Servants of Twilight (1991)

Fantastic!

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

That summary alone isn't really saying much at all, especially for those unlucky bastards who forced themselves to sit through the particularly dreadful "Phantoms", "Hideaway", or ANY of the "Watchers" movies. That being said, this film about a devoutly religious cult headed by a pre-Twin Peaks Grace Zabriskie, who are hellbent (pun intended) on killing a six year old boy (young Andrew dice clay himself, Jerrot Lennon) whom they believe to be the current incarnation of the anti-Christ and willing to kill anyone who get in their way is passable entertainment if you can get past the overtly melodramatic beginning. Belinda Bauer as the mother of Joey is a big letdown, primarily because she's one-dimensional, well more so than the other cardboard cutout characters populating the movie, but also because she didn't follow up her terrific nudity in "Winter Kills" (only bring that up because one scene promises nudity, but then the director choose to pussy out). The ending is groan-inducing and silly. But there are still some unintentional laughs to be had here. Oh and I felt the need to call it the best THEATRICAL film only because I actually found the made for TV flick "Intensity" to be quite good and the best Koontz adaption put out thus far.My grade: C-

A woman and her son are attacked by strange people, and they hire a private detective agency to protect them and learn why. Somehow, they can afford having the entire agency on their case, even having as many as three of them staying with them around the clock at times. The detectives aren't particularly good at anything except for being killed, which takes care of the problem of affording them all, I suppose.Every once in a while, the movie remembers that there was a poorly-defined framing device at the beginning that made everything that followed a reminiscence rather than a current event. So, very occasionally, the lead actor will say something in voice-over ("that's when I first talked to you"), which is silly and totally unnecessary.The acting in the movie is absolutely dreadful. Some of the actors are capable of acting; they've displayed some skill in other movies, but none of that is evident here. The little boy who is the center of the story is unappealing; as with many kids in 1970s Italian horror movies, to look at him is to want him to die. Thus, one's sympathies are with the cultists who want to kill him, even though they're scarcely appealing at all either.The video box says the movie is rated R. How that could be possible, I can't imagine. A number of people are killed, but the violence is hardly even the equal of a television cop show, and not that of a horror movie. There is no nudity. There is little, if any bad language.

don't even bother with this snot even worthy of a video release movie. Bruce Greenwood, you re such a good actor, and I suppose you had to start somewhere, but why THIS piece of trash. It is so BAD, that the over-the-top dialog and performances are not even funny.Avoid this film like the plague, and DO NOT be fooled by Trimark's cool DVD box cover at your local Hollywood or Blockbuster!As for the description on the back of the box, it is not what it seems. This grace woman just suddenly "bumps into" the boy and his mother in a parking garage...is that god's destiny?This movie is such a joke. don't even bother trying to understand what the screenwriter's were thinking when they wrote this piece of trash.

While the movie does vary from the original literary work by Dean Koontz, it's a great thriller. It demonstrates truly talented acting ability on the part of Bruce Greenwood in the leading role as Charlie Harrison.The storyline...well, was a bit weak, as they NEVER put into Koontz's work the money they funnel by the fistfuls into King's, but it's still a terrific movie, for a low-budgeted horror flick. It has some truly tense, even edge-of-the-seat, moments and is a good addition to any horror collection.The plot goes something like this...the kid is the child of Satan, and the Servants of Twilight are there to stop him from reaching maturity. Good luck on that one, if Damien was any indication.Solid acting and good direction, along with Koontz's writing, put this into my fav's as far as horror movies go.I give it a solid 8/10 from...the Fiend :.