Picture this: It's Los Angeles, in the near future, and a powerful demon named Virago is plotting to take over the world after having been released from captivity by The Brotherhood—an occult group consisting of big-money businessmen. Enter: Josh Griffin (Glen Levy) and Alex Marlowe (Tanya Dempsey), two demon hunters extraordinaire. Together with fellow Guardians, they are determined to save the world with their masterful demon-destroying expertise.

This classic tale of good versus evil is brought to us by a team with St. Louis roots: producer Scott M. Baker (who wanted to create a low-budget film using modem digital technology), writer/director Ted Smith (who already had the idea in mind), and executive producer Robert Clark (who was interested in funding the project). Together, they created Guardian of the Realm, a movie with lots of blood and gore to keep things interesting as the well-devised plot thickens.

The script has many upsides, but also a few downsides. On the upside there are some nice twists on what is basically a simple pulp premise. The film is basically a straightforward morality play and while much of the plotting is by the book. Smith and co-writer Wyatt Weed add several unexpected moments to keep the audience on its toes. The twists are often augmented by Smith's subtle direction; he foreshadows without spoiling the surprise. Unfortunately, those nice moments are often surrounded by cliches. The secondary characters tend to be more plot device than people. From the moment the wise mentor appears, it is obvious he is only in the movie to die and make Griffin's quest personal. The captain is constantly angry at his staff for no apparent reason, and the geeky dispatcher, who does a poor job of hiding her predictable crush on Griffin, becomes the deus ex machina that conveniently solves most of the puzzle off-screen. These secondary players lack motivation, screen time, and relevance.

The second downfall of the script is the dialogue. It is passable for the most part, but there are few moments where the words make the average Sci-Fi Channel special look like Shakespeare* Those moments completely destroy the mood of the piece, but fortunately they are mostly in the first act and, after a few cringes. Guardian settles into a nice rhythm.

Unlike the secondary characters, the leads are well developed and the actors embody their roles nicely. The onscreen chemistry between Griffin and Marlowe is one of the film's strongest features. Their affection for each other is clear, yet the movie does not water down the demon-centered premise by bringing in an unnecessary love story. Levy, especially, maintains a nice balance of skilled crime fighter/guy-next-door, and Lana Piryan, who plays Nikki—the body in which Virago resides—has perfected the role of wickedly evil leader.

The look of the film is a real triumph. The set dressing is the biggest star of the movie's technical crafts, followed closely by the make-up and wardrobe. The effects, both digital and actual, are as seamless the biggest action movies. The blood splatters and action choreography are excellent. The evocative lighting and nimble camera work add to the overall production value. The movie is obviously video, but so was the last Star Wars installment, and Guardian of the Realm plays like high-end video, beyond the medium on which it was captured.

In his directorial debut. Smith succeeds in many areas, both the previously mentioned subtle foreshadowing and overall look of the film. He also pulls performances from the actors that are actually given character by the script, and his shot selection is interesting without distracting. Smith also does a nice job with pacing. A deliberate start builds to an action packed finale. The opening montages and slow pace play better on the big screen, where they effectively draw the audience into the near-future setting.

According to the film's Web site, Smith's goal for the movie was that "his mother could go to a video store and say, 'My son wrote and directed that!'" The good news is that Guardian of the Realm is Blockbuster-worthy and many horror-film fans will enjoy watching it in the comfort of their own homes on a lazy afternoon or catching it on cable late at night.