PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Vampire movies have been done to death over the years, from the Blade series to the Hammer horror films to the cringe worthy Twilight films to the beloved Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Even the great movies such as From Dusk Till Dawn, John Carpenter’s Vampires and The Lost Boys follow the same premise of humans defeating a gaggle of evil vampires. Then in 2002 came Jon Cunningham’s highly underrated movie adaptation of Deborah Warner’s novel Demon Under Glass.
The story begins with Detective Gwen Taylor (Denise Hurd) apprehending multiple murderer Simon Molinar (Jason Carter: Babylon 5), but instead of going to the slammer, he’s sent to an underground lab run by Dr. William Bassett (Jack Donner: The Man From UNCLE) and his assistant, Dr. Hirsch (James Kiberd: All My Children). Simon manages to kill Hirsch, who’s then replaced by Dr. Joseph McKay (Garrett Maggart). It’s then revealed that Simon is…*drumroll*… A VAMPIRE! At first, Dr. McKay goes along with Dr. Bassett’s experiments, but then as he gets to know Simon, begins to wonder if any of this is necessary. Eventually, McKay figures out that the true “demon” isn’t the creature of the night. Will he help Simon or aid The Delphi Project? That’s when Demon Under Glass picks up steam.
From an acting standpoint, they all nailed it. Jason Carter makes you want to jump through the screen and break him out and Jack Donner makes you want to jump through and strangle him. I honestly had never heard of Garrett Maggart until this movie, and I wonder, after such a great performance, why he never made it to the big time. Major credit has to go to Deborah Warner and Jon Cunningham for not making a romance story out of this, as many non-bloody vampire movies have done. Demon Under Glass is more of a cerebral movie that makes you think. Do you agree with experimenting on vampires, knowing they have to kill to survive? Do you side with Bassett or McKay? What’s Detective Taylor’s role in all this?
All in all, Demon Under Glass is a different kind of movie, which is what makes it special. If you’re sick of gory, bloody movies, cheesy romance movies or shoot ’em up bang bang movies, THIS is the one for you. Be sure to look for it on DVD and give it the love it should have gotten fifteen years ago. Also, check out the book by Deborah Warner. It’s almost exactly the same except the plot doesn’t end when the movie ends. There’s a different ending which you’ll have to read (or see) to appreciate.
