Anjo Maldito

I had no idea what to expect from this film. The opening credits consisted of a woman writhing around naked. As the credits came up on screen one of them stated "You're not even reading this". This is something that wouldn't be out of place in a spoof. It was a nice chuckle, but gave a false idea of what to expect. The film succeeds in actually trying to squeeze out some drama and internal conflicts between it's protagonists. On top of that you have a demon possession, mass murder plot going down. It's all fairly entertaining, if predictable. The cast are solid, but not always convincing. All I can say for sure, is that I quite liked it.

I usually don't like horror movies. They're generally stupid: people getting tortured or girls being chased around and killed by guys in masks. This one ACTUALLY HAS A STORY! You actually have to pay attention to what's going on and what's being said. In a way, I think they ought to call it a horror/mystery because you don't really put all the pieces together until the very end. When you do, the whole thing makes sense and you want to watch the movie again. Which I did. And I liked it more the second time.

I also liked that it wasn't just a straight horror movie. There was mystery and kind of a "film noir" feel to it with the Ving Rhames guy trying to figure it all out. All in all, a really good movie. Good acting, GREAT music and photography. Some fun lines and a few really great set pieces. The mayhem in the crack house was a BLAST. And there was no shortage of blood and skin.

I give it a nine out of ten. It was more fun than scary. If they make a sequel, I'm definitely going to see it.

I was expecting more from the movie, as it looked so promising. Now, don't get me wrong, this is not a bad movie. Quite the contrary. The movie is quite good, and got some nice effects.

The movie suffered from a lack of thrills or scares. There were some fairly cool-looking scenes, but there were no building up to scares. You could pretty much see everything coming a mile away. And the ending? Well, it was amazingly predictable.

But still, the movie was not a waste of time. It has a good story, that keeps going at a good pace. You are never bored throughout the movie. And there are some really nice gory scenes and effects as well.

For me, what really made it worth it was Ving Rhames, as usual he did a good job.

If you got nothing better to do for an evening and want to watch a fairly straight forward "by the Hollywood book" horror movie, sit down and watch "Evil Angel".

When the young woman Emma Carillo (Rachel Emmers) is stabbed five times, the paramedic Marcus Galan (Kristopher Shepard) feels a great empathy for her and unsuccessfully tries to save her life in the Mercy Hospital. Meanwhile the near death patient Caroline Kuntz (JJ Newards) awakes; kills two people; and leaves the hospital. When Marcus arrives home, he finds his suicidal wife Carla (Ava Gaudel) cheating on him with a stranger. On the next morning, Marcus goes to a hearing due to a diabetic shock and death of the hooker Elizabeth Markham. The private detective Carruthers (Ving Rhames) is assigned to investigate the case. Meanwhile Caroline visits Carruthers's son Vic and slaughters him in his office. Carruthers visits Elizabeth's mother and sooner he discloses that the case is actually a supernatural plan of the demon Lilith to revenge against the human race.

"Evil Angel" has a messy beginning with Jeff Morgan haunted by many evil demons and this sequence has no explanation and is only to mislead the viewers since there is only one demon in the whole story. Then entwines many different situations with erotic exploitation and it is difficult to follow the mainstream of the plot. The wooden Kristopher Shepard keeps the same expression in every scene and is too weak to the lead role. But the film is entertaining in the end, when the screenplay finally clarifies what is happening. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Anjo Maldito" ("Damned Angel")

It was what it was. It intended to be a fun addition to the horror movie genre, and it was. Technical quality was great. FX were fine without being absurdly over the top. Ving Rhames was classy to watch. Half the cast from "States of Grace" appeared in it.

And if you like naked babes, you'll have a feast in this movie.

What it was not, which I did expect it to be, was an involved exploration of the "Lilith" legend. The old Jewish legend of a wife for Adam previous to Eve was just a device exploited to justify all the murder and mayhem.

In a sense that disappointed me, but in another sense, I'm glad. I was irked that he beat me to the punch of using the Lilith legend in a movie. But since he never explored it in depth, that still leaves open the possibility of someone else doing it.

You have to keep on your toes in the first 15 minutes to sort out all the characters being introduced, but things finally gel, and the ride begins. The real spice of the film comes when Dutcher himself enters the movie playing an eccentric character.

Probably my biggest beef with the film is Rachel Emmers died early, and she never had a nude scene.

If you're a fan of horror movies, this is an enjoyable addition to the repertoire. If you're not, it's a horror film classy enough to watch anyway.

I personally am not into horror movies generally, but I do like a good one, and few seem to be good. "Evil Angel" does nothing to be a break-out film, but it does qualify among the upper tier of quality horror films.