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Shadowhunters
Directed By John Johnson
Released: 2004
Starring: David Simmons, Ted Taylor, Liam Smith, and Rebecca Taylor
Running Time: 92 minutes
DVD Released By Brain Damage Films
Murphy (Ted Taylor) and his group of Shadowhunters attempted to banish the
demon named Malphaedor five years ago. Unfortunately, they only managed to
imprison Malphaedor and the ground which he inhabits is now cursed. A
hospital was built on that very spot and has been condemned after a series
of horrible and unexplainable occurrences took place. The Shadowhunters
return to rid the hospital of the curse and to destroy Malphaedor once and
for all. Coincidentally, on the same night some sorority girls are using
the same abandoned hospital for a hazing ritual. Malphaedor is released,
people are possessed, zombies are unleashed, and all hell breaks loose.
It’s up to the Shadowhunters to restore order and destroy the demon once
and for all.
John Johnson directs Shadowhunters, an indie horror flick with a
lot of attitude but very little else. There are some nice stylish moments
from the lighting department and decent cinematography but there are also
some very clunky action sequences. Bad wannabe kung-fu fighting and sped
up photography hurt the film’s ability to kick some zombie and demon ass.
The script is cheesy with a few moments of coolness ("Let's go find some
scattered ass.") and the performances
are painfully representational. More maniacal laughter, anyone? No wait,
the script needs more cursing!
Shadowhunters certainly delivers in the blood, gore, and boobs
department. The film is definitely trashy especially when Malphaedor
possesses a girl and then commands her to rub the breasts of her fellow
sorority friends or to rape a man while he's nailed to the floor. The girls also skip around and act very silly like
demented children while they are possessed which brings to mind Linnea
Quigley in Night Of The Demons but not as good. And of course, the
whole possession bit has been done so many times before but is handled
creatively here.
Occasionally entertaining and occasionally embarrassing to watch,
Shadowhunters is indie horror that delivers despite its silliness.
It’s interesting to watch the Shadowhunters team as it begins to fall
apart due to their personality clashing but the sorority girl antics are
beyond corny. There is an especially cool scene when Malphaedor calls upon
his zombies to do battle with Murphy and company. Horror folks that
need more demons, more zombies, and more English bums living in the
basement of an abandoned hospital in Virginia should check this one out.
DVD Specs:
Shadowhunters looks good in its widescreen presentation and the
audio is clear in this Brain Damage Films release. Extras include
Bloopers, Deleted Scenes, Stills Reel, Music Video, Premier Night Video,
Interviews, and Brain Damage Trailers. All of the extras related to
Shadowhunters are hosted by the director himself. Very odd.
For more information, check out
Brain Damage Films.
Or check out the film’s website
here.
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