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Cinophile: Angel Heart

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How do you explain a movie without giving away the catch, but still indulge in all kinds of witty wordplay? You don’t write about Angel Heart. Yet here we are, so this will be a dull as paint write-up. Because you really shouldn’t know much of anything before seeing this brilliant horror.

Angel Heart

People older than twenty might remember that Mickey Rourke had quite a career in the late Eighties and early Nineties. It all fell apart and then was since briefly resurrected, but he played the same kind of anti-hero characters, just with a prettier face. Angel Heart and Rourke’s cynical private investigator Harry Angel put him on that star map. Today the film still has its fans and has more than once been compared to the equally strange Jacob’s Ladder. But at least Jacob’s story was all about salvation. Angel Heart has a far darker purpose in mind…

Angel Heart

Hired by a mysterious and rather creepy man, Harry has to locate a missing singer who reneged on a deal. As Harry tugs at the threads, it all starts to unravel – as any good thriller would. But things also become strange – very strange – and there is a growing sense of malevolence and the macabre as the movie progresses. A New Orleans haze blends with dark rooms, voodoo and a growing feeling of something far more evil behind the scenes. When it all comes to a head, you’ll have probably already figured it out. Yet you can’t look away. Especially when Robert De Niro eats an egg.

Angel Heart

More can’t be said about Angel Heart, other than it is one of the best films of its genre. Telling that genre would be giving it away. Then again, you might figure it out quite early on. In a brilliant piece of cinematic sleight-of-hand, the story dangles the answer in front of you almost from the start. Indeed, Angel Heart drops quite a few clues about what’s really going on. And yet not unlike classics such as The Usual Suspects, even if you did see the twist coming, the journey to that final revelation is well worth it. That alone makes this one of the movies any serious film geek must watch.

Last Updated: August 26, 2013

5 Comments

  1. Yeah Angel Heart is a great film, totally agree Kervyn. One of the signature films…in that style 😉

    Good to see people still talking about it!

    Reply

    • Kervyn Cloete

      August 26, 2013 at 20:14

      Gee thanks! You must be a time lord to be able to see into the future and proactively thank me for my comment on this article BY JAMES. 🙂

      Reply

      • Brian Murphy

        August 26, 2013 at 23:50

        I can see through the names. It’s clear your brilliance inspired this article. 😉

        Reply

  2. Justin Hess

    August 26, 2013 at 16:11

    Jeez, you were massively vague in that write-up. I agree though. It’s a film that works best not knowing anything about it the first time.

    And that egg bit is terrifying. Nothing more than a man eating an egg and yet the manner in which it is played gives you shivers.

    It’s not a scary film per se. Like Jacob’s Ladder, it’s more one of those films that works its way under your skin

    Reply

    • James Francis

      August 26, 2013 at 16:34

      You’re right – it’s not scary, but instead manages to creep you out on a totally different level. It’s also hard to decide if you sympathize with the main character or not. I certainly felt sorry for him in the scenes where stuff got a little weird – and when you think about it, he usually does the right thing and leaves.

      Reply

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