ANGEL HEART

(March 1987, U.S.)

If anyone had ever asked me what film maker could successfully combine a 1950's-style film noir detective story with supernatural voodoo-style horror, I would have likely only come up with David Lynch. As it turns out, director Alan Parker (MIDNIGHT EXPRESS, FAME, PINK FLOYD THE WALL) managed to pull off one of the most frightening films I've ever seen without being officially labeled as a horror film.

It seems to me that ever since THE SIXTH SENSE (1999), many thrillers have attempted to pull off the ultimate "Holy shit!"-surprise-shocker-twist-ending, and often it ends up with a person (or persons) turning out to have been dead the whole time (even the TV show LOST ended that way!). These endings, in my opinion, have also become easier to spot early in the film. I mean, I don't know about you, but I was able to guess that Leonardo DiCapprio WAS a patient at that hospital in SHUTTER ISLAND inside the first 20 minutes!

ANGEL HEART, however, offers a resolution that I don't think is easy to spot, despite the frequent clues, and that's a good thing for the viewer. How can you truly enjoy the surprise you're going to get at the end of a film if it's easy to spot before it's over? At the time of the film's release, Mickey Rourke was considered a successful box office draw. As Harry Angel, he gives his best perfomance I've seen since DINER (1982). Robert DeNiro is effectively creepy as the Devil himself. And as for Lisa Bonet...well, just watch her in this film and it's easy to see why The Cosby Show was probably too embarrassed or disgraced to keep her on the show after that.

Favorite line or dialogue:

Louis Cyphre: "They say there's enough religion in the world to make men hate each other, but not enough to make them love."