Demon Hunter (DVD)
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Demon Hunter, a straight-to-DVD horror movie, snags your attention right away when our intrepid hero, Jake Greyman (Sean Patrick Flanery), kicks the crap out of a teenaged girl. True, she is a demon-possessed teenaged girl, but it's still an eye-opener — just imagine Father Merrin and Regan throwing down in a bare-knuckled free-for-all. You can't, can you? At first, Demon Hunter seems like it's going to be something special…
…But then it devolves into a T&A flick built around a hackneyed horror yarn. Luckily, in spite of a trite plot and an obviously low budget, the lead actor and the reasonably strong script keep Demon Hunter enjoyably aloft for its 80-minute runtime.
Greyman is a Blade-like character in that he is, in bloodline, part of the very evil that he hunts. Raised by the Church, the stoic Greyman suppresses his demonic side and dispatches his cousins wherever they might pop up to wreak havoc on mortal souls. This week, the Demons of Lust are on the loose in
In order to capture these reprehensible beings before they can start spreading their demon seed amongst innocent mortals, Greyman teams up with a collagen injected, implant stuffed, nose-bobbed nun, Sister Sara (Colleen Porch). Here is where it becomes obvious that the females were cast based on their physical endowments alone — both Porch (seemingly reading monosyllabic cue cards) and Deighton (trying to keep from drooling as she slurs through her fangs) are the weakest links acting-wise, while Drago vamps it up (he could practically play Nosferatu without the benefit of makeup) and Flanery keeps everything grounded (his deadpan-quip, tough-guy dialogue actually works quite well).
The sets and stunts mostly take center stage, and they're quite good. There's plenty of action (chases, fist-fights, motorcycle madness) taking place in practical locations (a cemetery, a dark alley, and an old hotel for the Demons' den of iniquity) which is enhanced nicely by having everything shot on 35 mm film. The medium allows for nice colors and a rich depth of field (however, the DP was obviously in a hurry on this 18-day shoot, as there isn't much in the way of composition). The original score is good, but the metal-like pop songs that are shoehorned in at the most inappropriate moments do not work at all.
As expected, the special effects are dodgy but fortunately the filmmakers were smart enough to avoid going to the GC well too often. The makeup effects are alright, but not quite good enough to blend in and become a part of the overall picture. There isn't an awful lot of gore but what there is, is well-done.
Demon Hunter is over the top, but it's done in a fun way. It's instantly forgettable, but while it lasts the movie is worth your while.
The goodies on this DVD are considerable. Surprising for a movie of this caliber, but they are engaging and well done. The Making-Of featurette, Demons Among Us, thankfully offers up a spoiler warning before it begins.
Nearly everyone — with the marked exception of star Sean Patrick Flanery — takes part. But they do talk about him a lot… legendary producer Steven J. Cannell has nothing but glowing things to say about the actors. Usually this is standard promo smoke-blowing, but one thing he says about Flanery in this role rings quite true: He does have sort of a Steve McQueen quality as Greyman.
They also talk about how Billy Drago came to be cast, even though the role was written for a 6' + body-builder type. There's talk about the sex scenes, particularly the one between Nancy Yoon (as a possessed widow) and Drago. That pivotal scene was shot in the
The screenwriter goes into the research he did, including the fabled history of the succubus and the incubus, and how he read the Bible for some of his inspiration. He also outlines how Succubus was toned down from his original script.
Another featurette is a Fight Sequence Breakdown, then we have the Commentary from writer/stunt coordinator Mitch Gould and actor Nancy Yoon. They offer a different perspective from the usual leading star/director commentaries we get — Yoon is not in movie all that much, but her presence brings out an easy, bantering, anecdotal side to the commentary.
Gould, while he doesn't have a glowing sense of humor, has some noteworthy anecdotes about the development of the script. I thought it was interesting to learn that his mom is a historian, living in
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson