This Blu-ray will be available on August 28th as part of the MVD Rewind Collection (www.facebook.com/MVDEntertainmentGroup/) and is available for purchase from Amazon and other retailers.
Bram Stoker’s Shadowbuilder aka Shadow Builder was one feature in an early spell of horror pictures produced specifically for the home video market. It premiered on VHS and DVD, earning a following for those curious enough to rent it when they were young. Now, the movie has been given a Blu-ray upgrade courtesy of the MVD Rewind Collection. Besides a high definition presentation of the movie, the disc adds a half-hour documentary on the production as well as numerous interviews with various persons involved in the production.
Based on the story “The Shadow Builder” by Bram Stoker… okay, I really can’t deliver that line with a straight face. It is inspired by the tale, because let’s face it, the plot has little to nothing to do with the writing. The plot involves a group of Satanic priests who raise a demonic force from Hell. The creature, called the Shadowbuilder (Andrew Jackson), is tasked with taking the soul a youngster named Chris Hatcher (Kevin Zegers), who is destined for some kind of holy greatness. To complete its mission, the Shadowbuilder gains power by killing victims, taking their essence and leaving dusty, light-sensitive carcasses in its wake, gaining power as it searches out the child.
When the antagonist discovers the boy’s hometown, it wages war on the area, influencing members of the community and slowly turning them into maniacs. The kid’s veterinarian aunt Jenny (Leslie Hope) and her boyfriend/sheriff Sam Logan (Shawn Thompson) do their best to protect Chris. Thankfully, they receive help from a two-fisted, gun-toting priest named Father Vassey (Michael Rooker), along with local eccentric Evert Covey (Tony Todd), an eye-patch wearing electrician who knows that bright luminosity is the biggest weakness of the Shadowbuilder.
Really sounds like an old Bram Stoker novel, doesn’t it? Well, it may have very little to do with the source material, but this silly and over-the-top low-budget effort certainly isn’t boring. Most of the credit of keeping things interesting should go to co-stars Rooker and Todd. They know exactly what kind of movie this is and both go all-in 100%, never winking and delivering the ridiculous material with a level of seriousness the script probably doesn’t deserve. Their work dramatically helps the flick and provide some great moments of cheesy fun.
Seeing Father Vassey actively fire away on bad guys with laser-sighted automatic weapons is pretty darn funny, as well as his gruff behavior, less-than-subtle investigative questioning methods, and blunt comments that include telling a law enforcement deputy to “f–k off”. He is consistently entertaining to watch. As is Todd, who is forced to play the town hermit and oddball in an equally exaggerated manner. And the Shadowbuilder himself is pretty chatty, leading to few chuckles as he boasts about his demonic superiority and evil plans.
Additionally, some of the stunts are amusingly goofy, involving young Chris being chased by killer rottweilers. A car-related stunt gag involving one of the creatures (that involves a dummy dog puppet) earns a good laugh. In fact, as the story progresses, events gets crazier and as a result, increasingly enjoyable. A climax finds the family home under assault from most of the town, leading to more
The filmmakers had primarily worked as visual effects artists and so they use the production as an opportunity to experiment with all kinds of early CGI, mixing it with puppetry and make-up tricks. A lot of it certainly looks rough, but some of the work, like body turning to dust in sunlight comes across reasonably well and the material that looks especially dated doesn’t really hurt the proceedings, seeing as events are pretty ridiculous to begin with.
This is not a super flick, but one can certainly see the nostalgic appeal it may hold for many viewers. Plenty of these kind of straight-to-video movies are difficult to sit though, and this one is just goofy enough to earn it a pass. As mentioned, the presence of Rooker and Todd make up for many of the film’s deficiencies and adds a level of loony enjoyment to the proceedings. If you enjoyed the movie as a kid, you might still get a bit of kick out of it.
Viewers should be warned. The disc itself does not feature a reference quality transfer with the greatest of image quality. Alas, the movie was made quickly for the video market and as such no one was aware of advances in home video technology and high definition. Some early sections of the print feature some sky footage that is particularly rough and grainy. However, there is decent footage at night and much of the latter half of the movie looks reasonable. Overall, it is better than previous releases
And it’s nice that so many bonuses are included with the release. This includes a 30-plus minute documentary that features interviews with director Jamie Dixon, writer Michael Stokes and stars Andrew Jackson and Tony Todd. There are also separate talks with the filmmaker and scribe, as well as a feature commentary with Dixon. The participants are all very amiable and offer an interesting insight here and there. Admittedly, some of the information relayed doesn’t really need to be explained. The director has a tendency to differentiate locations from interior sets which is pretty obvious, as well as to inform people that Rooker was firing blanks from his weapon and not real ammo – in case you were worried. Still, fans of the film may learn a few new bits of info about the production.
Bram Stoker’s Shadowbuilder is a very silly little straight-to-video B-movie that could have very easily disappeared forever. Thankfully, it has found a new life thanks to the efforts of the MVD Rewind Collection and can continue to entertain those who rented it during its original release, as well as amuse new viewers who enjoy genre pictures and want to see star Michael Rooker really go to town with a highly unusual character.