and ended with the same premise. It didn't deviate, and its characters didn't commit random acts of remarkable stupidity. It was a wholly believable story (in terms of being a movie, of course), and Kevin Zegers gave a good performance as the 12 year old that the Shadowbuilder wanted to possess.

One other complaint that I have - if Zegers's character is supposed to be this special person (I'll let the film explain why he is), why didn't he exhibit any special traits?

By the way, neither the DVD cover that Amazon has as its image, nor the actual cover that I received when I ordered it, has anything to do with the movie. Poor packaging, even though the cover I received was "cool". The one Amazon has depicts a blonde boy. Last I checked, and for his entire career, Zegers has been a brunette.