To me, this movie is perfection.

the audience applauded

Instant Favorite.

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Get the ingredients for a little made b-film and throw Bram Stocker in as inspiration for the story. A demonic force is summoned to take the soul of a young boy who could become a saint and if done it could open a doorway to hell. However this entity can only travel through shadows and needs to collect souls to complete this task. But on its trail is Father Vassey, who's heading to this sleepy rural town to find the boy first. The occult horror "Shadow Builder" is an adaptation of a Stocker story and the screenplay only seems to muddled it up with half-baked theories, as it leans towards its cheesy special effects, nasty shocks and poignant performances led by Michael Rooker's grizzled renegade priest who gets around with pistols than say a bible and Tony Todd as some loony giggling Jamaican hermit that kids are afraid of. Actually "Shadow Builder" isn't all that bad, but in parts it's fairly amusing and surprisingly dark in its atmospherics. The opening scenes are actually quite fun. Over-the-top and silly, but fun especially seeing Rooker at work in his choice of repenting sinners. The demonic entity has some striking facial details, but basically it's black CGI smoke and like most villainous horror characters has something cleverly smart to say. With this last point, I thought it would have been better suited if it said nothing at all. The direction is rather stylised for its low- budget, but the plot doesn't meander much and it has enough thrills in its formulaic patterns of good vs. evil… or light vs. darkness. A young Kevin Zegers stars as the kid caught in the middle of it all."Are you truly repentant?"

Shadowbuilder may not be the best movie, but I really liked it. The effects were good and the acting was OK. I thought the story was good and it kept me in my seat. The Shadowbuilder was cool. I liked the way he took on the persona of his victims. When the town went postal I really had a good laugh at the man who wanted to use the ax on his wife's head again. LMAO! I would not consider it a true horror movie. It was more of a action/thriller with a little horror. There are no guts flying all over the place - which is what I consider horror. All of the victims are turned to a shadow which isn't horrific or gory. I would recommend Shadowbuilder. It deserved at least one look in my book. I have watched it numerous times.

"Shadow Builder" doesn't only dispose of the ugliest VHS-cover in the history of cinema, it also is one of the most ineptly bizarre films I ever had the (mis)fortune of seeing. The film is a little bit based on a short story by Bram Stoker (you know, the guy who gained some fame with his vampire novel) but the scriptwriter obviously had a lot of fun adding insane stuff that comes from his own imagination, like a swearing priest who operates 9mm guns…with laser beams! Believe it or not, but there are many interesting ideas and ingenious details noticeable in "Shadow Builder", and with a slightly more coherent script, the film might have been very good. It introduces a quite original monster, in the shape of Darth Vader-resembling demon that can only reign in the shadows. He has been summoned by a bunch of freaks and now he's looking for 12-year-old Chris Hatcher. During the sun eclipse, demon-guy will use Chris to make the world come to an end because he was born with stigmata. Yes, very clever!! Michael Rooker stars as the troubled priest who stalks the demon all over the country and Tony "Candyman" Todd has an insignificant role as the town's nut. The film is actually quite enjoyable, but only during the moments when the plot doesn't necessarily have to make sense, like for example the neat sequences of the town in chaos or when the demon possesses random souls in order to gain power. Director Jamie Dixon tries to uphold a constant level of action and most cast members seem to fulfill their job with great devotion. I can't properly judge the use of special effects, though. Some visual gimmicks are quite well done whereas others are lousy and on the verge of pitiful. Definitely not a must-see, but if you're a fan of silly horror, it's worth watching when it comes on TV or something.

I just love this movie. It has a reasonably original plot and is fairly well directed and filmed. The effects are, in the main, pretty good, in particular the demon. There are some interesting characters, like the assassin priest and the crazy repair-man dude played by Tony "Candyman" Todd. Kevin Zegers as the demons intended victim adds a touch of class to the movie with his well thought out and believable portrayal of Chris.The movie just screams 1980's straight to video horror, albeit with a bigger budget and better effects. Some people seem to think this is a criticism, but when you consider how popular those 1980's horror flicks were, I don't see it as a criticism at all, I just view the movie as a retro-flick. What really makes the film stand out are the great one liners... Priest walks into police station and says "I'm looking for a boy". Police man answers "Isn't that illegal father?" to which priest retorts "F**k off!". You just gotta love it!