A small gem of a horror film--which unfortunately failed to achieve theatrical release and debuted on video--this adaptation of a short story by the Dracula author ably balances drama and special effects.
Father Jacob Vassey (Michael Rooker) invades a satanic ceremony in which Victor Lambert (Eric Murphy) offers up a photo of his son Chris. Vassey kills the satanists, but not before they have raised a demon called the Shadowbuilder (Andrew Jackson). Following clues at the site, Vassey travels to
the town of Grand River, where Chris (Kevin Zegers) lives with his young aunt, Jenny (Leslie Hope), who is having an affair with sheriff Sam Logan (Shawn Alex Thompson). The Shadowbuilder arrives and kills Sam's deputy Larry (Gordon M. Woolvert), Doc Cole (James B. Douglas) and Father Finler
(Richard McMillan). Vassey tells Jenny that Chris is in danger, and explains to Sam that the Shadowbuilder is after the boy, who was "born pure"; the demon, which can be repelled by light, needs to sacrifice Chris during a coming solar eclipse to open a door to his world.
The Shadowbuilder's presence begins compelling the townspeople to violence, and it incarnates as a ferocious dog that chases Chris and Jenny to the compound of eccentric Covey (Tony Todd), whose multiple-light setup dispels the hound. Vassey, Jenny, Sam, Chris, and Covey hole up at Jenny's place,
but with the help of possessed locals, the Shadowbuilder invades the house and spirits Chris to a church. When the eclipse begins and the Shadowbuilder prepares to sacrifice Chris, Vassey interrupts and blocks its scythe. As the sun emerges and strikes the Shadowbuilder, Sam uses the scythe to
deliver a destroying blow to the demon.
While the basic premise and a few details of SHADOWBUILDER are familiar, the movie has been put together with commendable skill. The imaginative direction by special effects artist Jamie Dixon is well-attuned to both character and scares, and he's abetted by Michael Stokes' smart script. It's
refreshing, for example, to see an authority figure (in this case, Sam) become a fast believer in the unreal events, and to have a character (Chris) describe a symbolic dream instead of having it presented for cheap shock effect. Especially clever is the heroes' use of household weapons from
flashlights to Polaroid cameras to combat the light-sensitive fiend, and the CGI effects depicting its victims collapsing into ashes are startlingly good.
The filmmakers wisely incarnate the evil in the identifiable form of the dog for several scenes; the characters' reactions to the threat are refreshingly smart and believable for a genre film. And there's a wealth of nicely chilly details, like the Shadowbuilder speaking the Book of Genesis in
reverse during its ritual and children pulling apart their dolls as its virulent influence begins to spread. As the pistol-packing priest, Rooker makes a compelling central figure; while the backstory of his having slaughtered an evil African warlord and his men wasn't really necessary, the idea
of a man of the cloth functioning as a religious "cleaner" is a subversively entertaining one. (Graphic violence, extensive nudity, extreme profanity.) leave a comment
