Angel

Sadly my career as courier to cheeky governments and well dressed spy, is over. I was thrust into a seat (Like I've been on many occasions In my career - perks of the job etc) while the enemy employ various means to try extract secrets I'm holding.

Well the chair, the heating turned off, a bit of water-boarding began then they tightened the straps ensuring I wasn't able to move and made me watch this film! I gave them everything, including my ultra secret fantasy for Sarah Palin dressed in a catsuit while reading Tolstoy to me.

This isn't a film - It's a torture technique. I hope my eyes will one day forgive me.

I was surprised to read the highly negative reviews for this film. I found it creepy and intriguing. The theme of child abuse pulled at my heart strings. The strange mixture of politics and intimate horror, was quite unusual and interesting, as such. The fact, that the film is British added to my pleasure, as I generally find British films more realistic/serious, than American films. I appreciated all the actors in their roles. The tough female cop, although not unattractive, didn't look like a (ridiculous) fashion model, as so many do in American crime films. I thought, that she had a realistic edginess. This wasn't a "great" film, but I appreciated its dark quirkiness.

As far as british films go this isn't half bad. Most pyscopaths were victims of abuse, this is a another such story. Quite a lot going on in this if you like conspiracy pyscho films. Jenn Murray plays Angel quite well, supported by John Hannah & Margo Stilley the pursuers. The only problem was the ending was a bit of an anticlimax but all in all decent horror.

I wasn't going to mention this Brit-horror oddity, but, on reflection it's arguably hinkey enough for more tweaked B-Horror obsessed misfits to give it a shout. Ray Burdis's 'Angel', sadly, had the potential to be a decent psychological horror film, all the lurid ingredients were certainly present, but the so-so execution, prosaic dialogue, and wildly inconsistent performances did much to clip this Angel's wings. On the plus side, the gamine, Jenn Murray's portrayal of cutesy kooky psycho killer Angel was suitably incandescent. Angel's increasingly demented interludes proved memorable, and the macabre flashbacks to her distressing childhood trauma were genuinely unsettling. Once I realised that 'Angel' was veering inexorably into Schlock Central I started to dig on it most righteously. This skeevey tale of bloody-minded vengeance is a creepy curate's egg, but one hopes that another equally twisted reprobate might share a modicum of my, perhaps, entirely misguided enthusiasm for, Ray Burdis's earnest misfire!

I enjoyed this movie. Jenn Murray is quite believable as a victim of child abuse and her performance was chilling at times in the way she played Angel fighting her inner demons. Peter Hugo-Daly is the essence of evil as the depraved clown and sent shivers down my spine. The only downside to me is the amount of swear words in the dialog. I suppose they were put in to make it realistic but I believe that swear words are unnecessary in a movie as I know several people that won't watch a movie that contains swear words no matter how good the movie is.

The Plot kept me guessing until the very end.

The Film is inspired by the book Still Waters by NigelMcClery and not Core of Evil as stated on the Front Page here. The Book is also a very good read and sufficiently different so as to not spoil the Film. I can Recommend Both.