Woodyanders
Lovely and lethal succubus Lilith (a spot-on smoldering portrayal by gorgeous brunette knockout Isa Jank) poses as the cover girl for a popular fashion magazine as means of seducing and destroying men. It's up to nice guy art director Craig (a solid and likeable performance by Linden Ashby) to stop her. Director Dominique Othenin-Girard relates the original and absorbing story at a brisk pace, ably crafts a strong sensual'n'spooky ooga-booga atmosphere (a descent into a deliriously lust-crazed hell in which a wild anything-goes orgy occurs rates as a definite trippy highlight), and delivers several startling moments of nasty gore. The clever and inspired script by Joe Augustyn and Walter Josten makes nice use of the fiercely competitive world of fashion modeling. The bang-up cast keeps this movie humming: Debra Feuer adds plenty of winning spark as the sassy Kirstie, Helen Martin contributes a spirited turn as feisty voodoo lady Sadie, Karen Black does her usual fine work as agency head Rita, Doug Jones amuses as geeky horndog Ken, and Gary Hudson jerks it up well as the smarmy Rod. The glossy cinematography by David Lewis provides a striking stylish look. Kudos are also in order for Steve Johnson's marvelously grotesque make-up f/x. An unjustly neglected sleeper.
lost-in-limbo
"Night Angel" for most part follows the typical staples of 80s supernatural horror with lukewarm results. It wants to be an erotic thriller with supernatural touches, but the uncanny aspect cheapens it. Considerably silly and weakly acted (with the exception of an always amusing Karen Black), and while uninspired, it's never boring due to competence in its polished direction and outrageous old-school latex make-up effects (thanks to some outlandish hallucinating nightmare sequences). Director Dominique Othenin-Girard was at the helm, who previously directed "Halloween 5" the year before and some of the visual and atmospheric aspects collide here. He sure does like the blue filter when staging the lighting. It's violent, sensual and brooding, but done in a rather tacky manner. Just look at the lust-filled orgy sequences. While serious in tone, some elements are tawdry then say shocking in what it aims to achieve and the dialogues at times can make you groan. The story centres on the fashion magazine industry where glamour and vanity attracts evil in the shape of an ancient evil demon in woman form. Nothing surprises in the writing with the usual raving character suddenly appearing and they know how to vanish this succubus. A mysteriously infatuating Isa Andersen might look the part, but acting-wise was less desirable and some of her delivery raised a chuckle. While across from her is a wooden hero in the shape of Liden Ashby and Debra Feuer fairs much better as his romance interest. "She's Satan's whore wife"!
slayrrr666
"Night Angel" is an okay horror film.**SPOILERS**Lilith, (Isa Andersen) an ancient demon, is reborn in the present as a young woman. She starts going on a killing spree, which worries the head of a fashion magazine, Rita, (Karen Black) as all the victims are employees. Craig, (Linden Ashby) the staff photographer, caught between Lilith and Kirstie, (Debra Feuer) Rita's sister, and as the murders of the magazine's staff turn to the various models on staff, he can't help but notice that Lilith is always close to the murders. When she starts dictating staff policies and directions, he fully believes that Lilith is something else and tries to stop her.The Good News: I was actually surprised to find a few things in here that were really good. The film has some gore effects in here, including a nifty slit throat, a heart pulled out, and some glass shards slicing up the leg. There are some other kills in here, but those are the ones that feature the best effects on display. The finale also has some great moments in it, including the final incarnation of Lilith, who looks quite impressive and the design is pretty well-executed. The lead-up is excellent, with an extended series of chases inside a forest. These are the highlights of the movie, as it features some nice deaths, effects, and even a couple moments of mild suspense thrown in as well. One provides a cheap jump, as we focus on one person, running around in the dark, with it being silent as well, until a character jumps out and grabs them. It's quite a nice scene, and the set-up for a pretty entertaining finale. The frequent hallucinations and dreams throughout are pretty inventive and quite creative. The middle one, with a series of freaky images that meld perfectly into the tone of the movie, borders slightly on the comical but is capable of getting some small creeps in. It's a pretty nice sequence.The Bad News: There wasn't a whole lot of convincing elements in here that indicate this would really happen. It doesn't make any real sense as to why a creature of such power as Lilith demonstrates in the film would chose to take the route she takes. It's basically just a series of events strung together to see how much nudity they can get away with before they're required to kill someone off. As usual with these kinds of films, when there's no kills or nudity on screen, it can be taxing to keep interested in what's going on at times, due to the nonsensical happenings on display. A demon with unlimited powers in the universe takes over a glamor magazine to take over the world? It's quite a stretch to believe that, and as such, there's not a large amount done to make it believable. It sort of happens, and the characters have to deal with it when they finally discover what's going on. Aside from the finale and a key sequence in the middle that is pretty nice, there's next to no action in here, and that leaves the film with another strike against it. Add to that the fact that most of the technical merits here are questionable at best and it's a little more than below average.The Final Verdict: It's not a total waste, but most of it's good parts is towards the end, so the beginning can be quite the pain. It's an all right film, but not that special. Worth a look for fans of the genre, but others should exceed with caution.Rated R: Full female and rear male Nudity, Graphic Violence, some language and a couple sex scenes
pearceduncan
Night Angel is a reasonably well made horror movie. A lot of it is rather dumb, but it's all pretty entertaining.Isa Andersen looks great as Lilith, but she can't really act. Director Dominique Othenin-Girard does a lot better here than he did with Halloween 5, which is just as well. The script is a bit silly, but the movie is saved by some excellent setpieces and surrealistic photography.It's no classic, but I reckon it's worth a look on a slow evening.
