Angel of Death

2005
4.2| 1h31m| R| en
Details

The most spectacular Easter celebration in the World. Hosts of hooded Penitents parade through the ancient, narrow streets of the Old Town in time-honored ritual. But for one celebrant this Holy Week is different. For him Semana Santa is a time to kill. As the death toll mounts, it falls to detective Maria Delgado - mistrusted outsider from Madrid - to stop the bizarre killings.

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Reviews

Dorathen Better Late Then Never
Mehdi Hoffman There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.
Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.
Stephanie There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
lastliberal OK, so this isn't the greatest mystery movie to grace the screen. It did, however, have some good features that made it worth my time.First, I lived in Andalucia for six years and have fond memories of the Semana Santa ceremonies and processions. The white robes and the pointed masks do not remind me of the Ku Klux Klan, but of centuries of tradition in Spain. Seeing that as a backdrop to the murders and the police work, led by the ever adorable Mira Sorvino, was beautiful.Second, I love stories that weave in the evil fascists that invaded Spain. The US-backed murderers under Franco provided a credible story that explained the current murders.Third, I was enchanted with Alida Valli in her last role as Doña Catalina. So much so that I will make it a point to see one of her earlier roles this weekend.All in all, a good slow murder mystery with several features that made it worthwhile.
slayrrr666 "Angel of Death" is a mildly entertaining, though flawed slasher.**SPOILERS**Transferring to Seville in Spain, detective Maria Delgado, (Mira Sorvino) soon finds herself assigned to a case with Quemada, (Olivier Martinez) involving a string of murders committed during Holy Week, it's renowned Easter celebration. Due to the closeness of the crimes, they go out to track down a lead on the case. The first step in the case is the Brotherhood of Christ, a mysterious religious order whose leader, Castenada, (Peter Berling) doesn't want to cooperate with the authorities, leaving them baffled as to their next course of attack. As the killings continue throughout Spain, they discover that the motives for the crimes can be traced back to the days of the Spanish Civil War and an unspeakable act of brutality. Armed with the new piece of news, they use that to their advantage to track down the killer before they commit even more killings in a quest for revenge.The Good News: This wasn't all that bad when it really mattered. The film did a really great job at building up a sense of suspense when it tries to. The opening attack is a pretty good example, as there's a combination of stalking, hiding and confrontations that all come together in the sequence to provide a really exciting and entertaining one. The highlight of the film, though, is the stalking during the parade celebration. From the chase through the characters down in the street through to the apartment complex where it really steps up considerably. From the attempts of the second police officer to get to the scene and the various techniques to get inside are it's best moments. The confrontation with the killer is just as nice, as there's an extended stalking scene involved where the victim manages to get seriously injured in the course of it rather than escaping scot-free. The fact that this has a fair-sized body count isn't that bad, and there's some pretty nice kills as a result. There's a spear thrown through the eye, impaled with a sword, a couple set on fire, knife stabbings and a plethora of gunshot wounds to provide a healthy balance. The fact that the killer's chosen such a decorative wardrobe is quite a nice surprise, as it's both new as well as offering a healthy amount of intimidation through it. This here wasn't all that bad when it really mattered.The Bad News: There wasn't a whole lot that didn't work in this one. One of the biggest problems is that this one is incredibly illogical with the police matters. The first two victims are discovered in a character's home, but no one bothers to interview them at the crime scene. The medical examiner says the victims were killed four weeks before they were discovered, but this doesn't strike anyone as strange. That strikes as something that wouldn't really happen in real life, as that would've been noticed by the smell of the rotting corpses long before. The whole way it's handled is just quite wrong, as they don't even suspect anything is wrong until after they notice all these flies in the home. Not one or two flies, but a huge swarm. That is just out-and-out illogical, as there's no way that a month could go by without them wondering why they haven't seen a tenant. They way it's portrayed to the police isn't any better, as the indifference to the initial discovery, and then the later statement that these murders where actually expected seems odd. The lack of action in the first half is another flaw to overcome, as it's not until the later half that it really starts to up the body count. That these are also pretty bloodless kills is another thing for this one, as there's a big body count but they're not quite bloody or even on-screen. Those small flaws hold this one back slightly.The Final Verdict: While not the best out there, this still has enough solid moments throughout to put it in the realm of the watchable. Keeping an open mind with this one might be best, as those will be the ones who get the most out of it, while those who won't are advised to seek caution with it.Rated R: Graphic Language, Violence and Rape
aristides-1 I could not, for the life of me, follow, figure out or understand the story. As the plot advances it too stays incomprehensible. I'm going to guess and say that there was a preproduction story/plot problem that never got sorted out. The producers could never separate the many details that the novel, or any novel, has the time and space to create from the other idea, which was to make a movie about a serial killer and the killer's pursuit by the police. They ended up with too many things happening in a proscribed feature film time limit. Too bad really because they had a solid cast, a director who knows how to move things around and excellent cinematography. In fact, a well made movie that one could enjoy and relax with for a couple of hours.
jeca66 I agree with the previous comment, what a disappointment. Rented it thinking it was going to be a good movie since Mira and Olivier where in it. I was surprised by their performance, expected more since they're good actors.Thought it was a slow beginning but it got worse. I even laughed at some bad stunts!! when is supposed to be a mystery movie. You can even guess who is the killer beforehand!!! For real what happened?? Sorry to say but don't even bother you'll waste time and money.Boring!!!