Guardian of the Realm (2004)

Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

1 boring .... 2 movie was low quality .... 3 the vampires even lower .. 4 bad acting .... 5 even on HD seems like the quality is really bad .... 6 I gave it a 3 stars cause I feel sorry for the actors and crew ... 7 This is best for people who loves to watch crappy movies .... 8 nothing against those bad movie lovers but it's really terrible movie... 9 even if you have nothing else to watch, re-watch something else ... 10 and oh did i mention this movie is not about vampires, but hey I don't know i only watched about half way so i might have missed the vampires ...Overall don't waste you money and watch something else, this movie should have all copies incinerated

I bought GUARDIAN OF THE REALM because I know the special effects supervisor Tom Seymour. I have to admit that I'm proud of the St. Louis natives Tom, Ted Smith and Wyatt Weed for crafting an entertaining film. It had humor, good makeup, limited but effective fight scenes and decent sound effects and music. The actors did a fair job with the material, which avoided most clichés. Glen Levy was a real surprise with his charm and humor, but especially good in his fight choreography. The armored demon was impressive, but overall, the set design and props were excellent. You can't expect too much for a movie of this nature, and the makers stretched the budget to the limits. You can tell that they love the genre, and for the most part, it was artfully done.

SPOILER: NOT ABOUT STORY JUST EFFECTS & PRODUCTION Everything about this movie reeks of cheap sets, props, effects, sound recording & post, too long of shots on too long of inexperienced actors, but gosh, lots of character demons, gore, some action, a decent attempt at humor... not bad.As a cg artist I saw all their cg attempts, all cheesy, but used... and used... and I'm just impressed these guys went for it... I mean the sparks and clouds and fire and meteors and computer interface stuff. And as for demon designs, wow! I'm impressed with the sub demons, the pure demon, the warrior demon, the shaman demon, the pet demon, the she demon... etc... I mean, not just one silly monster, but a whole bunch of power ranger things, and they all made sense, as an entourage. And why not! So as schlocky as digital feels, as cheap as digital audio sounds, as glaring as video colors are, as painfully obvious gel lights glare... they went for it and i hope they get a chance to go for it again with more money. But I hope they keep to the same fun schlock! Good luck guys.And love all the downtown L.A. sites, brings back memories, and all the sites in my neighborhood of Hollywood. You guys stayed here to do it, awesome.

Guardian is what I always looked and hoped for when I was as kid - a buried treasure, a hidden surprise. Remember when you took a chance and rented those films with the questionable covers, and nine out of ten times, you got burned? Not this time. Guardian is obviously a labor of love, by people who love the movies, and that love, passion, and fun shows in every frame of it. Yes, the flick is low-budget, but it does amazing things with what amounts to pro-sumer equipment that most anyone has access to. Young filmmakers, take note: you will spend many viewings trying to figure out how they did some of this stuff. Most films operating at this level are simple dramas with talking heads, or make no attempt at large-scale stunts or effects, but not the guys who made this flick - they went nuts. Check out the references to Johnny Quest, Anime, Mad Max, Chop-Socky, Ghostbusters, South Park, and if you look very closely, even Blade Runner! Never mind all of that, however - just enjoy the flick. Glen Levy is charming and aerodynamic, Tanya Dempsey gives a star-making performance and is one of the most beautiful actresses to come along in a long time, and Lana Piryan is dead-sexy, with an accent that makes you really not care if you get possessed by a demon or not. The rest of the supporting cast is either funny, handsome, or sexy, and the plot, although a bit derivative of other things, is very well constructed, and some of the dialogue is quite funny. There is a gag involving a bottle of ketchup that has to be seen to be believed.Guardian may be the first low-budget, indie feature that I have seen try a "Hollywood" style approach to everything, instead of hedging its' bets every step of the way. Not perfect by any means, but the best "B" flick I've seen in a long time, and hopefully not the last feature that Ted Smith will make. "Stay sharp - like a razor."