Angel of Death

I have the substance release of this film...not great quality but pretty watchable. I can't wait til someone like full moon features rereleases this film and restores it. Great 80s action...extremely cheezy but awesome

Devoted cult film fanatics already know better than to pay any attention to the low ratings of obscure and infamous titles around this website, but I would still like to emphasize the fact that the miserable 2.1 out of 10 rating for "Commando Mengele" should be disregarded blindly! Despite being a total rip-off of "The Boys from Brazil", despite the involvement of reputedly awful European film-makers (like Jess Franco and Andrea Bianchi) and despite the at times intolerably high level of tackiness, this is one outrageously entertaining and delightfully provocative gem! It's a bad film but in the best possible way: dumb but never boring, full of plot holes and incoherent as can be, gory and vile but never shocking and boosting acting performances that are even worse than those in a kindergarten play. A young couple discovers the hideout place of the fugitive Nazi monster Dr. Mengele in a remote little Uruguayan mountain and promptly he doesn't like unwelcome visitors. The girl dies but this guy Marc teams up with a former nightclub dancer who Mengele selected as his mistress. Whilst awaiting green light from the Jewish Nazi-hunters commando to attack, Marc gathers together a specialist fighting unit containing an acrobat, an artillery expert, a martial arts champion and a technician, all of which have a personal score to settle with the Nazi butcher. But they'll have to hurry up, as Mengele and his sidekick Wolfgang have readily developed plans to found The Fourth Reich. "Commando Mengele" is fast-paced and full of crazy action, but you'll have the most fun spotting all the things that are just plain wrong! Like all the contradictions in the script, for example, or the fact Howard Vernon (a Jess Franco regular) didn't even bother to do some research regarding Mengele's appearance! Vernon looks and acts like his own usual self, without a fake mustache or a trying to talk with a German accent. The finale is one fantastically spectacular smörgåsbord of action and crazy twists, and in the end we STILL don't know for sure whether the bastard is dead or not! Awesome stuff.

Now this is a movie that I didn't hear about until getting it in a box set for review from Full Moon thanks to Laura from Scandal Coactive. It is interesting that along with this, I got a borderline softcore porn that was directed by Jesús Franco and seeing that he started directing this, I thought this would be more graphic. Without playing my hand too much, let me get into this.

Synopsis: a Jewish commando unit hunting Nazi war criminals tracks down the infamous Dr. Mengele (Howard Vernon) in the jungle and find that he is torturing nubile young virgins and performing horrible medical experiments on the locals. They prepare to battle their way past Mengele's hordes of fanatic Nazi bodyguards to get him.

We start this off with a vehicle leaving a compound a car tailing them. In the one car is Aaron Horner (Jack Taylor). He is a Nazi hunter and they believe that this guy is Mengele. He is working with Ohmei Felsberg (Fernando Rey) who is back in Europe. There is a showdown outside of town, leaving the guy dead. It doesn't look like this is who they're after though.

That is when we meet Marc Logan (Antonio Mayans) as he is hanging out with his girlfriend, Rachel (Annick Laine). They're watching a television program about the Nazis and that they're taking refuge in South America. It also refers to the murder that we started off with as well. It ends with the hunt for Mengele still ongoing.

There is a break though when Rachel gets a call at work from a former co-worker, Eva (Suzanne Andrews). She wants to meet with her friend. The first time she says that she believes the man she is living with is Mengele but going by the name Carl Hermann. This sparks interest to check out the compound from Marc. Rachel is killed in the process. He starts to recruit people around him. They relay what they believe to Ohmei and Aaron. They need proof though.

I should also say that we see within the compound. Josef's right hand is Wolfgang von Backey (Christopher Mitchum) and there are terrible things being done here. Josef is aided there by Gertrud (Shirley Knight). This group from the village is up against a force stronger than they're expecting as they try to start the 4th Reich.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction. Where I want to start is that the synopsis and concept are much better than what we get here. It is odd since the Franco films I've seen in the past tend to be more surreal, full of nudity or violence. This one doesn't get much of any of that. There's a good idea for the basis. The problem I feel is that from everything I've read, this was a troubled production to the point where Franco left the project before it was completed, having Bianchi to step in.

Now that I've set that up, I love the idea of these Jewish commandos looking for revenge and hunting Nazis. I believe that it is common knowledge now that the Nazis fled from Germany as things got bad. The majority went to South America. Using that as a basis is good. I thought that Vernon does good as Mengele. He doesn't play it over the top. He seems like a nice, older gentleman hiding a secret. Having a compound where they're training soldiers is believable. Trying to create the 4th Reich is also not out of the realm of possibilities.

The problem is that this is boring. It struggles to build any tension. I will credit this that they weren't afraid to kill characters. During the climax, which piqued my interest with seeing that. The action sequences aren't great though. There is a guy doing karate and they use slow-motion for him. There is a guy with a crossbow which was a good touch. We have where the good guys shoot someone and they die instantly. I could just tell that this wasn't working with the biggest budget and it is during these that it shows. The cinematography was fine though. I don't think this was shot poorly. There is a great 'theme' to when things get tense. It is a variation on synth-wave that would be prominent in the era. I did enjoy that. The rest of the score fit for what was needed.

Let's then go to the acting, which should be the last thing to look at. It is interesting that I didn't know until seeing this that Robert Mitchum had two sons. One of them is in this movie as Wolfgang. I thought he was solid as this henchmen, Nazi character. Vernon was a good Mengele. There are too many limitations but he was solid. He shifts to being downright evil as this goes on though. Andrews worked as Eva. Rey is in a limited role as this mastermind of the Nazi hunters. Taylor worked as the one who collaborated closely with him. I thought that Mayans was good as our lead. I'll also credit Laine for her limited role. The rest of the cast was fine to round this out.

In conclusion, this isn't a good movie. I'm not sure how much of that is budgetary and if the fact that Franco started this, then left before it was completed. There are good things here. I love exploring the 'what-if' Mengele escaped to South America to form the 4th Reich. This just didn't have the resources to make it fully work. It isn't a bad action film though. I will say that. The acting was solid. This was boring unfortunately. I'd only recommend this as a curiosity for Franco or Bianchi fans. Or if you enjoy low-budget action movies.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 10.

Doctor Mengeles, the famous nazi butcher, is still living somewhere in South America, torturing innocent young virgins and being played by Howard Vernon. A jewish commando is set up to hunt him and punish his cruel war acts, but the avengers face the wrath of the nazi lunatics, and the battle rages on until Mengele's bodyguard, a kung fu adept, gets killed. Such plots are common to Jess Franco, but this sometimes talented director should have learned that those movies aren't funny or breathtaking... They're just BORING. After all, Jess's a veteran, but he's done WAY better. Fans be warned, this ain't a good one, and if you don't know Franco, don't try to get familiar with him with this one, try something else, like Faceless or Bloody Moon.

This movie is horrible, awful, ridiculous, and stupid. I advise everyone to watch it immediately. It has anti-climactic kung-fu slow motion sequences, outraged Jewish circus performers, and evil monkey/human nazi experiments. Watch this and I promise you will be dumber after having seen it. You will probably drop out of college or high school once you behold the magic that is Angel Of Death (aka Commando Mengele). Oh yeah, it was written by Jess Franco and directed by Andre Bianci (Burial Ground: Nights Of Terror).