Reviews

The best part, IMHO, was the music. I particularly enjoyed the way that Joaquin Phoenix's vocals matured over the course of the film - he did a good job evoking Johnny Cash's distinctive style without resorting to cheap imitation. And Reese Witherspoon was delightful, particularly singing "Jackson".

The performances, particularly Reese Witherspoon as June Carter, were compelling and believable. Reese captured June's liveliness and humor beautifully as well as her vulnerability - the warmth with which she responded to any approach by a fan really struck me.

While I enjoyed the movie a great deal, it didn't break any ground in the biopic genre, Daddy issues, survivor guilt, repeating the bad parenting cycle, fame leading to bad behavior, redemption - sure, it's all true, but it would have been nice to see it play out a little less predictably. I also would have been interested in seeing more of the importance that religion played in Johnny Cash's life, as well as the role of Mother Maybelle in his recovery - Cash often credited her with his salvation.

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.