Demon Under Glass

Rating:
Summary: This is the kind of film that....
Review: after it's over, you wonder just what sort of drugs the screenwriter and director may have taken, or if the whole thing is a gigantic goof. Seriously, this is easily one of the lamest movies I've ever seen. The idea of capturing a vampire and keeping him in a hermetically sealed coffin in a government-funded lab/hospital is ludicrous enough.... interesting that they never explain how the vamp manages to be awake and walking during the day...something vampires aren't supposed to be able to do, remember? But beside that point, which film did those who raved about the acting see, 'cause it sure wasn't this one. Everything from beginning to end -- scenery, special effects, lighting, camerawork, script (the "writer" is apparently known for writing sci-fi porn on the Net under another name, so what can you expect, y'know? William Shakespeare she ain't. Not even Ralph Shakespeare. Not even Shakes the Clown), staging -- looked like a high-school film project. There's one truly priceless scene where a female cop (who's a strange agent anyway, we later learn)posing as a hooker to trap the killer (who's the vamp, turns out, nicknamed Vlad... how original!)is grabbed by the vamp and kissed because, as he says, she "looked like she needed to be properly kissed." Not only doesn't she fight him off as any hooker (or cop!) would do, but when the clinch finally ends, actually says to him, "Sir, you presume too much!" It's to die for. This is almost as bad as an Ed Wood film, except it's NOT so bad it's good. It's just bad. I paid $3 for it and was still overcharged by about 4000%. Sorry, but this is NOT an intelligent film, it's just an exercise, it looks, in bad movie-making. Interesting that the director and writer aren't even included in the credits.

Rating:
Summary: Horror film with focus on story and characterization!
Review: Demon Under Glass is a wonderful breath of air in the horror genre where for too long, shock value and gore has overriden plot, characterization and ethical conundrum considerations. This smart and stylish independent production is satisfying on many levels, not the least of which is the ethical dilemna which is its central theme.

Suppose that vampires really exist. And suppose that one were captured and studied by science? Is a sentient human being who just happens to be dead, and who kills others for their blood and fear, to be given more consideration than a lab rat? This is the premise of the film.

The capture of the vampire, Simon Molinar happens at the outset of the film, as police and a mysterious commando force set a trap into which the urbane vampire falls. Subdued and badly injured, he is spirited off to an LA area Veterans Hospital to be studied.

Once here, he comes under the attention and care of Dr. Joseph McKay, young doctor working off medical school debt at the VA facility. McKay is tapped to replace the project leader and medical doctor, Dr. Hirsch, who was killed in Molinar's capture. It is through McKay's eyes and experience that the nature of the project comes to light and the ethical considerations are explored.

Treating the injured captive, the compassionate McKay becomes drawn into his patient's life and situation. Necessarily clued to the true nature of the man under his care, the young doctor finds a polite, cooperative patient who seems to little warrant the stringent security and strict protocols aimed at keeping him under control. McKay's empathy is tested as he is involved in the experimentation involved first in healing Molinar's initial injuries, and as the vampire heals, the scientific inquiry that is the thrust of the secret Delphi Project he has been drawn into. McKay is the voice of reason and compassion, who questions the right of the project specialists to conduct what seems at times the vilest sort of torture, in order to further science. As the experimenters go farther and farther in search of answers, and as the police who have been cheated of their suspect in a string of serial murders pursue the case and Molinar's whereabouts, McKay finds himself torn between a patient who is almost a friend, and associates who increasingly seem comfortable violating the very moral code that is at the heart of the Hippocratic Oath.

Molinar is played with style and flair by Jason Carter, who makes his vampire villain complicated and sympathetic--a man who, when escape does not seem possible, agrees to give back to humanity something of what he has taken for centuries, by allowing himself to be studied and experimented on. Garett Maggart is Dr. Joseph McKay, the emotional heart and soul of the film, who masterfully portrays a man torn between his natural compassion, his healing gift, and the moral considerations of how much humanity a fundamentally inhuman patient should be allowed. Maggart gives a multilayered performance from which McKay emerges the quintessential hero, but not without emotional cost and a conflicted soul. The two stars are supported by an excellent cast.

For a low budget independent feature, the production quality and technical aspects are, if not great, still excellent. With studio backing and a huge budget, this could have been one of the most talked about films in years, but would probably have suffered from having huge name stars cast in the roles so beautifully played here.

This is very much a thinking man's film. While there is drama and tension aplenty, this film never goes for cheap shock and audience manipulation. The end result is a film that is first a drama with a compelling plot and second the most satisfying "horror" film this reviewer has had the pleasure to watch in many, many years.

Rating:
Summary: Vampires suck
Review: Demon Under Glass is not the worst vampire movie I've ever seen, nor is it the best. I am giving it one star because of the technical problems with the film (poor lighting, sound, etc.) not because the script or the acting was substandard.

The premise is excellent, the Delphi Project, a secret government program which was created to solve the mystery of life itself, has found a vampire subject named Simon (Jason Carter of Babylon 5) to study. The Project has two doctors, one a kind and compassionate healer named Dr. Joe McKay (Garett Maggart of The Sentinel) and the other the cliched mad scientist who only wants to exploit the vampire for his own crazy needs.

However, when a friendship begins to develop between Simon and Joe, will the good doctor try and save the vampire from the evil scientist and the now corrupt Delphi Project? And so begins the premise of the movie: Who is the Monster? The humans or the vampire?

Like I said, the movie has a good start, with a good plot and the acting is quite good (except for the gentlemen who plays the evil scientist, he's horrible beyond belief and needs to be recast if they ever do a sequel), the movie is virtually unwatchable because of the technical problems.

The lighting is bright in some scenes and low in others. Sound goes in and out in my copy of the DVD and the special effects are lame, even for a low budget horror film. And believe me I watch every low budget vampire movie out there. Vampire films are my favorite genre of horror.

The director shot on digital film and it shows. So now I understand why the film could not get a distributor. It looks like a bad home movie gone wrong. However, the cast cannot be blamed for these problems, so cut them some slack. They do everything they possibly can with the script and work around the technical difficulties. I give them high marks for that!

If you don't expect much going into this film, you will not be disappointed. And for Jason Carter and Garett Maggart fans, it's well worth the $6.98 you'll pay for it. So buy it for that reason alone.

Rating:
Summary: Terrifying, only not on purpose.
Review: I screamed several times while watching DUG. Unfortunately, my fright was caused by how very bad it is. It's an *awful* movie. Poor production values, terrible script, an actor playing a senior scientist who knows perhaps three of his lines... and the list goes on.

However, DUG stars Garett Maggart, who turns in a typically excellent performance, and Jason Carter, who tries his best with poor material. This movie should really get one star (half a star? 3/10 of a star?) but Maggart makes it almost watchable. Er... sort of.

Rating:
Summary: Garett made the difference
Review: Last year I bought my DVD and I watched the movie for the first time together with family and friends. The plot caught us from the beginning until the end. It is a plot very different to the other movies of vampires, it is original, refreshing and interesting, that made us meditate about the origen of the vampires.

The movie is not spectacular, it doesn't have special effects and it is not bloody, but it has good music and it is worthy of being seen and to have it in our collection for the only fact of the excellent plot and the magnificent performance of the actor Garett Maggart (Blair Sandburg in The Sentinel) who knew to interpret with extraordinary naturalness to the Dr. Joseph MacKay. The result, the young doctor catches and convinces to the audience of his moral dilemma, he doesn't want to hurt the vampire, but he also knows that it is an opportunity in a million to help the scientists to understand the origen of the vampires.

On the other hand, the actor Jason Carter (Babylon 5) dared to interpret a different vampire, a vampire that surprises and divert, that it is intelligent and it collaborates with the investigators; but his murderous instincts and of survival are stronger than his own reasoning.

It can be said that Garett Maggart and Jason Carter carried out for themselves the complete movie, supported by a excellent plot. Especially the performance of Garett Maggart gives the master touch to this movie, he acted very natural, fair to the height of the circumstances. In the TV show "The Sentinel" he had opportunity to show his big actor qualities, the one put talent and heart in the character of Blair Sandburg. In "Demon Under Glass" his great talent was not taken advantage of and the low quality of the photography didn't allow to capture to fullness his great histrionic capacity, but he definitively took out the movie ahead.

Demon Under Glass, good effort of independent cinema, in the one that Garett, marked the difference.

The bloopers? To see Garett so jovial and joker was for my a pretty and moving surprise.

I would like to see DUG with dubbing in Spanish and of course I would like to see DUG-2.

Rating:
Summary: What a waste
Review: With 2 great actors (Jason Carter & Garret Maggert) and a fabulous premise you would think it would be a great flick. It sucks! I ws terribly disappointed to view such a really cheesy B movie.
And I am NOT the only one who thought so.