Review of Servants of Twilight (1991) by John L — 04 Jul 2016

An "Original Showtime Movie" made in 1998, it has all the same characteristics as the broadcast network "Made for TV" movies. Its obvious low budget shows in the production design and special effects.

The actors are B and C list. While their performances aren't "bad" per se they're lackluster. The screen writing, script and directing are as much if not more responsible for that as the actors.

The total result is a workman like movie that doesn't have much suspense or punch that a horror thriller should have, even if it's constrained by budget and short shooting schedule. Several scene sequences could have been rearranged slightly to heighten the shock and suspense.

The choreography and timing of action and fight scenes are mediocre. As would be expected, all the bloody violence is off-camera, with the only on-camera deadly violence being bloodless shootings, which I attribute to budget constraints.

It has an MPAA "R" rating primarily for language content which would have to be edited for over-the-air network broadcast TV. Why it was submitted to the MPAA for theatrical rating is a bit of a mystery (this costs money).

All it needed was a TV rating using the FCC's rating scheme for airing on the Showtime cable channel, which is done by the broadcaster, not an industry or trade association with a fee. As with other films made for broadcast TV networks and and cable channels, it also suffers the erratic pacing needed to fill the time slot and the timing of scene transitions appropriate for scheduled commercial breaks.

The positive things going for the movie are a couple of twist at the end. The viewer must plod through the movie to get to them though.