Guardian of the Realm

So, let me start off by saying that this is not anywhere near as good as a movie with a proper budget and crew. However, for what it is, I felt like the director actually had some sense of what he was doing. The actors were at least likable and many of them came off as interested in what they were doing. While the acting itself wasn't stellar, most of the actors weren't so wooden like many other low budget movies. The lead 'demon' actress, Nikki, is played by a woman with a very thick accent and it can be a bit off-putting at times because it was obvious they only put her in for the sex appeal, but I have seen/heard much, much worse from much higher budget works (Pamela Anderson?). The two lead demon hunters worked well together and while I felt the chemistry was kind of forced by the writing, I actually felt a bit of attachment to both of them. I certainly wasn't cracking up laughing or balling my eyes out, but they were decent and fun to watch.

Watching this now in 2020, it would be unfair of me to say that the CG effects were terrible. Even by 2004 standards, this would have been panned badly, but I think for what they had to work with, they kept a lot of the effects to a minimum and that actually worked in their favor. They used a lot of nice looking costumes for the armor and demon effects and while in some instances you could plainly see they were just foam and rubber, it wasn't so bad that it distracted you from the rest of the movie. If I had to pin a look to this, I would say this looks about on par with the likes of Bibleman (a show I have not watched, but have seen enough of to get the idea). However, what makes this a step above is actually taking the actors off a soundstage to actual locations and having real things like bikes, cars, motorcycles, weather, etc and actually making them work rather than having the actor in front of a blue screen with a blurry background flying by. A lot of the demon makeup was very well done, especially the demon god when he shows up. Though, I will say one thing, the added "clink" sound they added to the armored demon was very annoying and was not needed, but the armor was neat looking and the actor playing in the suit managed to make it look like it was a big, hulking demon wearing armor.

The fight scenes, for the few there are, actually were lots of fun to watch. Everyone that had to fight actually had some very well done choreography, while (again) not up to standards with a well polished Hollywood movie, it was apparent that the fight scenes were done over the course of hours/days rather than "pull some punches and we'll cut the scene together". Some actual acrobatics were used and the sword fight in the end had very nice, thought out moves that made it fun to watch. There were a few moments where it was bordering on 'Power Rangers' type fighting, but it wasn't overdone or too over the top.

The story itself certainly wasn't deep or provocative and honestly, I don't think it needed to be. The writer(s) and director at least put some thought into the plot and while you might be able to guess what's going to happen next, you might not mind because it's done well enough that you can be like "that's how I would have done it", but there are a few points where it managed to surprise me with something even though I was able to call out a scene just prior, they would throw something in just a bit extra to be like "you saw this coming, but not this...". There are a few moments where a plot point won't go anywhere, but I get that from a lot of these movies, so it's to be expected (the one where Nikki up-chucks something into the demon's mouth is neither explained nor brought up again after it happens). One thing that the plot suffers from is a lot of exposition, while not as bad as some movies, there are a couple moments that could have been explained better or in a different way, but that's only a nitpick.

A lot of the camera work we done well enough, some establishing shots to set up a scene, framing was decent without any strange angles to make it "look like art" or edgy. Sound mixing was ok, I would have liked for a better voice for Nikki when she breaks out into her demon voice and the aforementioned 'clink' footsteps of the armored demon were really bad. I didn't notice an real issues with voices otherwise, music didn't overlap and drown out dialogue (as can be an issue in a lot of these movies) and I didn't see any boom mics getting in the way.

Overall, just a fun movie to waste a couple hours on. If you're expecting another "Blade" or "Ghostbusters", this won't be for you, but if you like cheesy B-movies that actually have some sort of effort put forth, you might actually enjoy this.

By no means was this a prefect film, but oddly enough it was very very watchable. The look of the film kind of distracts by its digital look but if it had been filmed any other way it probably would have been noted as bad. The leads were nice looking and the storyline was decent. The sets looked like they were in someones garage but were well done for what they were. The acting was OK. Not as bad as some and the acting could have used a little more rehearsal but the actions scenes were pretty good. Really enjoyed the costume of the main bad guy (girl) Nikki. Well worth a look if you have nothing better to do on a Saturday night.

At the beginning, there is a scene at a Goth disco, the "Devil's Den", and I thought: 'Oh no, this is going to be another flick where somebody invited his untalented pale-faced goth friends... who think they look so cool in moonlight that they must be filmed'! Fortunately, I was wrong. "Guardian of the Realm" develops into a funny but violent genre flick, looking rather like an episode from a TV series than a big movie, but despite the mediocre effects it shows quite a lot of effort was put into it. Camera work, lights and music (atmospheric strings, not too much rock) are all done well, and the story contains enough sense of ironic humor to make you forget that this isn't the first time ghost-hunters fight a demon creature. The running time of 110 minutes was flying by and never felt like it was too long. Glen Levy, a former stuntman from series such as "Xena", "Hercules" and "Cleo 2525", becomes a sympathetic hero. Obviously, he gets a lot of fights, too, because that's what he does best. So, what I can say about "Guardian of the Realm": I enjoyed it, want to watch it again some time, even if it's not the biggest thing since "Blade".

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.