Shadowbuilder

Rating:
Summary: Terrible DVD
Review: Loved the VHS version of this film. Tried 3 different DVD versions none of which would play on my 2 DVD players or my computer. Stick with the VHS version.

Rating:
Summary: The Shadow.....
Review: Philosophically, the movie is very interesting!
Movies like these make you think about the purpose of creation, the purspose of evil, the purpose of suffering, the purpose of ethics. I find the point of view of the SHADOW CREATURE and his cosmovision, very intriguing, interesting and attractive. The shadow's IDEA of "undoing" creation is really wonderful! It would mean the end of all suffering and tears, and therefore the end of all joys, the end of all evil and of all goodness, the end of darkness and the end of light. The purpose or aim of the SHADOW in this movie, if it had been accomplished, would've meant even his (the Shadow's) own destruction. Wow, that would have been wonderful! A universe with NO Light and NO darkness. A perfect "nothingness" without demons and without angels, that's what the "shadow" wanted! (That's what I understood.)
Unfortunately the movie ends "happily", that means suffering and evil and joy and light will continue to "co-exist". That's a sad ending, philosophically and ethically speaking! Nevertheless it was a wonderful movie, even with that sad ending! The Shadow was NOT defeted. And the LIGHT is not the absolute winner. That's a true fact of life itself. Creation is a mixture of light and darkness. And the "MIXTURE" itself is what is "SAD" (from the point of view of the SHADOW and cosmologically speaking). Every man has a dark side and a SHADOW in his soul, as well as a shiny side. There is not a single MAN that is 100% LIGHT or 100% SHADOW (or darkness).

Rating:
Summary: was surprised how good it is
Review: saw this film a while back and it was a great one. especially for a direct to DVD film. awesome lookin shadow creature with a great story. definitely a movie worth the price. even some pretty good suspense in this film. all in all a very well put together movie, a must see for horror fans in my opinion.

Rating:
Summary: was surprised how good it is
Review: saw this film a while back and it was a great one. especially for a direct to DVD film. awesome lookin shadow creature with a great story. definitely a movie worth the price. even some pretty good suspense in this film. all in all a very well put together movie, a must see for horror fans in my opinion.

Rating:
Summary: One of Bram Stroker's Best
Review: Shadowbuilder was really a great movie; when I first rented it I wasn't expecting much, but it turned out to be an excellent movie. Bram Stroker who is best known for Dracula wrote this originally and it shows. The acting was very good for the most part as well, particularly by young actor Kevin Zegers (who played Christopher) the stigmata whom the Shadowbuilder seeks out in the hopes of undoing creation.
If you liked the movie Warlock, End of Days, or both you will definitely like this movie. I suspect that the movie End of Days borrowed somewhat from The Shadowbuilder.

Rating:
Summary: One of Bram Stroker's Best
Review: Shadowbuilder was really a great movie; when I first rented it I wasn't expecting much, but it turned out to be an excellent movie. Bram Stroker who is best known for Dracula wrote this originally and it shows. The acting was very good for the most part as well, particularly by young actor Kevin Zegers (who played Christopher) the stigmata whom the Shadowbuilder seeks out in the hopes of undoing creation.
If you liked the movie Warlock, End of Days, or both you will definitely like this movie. I suspect that the movie End of Days borrowed somewhat from The Shadowbuilder.

Rating:
Summary: An okay flick for the horror-challenged.
Review: The first half of the movie is filled with an almost creepy excitement. The 'Shadowbuilder' lurks just beyond the protective barrier of light like some demonic Lovecraftian horror. But, ironically, it is the very appearance of the creature as it steps into the light that catapults this movie straight to the video shelf. The acting was standard and unmemorable and, though visually exciting, the ending was predictable. An annoying Rastafarian junkman (ala Jar Jar Binks) is entirely out of place and contributed nothing to the plot of this supposed horrorfest.

Rating:
Summary: Not too bad for a B horror film
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: An OK flick that had great potential
Review: Using Bram Stokers name seems to have been a good selling point for this movie. Pity it failed to live up to the hype. The special effects surrounding the demon at times were exceptional, but they just didn't create the atmosphere and tension to follow up with it. What resulted was a creature that generally looked good, but just didn't come across as something to fear. I think they failed to realise the basic formula for a good horror (show the creature as little as possible), and seemed to throw him on screen more than he was off it. Sadly, though the script was quite good, some of the acting failed to bring it across well. What remained was a wanna-be-horror that was just good, and nothing more.