Angel Heart

"Angel Heart" (1987, Alan Parker, Carolco Pictures) is a neo-noir horror set in 1950s New Orleans.

Harry Angel (Mickey Rourke) is a New York P.I. who finds himself hired by the mysterious Louis Cyphre (Robert De Niro) to find a missing singer known as Johnny Favourite. As Angel gets further into his investigations he finds that things may not be as they seem...

An interesting thriller that takes the viewer on the unsettling journey with Angel as he slowly begins to unravel the nightmare he's found himself in and work out how he's connected. The film enjoys some dark imagery and, although for today's viewer it might seem clear from early on where the plot is headed, the journey is enjoyable. The dark noir atmosphere is punctuated by some effective gore and a haunting ending. There is also a violent and stylistic love scene featuring Rourke and Lisa Bonet which leads to a somewhat disturbing climax.

[Image: Carolco Pictures]

Hani

Shock 'em Dead

"Shock 'em Dead" aka "Rock 'em Dead" (1991, Mark Freed, Noma, Academy Entertainment) is a direct-to-VHS horror film about rock 'n' roll and voodoo.

Martin (Stephen Quadros) is a loser who can't play guitar no matter how hard he practices. He's working in a pizza shop, but aspires to join a local up-and-coming rock band. After quitting his job and having a disastrously bad audition, Martin sells his soul to the local voodoo lady in order to become a successful rock legend.

Martin transforms into Angel; a guitar god with a mansion, hot tub and sexy groupies. Unfortunately, however, losing his soul comes with a new hunger that needs to be satisfied and he needs to feed....

Can he make it in the world of rock? Can he win the heart of Lindsay (Traci Lords), the band's sexy manager? Can he get rid of that terrible lead singer? It's so exciting...

I put this film in the so-bad-it's-good category: it's hammy as hell, there's a lot of gratuitous boob flashing and the 'music' is terrible. Angel appears to develop unworldly guitar skills that just add to the ridiculous appeal of this daft bit of B-movie cinema.

So, the main lesson to be learned from this film is that soulless Martin is just as big an idiot as nerdy Martin. If you're given godly guitar powers and an almighty makeover, and essentially the world of awesome at your fingertips.... don't waste it by setting your sights so low. Numpty.

[Image: Noma, et al]

Hani