Customer Reviews

Guardian Of The Realm

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

 

 

The cover has nothing to do with the movie. This movie reminded me of an adult version of Bible man superhero type show. Tanya Dempsey has the acting ability of a porn star, but keeps her skimpy clothes on during the whole movie. Only demons get naked. We do discover that demons live on earth disguised as humans and like a bad Romulan cloaking device, they must reveal themselves prior to attacking. The movie was campy and at times had a "Japanese Sci-Fi" flavor to it. It would be a perfect candidate for an MST-3000 episode.

Guardian of the Realm was a real surprise. The acting and directing were uniformly good. The script was smart, and the plotting was very textured. I also appreciated the use of old school make-up and costumes to create the demons and other creatures.

Guardian of the Realm posits an Occult Police Force patrolling the U.S. to stop demons from leaking into our "realm." While this concept has been done before--notably Buffy and Torchwood, if you translate demons to aliens, GOR establishes its own mythology with some pretty neat flourishes, such as a clever means of demon disposal.

The story centers on two such Police Officers Josh Griffin and Angela Marlowe, an officer from the New York office. However, unlike many small budgeted productions that only can afford a handful of actors, this one expands to include a chief of operations, another pair of Demon Hunters and a pair of computer techs, all ably acted. The cast expands further when Josh and Angela follow the clues to persons of interest.

The plot flows rather seamlessly, and there's genuine character development and as well as an applaudable avoidance of cliche. Frequently I found myself saying "That's cool," or "Oh, that's a sneaky twist." One reviewer referred to the production as campy, and I disagree with that. I think this was an earnest attempt to produce something novel. The humor arises from the characterizations, and the characters are quite enjoyable. When something bad happens to them, you feel for them.

The only warning I'd issue, and I think it's obvious is that this isn't something for kids. It's got nudity and gore, which builds to a climax rather than splatters in every scene.

Not much plot,
special effects so-so.
Ends with kind of a bang...
Would not buy again.

Despite the cover this is not a film about vampires. It's about demons (to me that makes all the difference in the world). In this film there's a secret organisation that picks up on disturbances in the fabric of the universe in LA with a special monitoring system. When a demon comes through to our world, a person's sent over to send them back... by shooting them. Great story! (not!)

A very stupid premise. And in LA I'd think it'd be very hard to tell who's who, from people of this realm from all others.

It's sometimes hard to watch myself on film, but the director of this film made watching quite easy.
Glen Levy? Tanya? amazing to work with and it was quite a fun production.