L'ange de la mort

An inferior and stupid action movie about the hunt for the fearsome Doctor Joseph Mengele , known member of the German Nazi party and cruel doctor of the Auschwitz concentration camp . He escaped and pursued by the Mossad took refuge in Paraguay and Brazil, after the fall of the Third Reich. There in South America get together a group of followers , militants of the Third Reich , fascist rulers to work for a Nazi rebirth and attempting to celebrate an international congress with world leaders. Mengele : Howard Vernon tries to reconstitute the Nazi movement from his sanctuary . Meanwhile , he undergoes terrible experiments and horrible clonation of genes between animals and human beings , using genetic engineering. Along the way a young contacts a Nazi Hunter: Fernando Rey , Simon Wiesental-lookalike , begining investigating and discovering the malignant plans of Mengele . Then a Jewish commando is formed for hunting the nasty Nazi War criminal. The small mercenary team : Antonio Mayans, Jack Taylor..attempts to track down the heinous Nazi by joining an expert band of specialists . The blood of millions is on his hands ... the power of evil is on his side !

Ridiculousness , silliness and shabby action abound in this inferior movie that results to be really influenced by "Boy from Brazil" 1978 with Gregory Peck as the infamous Doctor Mengele and Laurence Olivier as Simon Wiesental . This is an absurd thriller with noisy action , suspense twisted inteigue and final combat with fights , helcopters and lots of weapons . The story is boring and tiring , though entertaining at any time , being full of latent absurdities and silly mayhem. It results to be a ridiculous entry in a minor sub-genre about "Let's find the darn Nazi before he really causes trouble" and in the wake of other similar movies . The main issue is the creation of a commando to track down the ominous Nazi and his fanatic hordes of bodyguards : Chris Mitchum, Robert's son, in order to get to the main criminal , being formed by various experts on explosive , weapons , crossbow , computer wizard and a karate Man . Stars Antonio Mayans , Jack Taylor as leaders of the commando , Fernando Rey as the Jewish mastermind and Chris Mitchum as a crippled Vietnam vet who controls the nefarious underlings . And Howard Vernon is acceptable, though overacting at times, as the redoubtable , sinister Nazi practicing genetics engineering and other dangerous , sordid scientist discoveries . Along with intervention of Jesus Franco's regular actors as Jack Taylor, Shirley Knight , Lin Romay , and Antonio Mayans.

This low-grade motion picture in low budget was lousily directed by two professionals of the exploitation movies , the erotic filmmaker Andea Bianchi or Andrew White (Malabimba, Maniac Killer , Night Hair Child ,Treasure Island ,Massacre , Night Hair Child , Zombie Horror) and the legendary , prolific Jesús Franco or Jess Frank (Bloody Mon , Jack the Ripper , Orloff saga , Justine , Ilsa the Wicked Warden , Dracula versus Frankenstein , Venus in Furs , Count Dracula , 99 women, Tender Flesh , Paroxismus) . In fact, it was begun by Franco , as he directed a lot of it , but he argued with producers Marious Lesoeur , Daniel Lesoeur from Eurocine about Mengele character , as Jess left the shooting , taking the realization another director in similar style : Andrea Bianchi. Rating : 3.5/10. Two thumbs down.

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.

I recently watched the French film 🇫🇷 Angel of Death (1985) on Tubi. The plot follows a commando unit dispatched to South America to capture the notorious Nazi, Dr. Mengele, who continues his sinister experiments on the locals. The mission: infiltrate Mengele's compound and deliver justice.

Directed by Andrea Bianchi (Maniac Killer), the film features performances by Christopher Mitchum (Big Jake), Fernando Rey (French Connection), Howard Vernon (Delicatessen), and Dora Doll (Maniac Killer).

Angel of Death is one of those movies that's so bad it's strangely captivating. While the premise and settings offer potential for an authentic thriller, the execution falls short. The shootouts provide some entertainment, albeit with dated flair, and are arguably the film's highlight. However, the wardrobe choices leave much to be desired, with instances like a character sporting boat shoes and wool socks that distract from the narrative. The portrayal of "Nazis" feels superficial, lacking the authenticity of proper uniforms and relying on arm bands and plainclothes. Sniper scenes feature peculiar visual effects, while dirt bike sequences elicit unintended laughter. The martial arts scenes are particularly cringe-worthy. The martial arts expert🥋 commando literally kicks a guy into the pool in his big action scene, like you'd do with your friends as a kid. The makeup and bandages on the experimental subjects are more likely to induce laughter than horror.

In conclusion, Angel of Death's sheer awfulness compels you to keep watching, if only to witness how much worse it can get. I'd rate it a 3/10 and suggest giving it a single viewing, if only for only the experience. 😂

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

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).