Customer Reviews

Demon Under Glass

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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.

This was no big-budget production. The cast and crew did not rely on special effects or large explosions. Instead they place their faith in stellar performances by the central cast and an interesting script with a new take on the vampire mythos. It works.

Demon Under Glass was a pleasant surprise. Thoughtful, fun, intelligent, and insightful ... it was a pleasure to watch. I only wish they'd filmed a sequel, because this film deserves one.

Garrett Maggart plays Dr. Joe McCay with wisdom and humanity, and his reluctant friendship with the vampire, Simon Molinar (brilliantly played by Jason Carter, who sucks the audience right in - even when you know, you just KNOW, this guy is bad news, you're still rooting for him right along with the other characters in the film, despite his "evil" nature), is the highlight of this story. Neither man chooses to be there, but they deal with the situation and each other, despite a lack of trust that grows into something akin to mutual respect if not downright friendship.

The back cover of the DVD led me to believe that this would be an action pic, a battle between the police and a killer, but in truth, it is a study of what "humanity" is and takes place primarily in the lab where Simon is being studied. Kudos to the film-makers for this rare and perfect choice. It is what makes this film so special.

In my opinion, if you enjoy a fun, engaging movie, then Demon Under Glass is for you. Watch it and enjoy. It was wonderful!

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.

Watching DEMON UNDER GLASS reminded me of the old soap opera DARK SHADOWS, only in that its filming was reminiscent of how they used to do that 70s series. But whereas SHADOWS opted for campiness, DEMON tries to take a serious look at how we might "capture" a vampire and use him to study his genetic makeup and just what makes him tick. The movie posits the question as to just who is the demon? The vampire Vlad or the scientists who would torture him to discover how quickly his regenerative powers work. In the film, Vlad is responsible for the deaths of several lovely prostitutes whom he brutally beats and mutilates when finished. As he is captured, however, we see a different vampire: he seems appreciative of the care of young Dr. McCrady; he cooperates fully; and he doesn't seem all that bad..until the obsessed doctor in charge of the program takes his experimentations a little too far. By the end of the movie, the vampire is pleased with who and what he is, and he sees nothing wrong in needing human blood.
DEMON UNDER GLASS tries hard to be different, and in some ways, it succeeds. The production values are very amateurish, and this does detract from the film. Garet Maggart does well as the idealistic and conscience-stricken doctor, and Jason Carter has a certain vulnerability to match his evilness. The rest of the cast is pretty bad, though--particularly Jack Donner as the scientist and Denise Alessandra Hurd as the police detective whose own fascination with Vlad is never fully explored.
DEMON UNDER GLASS won't make you forget the Hammer Dracula films or even Barnabas Collins, but it isn't as bad as it could have been.

Between the movie and the book, I ache for more. The Doctor/Vampire relationship (I absolutely do not have a thing for vampires. I hate vampires! But this one rocks!!) has me scouring the web for any sign of more from D.L. Warner and her husband, Jon Cunningham. And that's after 3 years of first having read the book.

It DOESN'T MATTER that the quality of the movie suffers from the low budget. After you read the book and see the movie and really understand what's been accomplished through a good script, excellent acting, and the chemistry of the main characters, "Joe" and "Molinar" (Garett Maggartt and Jason Carter), you see that it is a treasure worth keeping. I'm so glad that the novel-turned-movie was taken seriously and not camped up too much, stylized, or deemed "quirky". The story paints a serious world of unethical research, government-type cover ups, and an innocent, compassionate doctor caught in the middle. This is done convincingly and detailed in amazingly very few pages! (way too short, but a testament to the gravity and power of the story).

The movie tries to follow the novel, but understandably cannot go the distance. I only regret that the dream sequence was more clearly indicated as such, and that the ending could've played out true to the novel. (The things Molinar says to Joe, to assure him that he's not really going to hurt him during his escape, are hot as hell.) And it's even more intense that Joe doesn't even realize how badly the vampire wants him and exactly what his intentions are. (I love "the chase", the one character not giving it up too easily to the other.) It made me wonder at the reason for leaving certain gay content out, when clearly the team was professional, danced awfully close to the gay theme, arriving short of being too obvious, but not obvious enough in my opinion. I mean finally, a suspenseful, psychological, dramatic work of fiction (in spite of the blood) that has two men - who can be taken seriously - bound in a complicated attraction that doesn't disappoint with predictable, disposable sex, but continues to pull the sexual tension taut well after the last page. It's the best kind of sex - Molinar's violent desire for Joe, Joe keeping his distance. Hot hot hot! And it does go on to deliver the goods, but that's another novel. *cough* (D.L. Please write more! You have the makings of something great.)

All of the actors were perfect. I was especially impressed with the lady cop as well as the scientists. Taken in its entirety, this is a very special project (movie and book should be experienced togeter by M/M lovers) and worth so much more than what I paid for it, in terms of what one looks for in a fulfilling novel/movie experience.
Thank you thank you thank you, D.L. and Jon! After 3 years, I still hurt for more.

-The Story of a Beautiful Boy in Great Danger @Sonny Preyer.com

..........and what do we find inside?
"Vamp gets caught by nasty Gov and gets the lab-rat routine"
Sounds like Ho-hUM. WRONG. VERY (!!) well made and HIGH quality independant film, well acted and scripted. Nothing new, but presented so well, you will want to watch more than a few times, if not add to your collection. More psychological than scare tactics....but it's the hook that will keep you a fan of this film.

As will appear in the February 2012 issue of Twisted Dreams Magazine...

I've been a huge fan of Jason Carter since his days on Babylon 5, as Ranger, Marcus Cole. He brought a great sense to that role, believable and comedic as well, so when I saw him as the main character in this movie, I was hooked.
But then I saw the supporting cast...and one name stood out...Garett Maggart. Blair Sandburg will forever be one of my favorite TV characters, and to this day, I still miss the TV show, The Sentinel.
So buying this movie was a no-brainer and I'm glad I did.
Simon Molinar is a Vampire...a prostitute-murdering, blood-drinking psychopath...who isn't a psychopath at all...though that's a really difficult conclusion to come to, after one learns of the trail of bodies he's left in his feeding wake.
He's a Vampire...pure and simple and he simply chooses prostitutes as his food of choice.
When he's captured by the team of Dr. Hirsch (whose character is only in the movie very briefly, but his importance is NOT lost in the story) who has been studying Vampires for years and has wanted one for his own to study even more in-depth, you get a glimpse into what we all know about the human race in general...we are and can be the monsters...and much worse than the ones in fables.
Simon is extremely intelligent and patient with his treatment (and at times, torture) and even agrees to help Dr. Bassett (Donner) with the study, he swore to take up, in Dr. Hirsch's stead.
Not bad for a soulless, damned, creature of darkness.
I can tell you, while most of the acting wasn't stellar by any means, the chemistry between the murdering Vampire, Molinar (Carter) and Dr. Joe McKay (Maggart) a young doctor who finds himself in way over his head and torn between feeling sorry for his patient and later on, his guilt at helping a murderer, was nothing short of incredible.
At no time in an independently-made movie, have I seen such chemistry, such ease in acting roles that come across as completely realistic and I applaud both men.
It's a shame that neither could get the recognition they both deserved for pulling off, what had to be, uncomfortable roles for each of them.
Maggart is completely believable as a doctor and seems to slip into the role as easily as a real doctor would. If you have watched many movies with "actor doctors" in them, you know what I mean. Touching people seems to be rigid and embarrassing for them, not to mention wooden and distracted and caring (as doctors are supposed to be) seems to be even more so...yet Maggart pulls off a staggeringly realistic performance as the young, Dr. McKay, who wants nothing more than to take care of his patient, complete with extremely believable, hands-on "treatment."
It's a performance not to be missed and shows a real "comfort" level between the two men that one rarely gets to glimpse in major Hollywood productions, let alone in indie movies.
I also have to say that I've read the IMDB reviews of this movie and simply don't see the necessity of the harsh reviews.
So many people complain about bad lighting. Not sure where that came from, as I thought the lighting was more than adequate. Same for the film itself; I liked the more, "documentary" feel of the film rather than the antiseptic, Hollywood film that is most commonly accepted in the industry.
I also feel that all the attacks on Jack Donner's performance are downright, stupid. He played the part of a secretly sadistic, but eager-to-learn, curious, scientist with great realty.
All-in-all, those three characters make up for any lack of adequacy in any other parts of the movie.
I highly recommend it.

I give this movie a 7 out of a twisted 10 and have watched it numerous times since I purchased it and plan to watch it numerous more. Give it a watch. You won't be disappointed...

~Andrea Dean Van Scoyoc for Twisted Dreams Magazine

This movie came in a compilation of about 10 movies. It was the best of the lot. It's not your standard fare for horror flicks... there's minimal gore and only a hint of nudity. Aside from the main character being a vampire, I'd say it's not really a horror film (I like to think of it as more of an observation of human behavior.) I really liked how the movie was character driven; you really get a feel for each one. Upon starting the film, I had minimal hopes, as less than half the collection were even watchable, but ended up being pleasantly surprised! Two thumbs up!

Demon Under Glass

Well, I won't use the sweeping phrase "best vampire movie I ever saw," but I will term this unheralded DVD the most interesting of the genre. Made possible by an entity called "Dragoncor/EarthDragon," the film-makers definitely put forth a lot of intellectual effort, and, in doing so, offset the underfunded production values with considerable success. Their cerebral approach? Attempting to attach intriguing scientific explanation to enduring legend; placing supernatural manifestation under the microscope in an attempt to unravel the secrets of a scary phenomenon.

The movie starts off with a briefly written explanation: A serial killer is loose in Los Angeles. Nicknamed "Vlad" by the media due to the distinctively gruesome condition of his victims, the murderous criminal is very soon caught in a prostitution sting, then abruptly confronted by a mysterious task force of the U.S. Government. In a running, pitched battle, the hypothetical vampire is brought to heel and then whisked away to the research section of a VA Hospital.

This unknown, frighteningly dangerous creature becomes the centerpiece of a research project code-named "Delphi." Soon enough the captive earns the term "living impossibility" by the lead scientist, a man who readily blinds himself to risk because of an insatiable thirst for hidden knowledge. Amidst a series of discoveries that unfold in an environment rife with tension-surprising revelations that turn the known mechanics of human physiology upside down-one significant yet slowly revealed "revelation" is grasped too, too slowly by the people who think they hold all the cards: "Vlad" can be persuasive, insidiously so. Secure doors, one-way mirrors and ever-present guards just might not be up to the challenge of keeping him down.

With the overview of this good horror picture out of the way-a production cast and crew alike should be proud of-I will mention here some of the nagging defects that briefly bothered my eye, tickled my ear and caused my brain to spasm during what was largely a superb effort that bore plentiful fruit.
The action scenes at the beginning of the movie could have been choreographed a bit more professionally. I guess such flaws are to be expected; this was definitely a film whose "shoe-string budget" put a damper on the visuals.

The security barriers that kept the outside world away from the research project were ludicrously inadequate; from what I gathered, there was but one: A nurse behind a desk, who seemed to be constantly on the phone. That hardly makes for an effective deterrent against potential intruders, especially anyone who might be motivated to track down a notorious serial killer; a shadowy figure whose results were widely known to the media and certainly impacted the victims' survivors.

It struck me as oddly puzzling how dense and callous one of the leads-a bright and caring young internist-could act at times. First, it took him far too long to link the strange man under his care-a position, admittedly, that was thrust upon him-with the killer tagged "Vlad" by the media. (Maybe because he was so busy seeing to Veterans, he never had the chance to read the papers before the real deal itself showed up and altered his life forever.) Second, he started cooling to the creature a bit late in the game. I mean, any person with the moral fiber this man obviously possessed would have suspected from the get-go his enigmatic patient's fresh blood needs more than likely involved a history of murder.

On top of the youngest doctor's briefly strange lapses, two of his senior cohorts' behavior toward the end also threw me for a loop. Suffice to say the effort to advance the study had one acting in rapid succession fiendishly appalling than brutally uncaring; the other reached disgustingly culpable shortly after oozing a stench of wimpish criminality. (I guess "Vlad" could have been acting telepathically behind the scenes, but, if so, I must have missed that angle entirely.)

Finally, there were a few significant loose strings still hanging at the closing credits. I don't want to get into too much detail here, because it might spoil crucial aspects of the story, but Vlad's past doings could have been explored and explained a bit more comprehensively.

In this last paragraph I do feel compelled to end on a positive note. I mean, it's the least I can do, since I did enjoy the film, very much so. All the actors throughout, despite the aforementioned inconsistencies in behavior and "Vlad's" elegant darkness, struck me as everyday people with everyday good looks realistically and believingly confronting an alluring yet disturbing mystery. No "ravishing divas, incomparably handsome leading men and celebrated acting skills" of the big budgeted movies here. These actors, in an understated professionalism, duplicated very closely what one would expect to see in the environment and situations presented.

(Okay, I lied!! There is one more complaint, and it's not just for this movie: Military guards, who find themselves in imminently hostile environments, are not in the least likely to remain at parade rest incessantly, staring straight ahead and needlessly tiring themselves out, thus being less than fully prepared for danger when it strikes!)

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