Well, if you have a thing for late 1998s light horror movies with a supernatural or religious subplot, then I suppose "Shadow Builder" might be something for you. Initially I was lured in to watch "Shadow Builder" for the first time in 2021 given the fact it being a movie that I hadn't already seen and also because it brandished Bram Stoker on the movie's cover.

Granted, I haven't read the particular Stoker story that this movie is based upon, so I have no idea how true it was to the original story.

But for someone sitting down to watch this 1998s movie "Shadow Builder" for entertainment purposes, I must say that I was only mildly entertained. The movie was just way too bland and mundane for my liking. It failed to stand out amidst many other horror movies from the late 1990s, so it was just a 'meh' experience actually.

Sure, the movie had Michael Rooker in it, and that does count for something in itself. And yeah, he does deliver his usual mean and gruffy character performance, that he usually do, so if you enjoy that, then "Shadow Builder" has something for you to enjoy.

Visually then "Shadow Builder" was just a swing and a miss. The demonic entity was just laughable to look at today. Sure, back in 1998s then the effects would have been considered good, I get that. But by today's standards, then "Shadow Builder" haven't aged well, and it was somewhat of an eyesore to watch the creature on the screen.

Storywise then "Shadow Builder" was just another good vs. evil with a religious element to it. Seen that dozens of times before 1998 and after 1998. So nothing grand or innovative from writer Michael Stokes. And director Jamie Dixon just didn't manage to deliver an outstanding movie here.

I can now check "Shadow Builder" off the list of watched movies, and I can in all honesty say that this is not a movie that I will be returning to watch a second time, as the movie just doesn't have the contents for such an endeavor.

My rating of "Shadow Builder" lands on a less than mediocre four out of ten stars.

BRAM STOKER'S SHADOWBUILDER is a typical B-flick action/horror from 1998, with absolutely no relation to the somewhat mystical Bram Stoker short story of the same title. This one features dependable Michael Rooker as a demon-slaying priest who's on the track of a sinister shadow demon summoned up by an evil archbishop in the film's OTT opening sequence. The demon has designs on a suburban kid, and the whole second half of the movie is a large set-piece sequence in which assorted heroes strive to protect the boy from the supernatural nasty. Generally this is a mixed bag of a movie, with some nice stylistic touches and okay CGI effects helping; the cast isn't too shabby either. But the demon in human form is just a guy in a Halloween mask and there's too little storyline and too much average direction to really make this zing.

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.