Angel killer

Is it the best movie ever made? No. Is it one of the of the funniest of this genre? Yes. Definitely a must see. The story is a young prostitute meets murderer, but the supporting cast is what makes this a gem. The supporting cast includes: Rory Calhoun, as an aging western film star who still wears his holsters, boots and hat, and protects the streets; Dick Shawn as a transvestite with a heart and in one of his most hilarious roles - this was really Oscar stuff - just fun acting, no stuffiness here; and Susan Tyrrell, who steals the picture as a jaded Hollywood woman with more makeup that a tv evangelists wife. This is a film for a time when you really need to be entertained, not preached at, the film is a gas. Great late night fun flick for a group of friends. Really well done.

It seems strange to label an exploitation cheapie like this as heartwarming, but Angel does attempt to tug at the heartstrings a bit and it mostly works. The street characters are a charming group of social outcasts and the film's message about creating your own family is moving.

All of this warmth is dribbled over a not unusual, but still exciting "killer targeting sex workers" story. It works.

As part of my preparation for the release of Ti West's third film in his X trilogy, MAXXXINE, I'm revisiting my favorite sleazy 80s crime thrillers, such as 10 TO MIDNIGHT and VICE SQUAD. ANGEL was another favorite in this disreputable subgenera, which boasted the hard-to-ignore tagline on the VHS box, "High School Honor Student by Day. Hollywood Hooker by Night." 25-year-old Donna Wilkes plays 15-year-old prostitute Molly 'Angel' Stewart, and ANGEL would have been an interesting enough film watching her managing her two secret lives, but throw in a necrophiliac serial killer played by John Diehl (MIAMI VICE, STRIPES, THE SHIELD, etc.) and you have an enthralling trashy melodrama and thriller rolled into one! But wait, there's more! You also get a crossdressing Dick Shawn (THE PRODUCERS, IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD) as Mae, a trans prostitute who is a mother figure to Angel, Susan Tyrell (FAT CITY, CRY-BABY, FORBIDDEN ZONE) as Angel's butch lesbian landlord who Angel has convinced her mother is bedridden and simply cannot ever come to the door, and Rory Calhoun (HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE, MOTEL HELL) as a street performer impersonating Kit Carson. The colorful panoply of Hollywood Blvd. Street life has a bit of a Wizard of Oz or Alice in Wonderland vibe to it, albeit a more "downtown" version, but in ANGEL, instead of a Wicked Witch, there's a psychotic killer knocking off hookers. John Diehl nearly steals every scene he's in as the deranged killer, but it's the way the disparate denizens of the LA streets pull together to support one another that gives this sordid film more of a heart than most films of its ilk. Steven M. Porter is particularly moving as Yoyo Charlie, a street performer who does magic while dressed as Charlie Chaplin. It's this "found family" element to the street people of ANGEL that set it apart from similar films. Don't get me wrong, this film is an utter sleaze-fest, but there's a charm to ANGEL you don't typically get in these sorts of films, which makes it one of the better examples of this subgenera, though VICE SQUAD is still the best example.

On watching "Angel", one gets the impression that the movie could have gone one of two ways and been successful - had the filmmakers made enough of an effort. Sadly, the results are somewhat underwhelming. The most obvious way the movie could have gone is down the exploitation route. Surprisingly, there is very little that could be considered that - foul language is almost non-existent, the nudity is generally fleeting and never presented in an erotic manner, violence is not explicit, and not once we never see our heroine seriously involved in her "trade".

The other route the movie could have gone down is presenting the situation in a serious manner. Unfortunately, not much is done this way as well. We have crazy characters, but they really don't do much, nor do we learn much about them. Street life is also presented to be overall not a bad way to live. There are some believable complications that come up in the heroine's life, but once they come up they are barely dealt with. Possibly the reason for this is that the movie seems cut down seemingly from a longer cut. It would also explain why the movie at times jumps unbelievably quick from scene to scene before anything of real importance has the chance to come up.

The movie still remains strangely watchable all the same. Still, one cannot help but see so much wasted potential.

Wilkes is honer student by day at an expensive prep school, hooker by night. This movie was unfairly tossed and not given a chance. An underrated gem of a movie. The film is filled with colorful characters and fairly well done. Wilkes is very appealing as Molly/Angel. Seek this movie out. I gave it an 8/10.