It's not that I don't like vampire movies. And cute angsty boys with or without moral dilemmas (or shirts) can more than compensate for a lot of flaws, trust me. But Demon Under Glass - well, it was boring. The idea that a vampire is no more inherently evil than any other victim of a malady could have been intriguing. Unfortunately the idea never got a chance to intrigue anyone.
The script didn't provide much in the way of back story, main story or character development - I never could figure out why Joe (Garett Maggart) carried out increasingly cruel procedures despite his scruples or why Simon (Jason Carter) decided to cooperate with his jailers/tormenters. And frankly, by the end I didn't care.
The direction and production quality of this self-proclaimed low-budget horror flick also left me cold. The decision to shoot digitally rather than with film resulted in the look and feel of either a bad amateur film school project or not-too-shabby porn. The sound quality was inconsistent and served as a distraction, particularly when the volume changed repeatedly during scenes or an annoying hum overshadowed the stilted dialogue.
Like bad monster movies from the 50's, DUG provided unintentional humor from either inept shots that left actors out of frame or from Shatner-esque line readings that made me long for the robots of MST3K.
Garett Maggart and Jason Carter gave solid performances, but this speaks more to their talent and ability than to quality of the script or direction. Garett Maggart in particular delivered his lines in a natural and believable fashion, no small accomplishment given the thin material. Kira Reed delivered a surprisingly nuanced portrayal of a prostitute, going from aroused to terrified quickly and believably. The bulk of the performances, however, were wooden and unbelievable, even given the suspension of disbelief required for a genre movie of this type.
In summary, don't watch this unless you're a die-hard fan of one of the actors or a glutton for punishment.
The script didn't provide much in the way of back story, main story or character development - I never could figure out why Joe (Garett Maggart) carried out increasingly cruel procedures despite his scruples or why Simon (Jason Carter) decided to cooperate with his jailers/tormenters. And frankly, by the end I didn't care.
The direction and production quality of this self-proclaimed low-budget horror flick also left me cold. The decision to shoot digitally rather than with film resulted in the look and feel of either a bad amateur film school project or not-too-shabby porn. The sound quality was inconsistent and served as a distraction, particularly when the volume changed repeatedly during scenes or an annoying hum overshadowed the stilted dialogue.
Like bad monster movies from the 50's, DUG provided unintentional humor from either inept shots that left actors out of frame or from Shatner-esque line readings that made me long for the robots of MST3K.
Garett Maggart and Jason Carter gave solid performances, but this speaks more to their talent and ability than to quality of the script or direction. Garett Maggart in particular delivered his lines in a natural and believable fashion, no small accomplishment given the thin material. Kira Reed delivered a surprisingly nuanced portrayal of a prostitute, going from aroused to terrified quickly and believably. The bulk of the performances, however, were wooden and unbelievable, even given the suspension of disbelief required for a genre movie of this type.
In summary, don't watch this unless you're a die-hard fan of one of the actors or a glutton for punishment.
