Shadow Builder (1998)

Michael Rooker plays Father Vassey, a troubled priest who seeks personal redemption by hunting down and destroying a demon before it can unleash Hell on Earth. Following a trail of death and destruction to the sleepy town of Grand River, home of stigmatic teenager Chris Hatcher (Kevin Zegers), whose pure soul is vital to the creature's success, the pistol packing priest teams up with a local sheriff (Shawn Thompson), a veterinarian (Leslie Hope), and a crazy hobo (Tony Todd) to try and foil the evil creature's plans.But with the townsfolk succumbing to the demon's evil influence once the sun goes down, they have their work cut out for them...The UK DVD of Shadowbuilder, directorial debut for CG FX artist Jamie Dixon, comes in a day-glo pink case with a poorly rendered image of a multi-horned creature on the cover; reasoning that the film couldn't possibly be as bad as the packaging, I decided to give it a watch.Hoo boy, was I ever wrong!!! Dixon might be adept at manipulating pixels, but his directing skills are virtually non-existent, and this iffy demonic horror, based on a short story by Bram Stoker, is a joyless mess of botched ideas, incompetent storytelling, and ham-fisted editing that no amount of CG effects can save.In short, it's utter garbage and definitely one to avoid.

Shadowbuilder may not be the best movie, but I really liked it. The effects were good and the acting was OK. I thought the story was good and it kept me in my seat. The Shadowbuilder was cool. I liked the way he took on the persona of his victims. When the town went postal I really had a good laugh at the man who wanted to use the ax on his wife's head again. LMAO! I would not consider it a true horror movie. It was more of a action/thriller with a little horror. There are no guts flying all over the place - which is what I consider horror. All of the victims are turned to a shadow which isn't horrific or gory. I would recommend Shadowbuilder. It deserved at least one look in my book. I have watched it numerous times.

A key event in this movie is a total solar eclipse. Much of the action takes place the day and night before this eclipse. During the night, a nice spooky view of the FULL MOON through haze is shown, also moon light seems to be implied.A TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE happens at some NEW MOON. Between the eclipse and a FULL MOON is about 14 days--not overnight.The FULL MOON shot fit the mood of the story. The conflict with the next day eclipse can be overlooked by many who don't think too hard about the science.Other than this I found it an OK suspense story.

With direct to video, you always have lowered expectations. So this one really grabs you. Good to see Michael Rooker playing a Good Guy. Thats part of what works. He has that capacity to turn evil at any moment. An as-kicking, devil-whomping priest!Again with this type of movie you don't expect the best special effects, you have to appreciate the sense that people cared enough about this story to do it as well as they did it on a button buget.