Angel Heart - Lisa's Review

An odd movie to find itself in a horror list this week.  While there are certainly horrific images present in the movie, it is far from a horror.

The movie gets it's name from our lead character Harry Angel (Mickey Rourke) who is hired by a very well-to-do, oddly but impeccably dressed man Louis Cyphre (Robert De Niro).  Now surely it doesn't take a person of much intelligence to utter the name Louis Cyphre and draw some rather dark conclusions.  If those conclusions didn't occur, then the appearance and presence of Robert De Niro in the role should raise a few eyebrows.

So back to the story, Mr Cyphre hires Mr Angel to track down a previous associate, Johnny Favourite, with which he had a contract which remains unfulfilled due to Johnnys apparent disappearance.

The movie follows Mr Angel's search for Johnny Favourite, which takes him from New York to New Orleans and deep into Voodoo and some suspect places.  He meets everyone from Johnnys doctor to his ex wife and his daughter Epiphany(played by the beautiful Lisa Bonnet... whatever happened to her?).  Being a looker back in the day, we of course are treated to the obligatory sex scene and Mr Rourkes rather fine backside.  Mr Angel is definately a guy with streetsmarts, but even he eventually starts to get rattled when most people he tracks down and interviews are murdered in horrid ways.

He pushes on, having been tempted by an additional $5000 when the first murder sent him back to Mr Cyphre ready to throw the towel in.  We start to see more horror elements, in saying that, the movie is certainly still not a horror by any stretch of the imagination.  The closer to the end we get, the faster the pace gets and after quite a steady pacing, I was ready for the increase.

I would say that the twists in the movie are pretty predictable and I for one saw the big reveal coming a mile off, but there are subtle details, which are quite clever.  In other respects there are questions which remain unanswered and make no sense.  Questions I would have liked to have answered.  Some things didn't quite add up (and I hate that).

In saying that, I deliberately haven't gone into too much detail in my review as I think this is a movie you should watch.  It isn't the usual crap horror, it doesn't date even though it is a 1987 movie.  Mickey Rourke is ravishing and plays a fantastic role.  There is enough of a mix between thriller and horror elements and slow and fast pace to keep the movie interesting.

Thumbs up from Lisa.

I Walked With A Zombie - Lisa's Review

*** SPOILERS ***

I groaned this week when I saw the movie for reviewing.  It's no secret, I'm not a fan of these old horrors... so shoot me!  Don't get me wrong, there are some old black n white movies that I adore (It's a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol), but in general, I just don't dig obscure old movies that I just can't relate to at all.  Also finding out that it is something of a reworking of 'Jane Eyre' didn't help the mustering of any enthusiasm for me.

I won't say this is a bad movie - it isn't.  It just isn't a great one.  There are parts of the narration of the main character in the movie which is beautiful and nothing short of poetic.  Sadly this is usually interrupted by something ridiculous and over the top, which just detracts from one of the stronger points of the movie.

The basic premise of this movie is that a nurse (Betsy) is hired to care for and potentially find a cure for the wife (Jessica) of a wealthy sugar plantation owner (Paul) on a Caribbean Island.  Jessica is in a catatonic state.  Soon we find out, oddly by way of song, that Pauls brother Wesley had been having an affair with Jessica and they wanted to run away together.  Paul however found out and prevented them from leaving.  Jessica has been in a catatonic state ever since.
As the movie progresses Betsy starts to fall for her employer (why is anyones guess) and feels that finding a cure for his wife would be the best thing to do (go figure!).  Cue a housemaid (Alma) who feels that a Voodoo Priest may be able to help Jessica.

What ensues is more about Voodoo and ritual rather than anything in the horror genre.  I won't give anything more away with relation to the story, just in case any reader actually wants to see this movie. There are a couple of tense scenes, but nothing that could be described as frightening or horrific.

How this movie ended up in the horror genre at all is a mystery to me.  Obviously I do realise that we don't need guts and gore to produce a good horror.  In fact, for me, pyschological  horror is much more effective than the messier horrors.  In this movie however, I was at a loss as to any reason to classify it as they did.  Even the use of the word 'Zombie' in the title is more than a little misleading.

In conclusion, I didn't hate it, but I won't be watching it again.  I enjoyed some snippets of dialogue, but for me, that was where the entertainment ended.  So, not bad enough for an avoid, but certainly nowhere near getting a recommended.  Supposedly one of the best horrors of all time????  I worry about what's ahead of us.