Director – Tory Jones (The Wicked One, Killbillies)
Starring – Sonya Delormier (Scream for Summer, Lost Creek), Cameryn Zupon (Scream for Summer), and Dale Miller (Dead Moon Rising, Gila!)
Release Date – 2018
I grew up renting slashers in the 90s. I often rented the classic late 70s and 80s slashers but I found myself intrigued by those 90s slashers. I was not really a fan of them but there was a few that were entertaining. I like my slashers in the woods or terrorizing sleepovers. We rarely get those anymore. Sometime ago director and producer Shawn Burkett (my bae) hit me up that he was working with director Tory Jones on a new slasher.
He sent over a teaser image and trailer for Angel and it looked like a slasher that was taking me back in the woods for some carnage. I honestly didn’t care for the title but it fits the film so it makes sense. A few days back he announced the physical release of the film (this Friday) and hit me up with a review link. It looked fun so I had to check it out and I’m glad I did.
**Spoiler Alert**The film follows a group of journalists who enter an abandoned logging town in order to investigate a series of missing people that has spanned sometime. One of them is from this area and knows that it is not safe to venture there but does so when a heavy price was paid in order for her to lead the group. Once there they start going missing one by one and she remembers the legend of Angel. A feral woman that kills everyone that wonders too close. Now they must fight their way out along with the man responsible for sending them there in hopes of finding his daughter. **Spoiler Alert**
I’ve seen countless modern slashers. Most try to capture that 80s look and vibe while others try to mimic the look of 90s slashers like Scream. I rarely see a slasher that tries to do its own thing anymore. Most want to be a throwback instead of something original. Angel is a hybrid slasher. It follows that traditional slasher storyline with some of the elements you see late 90s and early 00s slashers. I would normally hate something like that but Angel is able to pull it all together and make it work.
The acting in this one was hit and miss for me. Sonya Delormier does a solid job throughout the film but there was several scenes where her anger did not feel genuine. These intense scenes lost impact because she just didn’t come across as really being angry. She was just raising her voice but lacked the emotion. With that being said, she is one hell of a final girl. She did a fantastic job interacting with the rest of the cast and gave the role everything she had to offer. I also enjoyed Dale Miller’s performance. His character is one of the more entertaining characters in the film and one of the few you actually don’t want to see die. He goes through a wide emotional range and his performance really pulls the viewer’s in. Cameryn Zupon also delivers a solid performance. Her character is rather flat and generic but she still takes it and makes it her own. I did laugh a little at her “break down” scene but outside of that she was great. The remainder of the cast delivers a solid job as well. I want to go through and praise every cast member but my fat ass is too lazy for that.
The story for this one is a little too long for the story but that is nothing a little tighter editing can’t fix. I liked how the film followed the traditional “you wronged me” story line made famous in films like Prom Night and Friday the 13th. However, it doesn’t follow the typical “who dun it” story like those films. Instead, we get the same style of slasher that you could find post-Scream. This was a fun mix. My biggest complaints about the film is the run time and the characters. The movie could be trimmed to work out some of those slower scenes that may push some viewer’s away. They are too long and serve very little purpose to the story. As for the characters, they were hard to like. There was so many characters that I wished had died. They are just flat, generic characters that you can’t get behind. These characters are easily forgettable with the exception of one of two.
Finally, the film does have a few deaths. The deaths we get are standard slasher kills with solid special effects but they are easily forgettable. None really stand out but they are fun for the film itself. Overall, Angel is a slasher that doesn’t sniff its own farts. It doesn’t take itself too seriously and delivers a great slasher experience. The focus of the film wasn’t to reinvent the sub-genre but to offer up a fun slasher and it succeeds. Jones has an eye for detail and this is one solid slasher for slasher fans. Check it out.
