Angel (1984)

Angel had potential to be a good movie. What we have instead is a remarkably tame movie, considering it's subject, it's only real violent scene, is a shower slaying. We really have no depth of characters, though larger than life (Shawn and Calhoun-both great) and likable. John Diehl, solid, is the nutter doing them, where it ends in a showdown between Angel, well acted by Wilkes, and our psycho sicko killer who makes love to nude corpses, and sucks the yolks out of raw eggs. This is like a substitute description for his lack of written character, who we detest, and Diehl plays well with the hand he's dealt, though Angel could of been much more. Still it is a fun watch, colourful so so drama, thanks to it's quirky street characters, plus adding some spice to it, is standout Cliff Gorman, as the caring cop, though he won't admit or show it. What's up with that? Angels suffers because of it's shallow depth of it's poorly written characters. It's not a badly made film. It would of been better to go into more of Angel's background, so we'd have a better understanding of her character, we wanted to know so much more about, and that goes for all the other characters. So we're left with another cheesy exploitation B grader, that spawned three more sequels. Susan Tyrell is great as Angel's uncouth/punk haired, aspiring painter-landlord.

Watching this movie reminded me a lot of the 1960 British film Peeping Tom. Specifically, the negative reviews it was said to have received initially- "The sickest and filthiest film I remember seeing." Also about a serial killer- who before and during the opening credits kills a prostitute- Peeping Tom is actually a classic, a dark, naked look at a voyeuristic and violent society.Angel, coming out in 1984, reverses that formula, telling the story from the point of view of a prostitute, in this case a 15-year-old girl who by day goes to a private school, innocent and an honours student. Social circumstances led her into prostitution, and she's unhappy about it, making her a potentially sympathetic character. Sounds like an intriguing film with lots of potential- Taxi Driver (1976) is a great film in which Jodie Foster plays an even younger hooker.Alas, Angel is a better fit for the reviews Peeping Tom got. It has the look and feel of a cheap exploitation piece- featuring excruciating acting from people often looking much older than the part they're playing. (The nerd who asks Angel out, notably, looks suspiciously like a man in a wig and big glasses.) They awkwardly stumble over dialogue that ranges from good to mediocre to bad ("The law sucks!") The screenplay sports other holes- do they really not check suspects for weapons in police lineups? At one point, the cowboy character is shot and on his back, then he springs up to pump the bad guy full of lead, and walks away as if the injuries didn't really hurt him.Yes, a cowboy. That's another thing about this movie, the cheap costumes that come close to funny (the man in drag is just bad). What saves this from being a three-star movie in my books is some good nudity- full frontal, with the most comfortably naked girls in a high school shower since Carrie (1976).

I've had this movie in my library for many years and view it often since it is extremely hard for a twenty year old to play the part of a fifteen year old high school student. Donna excels in her Role as Angel, especially her acting ability as a teen playing an adult. This movie does not get enough showing due to the nudity, however the content and storyline should give teens a closer view of what abandoned teens are forced to struggle with in our dangerous society. Kudos to the entire cast for a job well done, and special credits to Donna for her outstanding performance. You need to update her bio, with photos, and provide her latest work. Thanks.

Pure 80's exploitation, I remember (sadly) at the age of 9, after seeing this film that being a hooker might be fun, as this movie so plainly tries to make it out to be, as long as you dodge knife-wielding psychos & make sure you get straight A's & make sure your "two worlds don't collide"! Yes,I'm being sarcastic but i truly love this & the other great hookers-in-peril 80's film Vice Squad (which is a way more serious film). Donna Wilkes ( who in my opinion should have stayed in the business, she was a very good actress.) is in fine form as the main character Angel, the high school honor student by day, Hollywood Blvd hooker by night whose 2 worlds start to collide as a psycho with a knife starts to target her hooker comrades (one who is played very well by another underrated B-movie actress from the 80's & also one half of the Motley Crue backup vocalist group named the Nasty Habits, that toured with the Crue in the late 80's on their Girls Girls Girls tour, Donna McDanel)& as she's the only one to witness the guy picking up her soon to be murdered friend, the police want to her to identify him.Also, great is the late actors Rory Calhoun & the truly wonderful Dick Shawn (in one of the truly greatest drag queen performances of all time)as her friends from the street who think her mom's an invalid & she hooks to help them both survive. Also great is Susan Tyrell as Sally the landlady. The only thing that disappointed me about this films( as their were like 4 or 5 more sequels) is that they always replaced the actress to play the character of Angel with a different actress each time. Why didn't they just get Donna Wilkes? Betsy Russell, nor Mitzi Kapture did her justice not the way Ms Wilkes did. If you like 80's cult films this is a must-see. I must say though when I moved to Hollywood for a brief period in 2000 & in 2001, I never saw any prostitutes on Hollywood Blvd not like all of the ones i saw in 80's films?????? **** out of *****