Director(s) – Andrea Bianchi (Fleshy Doll, Burial Ground: Nights of Terror) and Jess Franco (Bloody Moon, Hell Hole Women)
Starring – Christopher Mitchum (Tombstone, Summertime Killer), Suzanne Andrews (Maniac Killer, The Far Side of Jericho), and Fernando Rey (Blood and Dust, Voyage of the Damned)
Release Date – 1987
Rating – 3.5/5
Blu Release – 2.5/5
It’s rare that I get a stand alone film from legendary filmmaker Jess Franco. Typically, when a company releases a Franco film they do so with a second film and as a movie fan that is fantastic. Over the years I’ve received Franco flicks from Blue Underground, Severin, and several more with all of them coming in pairs. Full Moon’s Franco releases are the same.
When MVD sent over Night of the Eagles they also sent over the 1987 film Angel of Death which features one of the coolest poster designs I have seen for any film. Luckily, the film lives up to the artwork. Like always, I want to thank MVD and Full Moon for sending this one my way for review.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows a young man and woman who meet up with a woman who was once a “working girl” that found an older rich man that took her in to live with her. However, things are not as glamorous as she had hoped for. The man became rude and cruel to her at times while forbidding her to go to certain rooms of his giant estate. Curiosity gets the best of her and she goes into a room where she finds a meeting between secret Nazi members and her older man. After hearing her tell this story, the young man reports back with what he has heard and is soon putting together a team of Nazi hunters to invade his fortress and capture him as it’s suspected that he is the famed Nazi doctor Josef Mengele. **Spoiler Alert**
I always enjoy a Franco double feature but I’ve never had one like this. Typically, you toss in a Franco film and expect some sleaze. However, these two films are centered around Nazis with Angel of Death having that mid-80s action feel where Night of the Eagles is a wartime period piece. I was not expecting this type of film and I really enjoyed it.
The acting in this one is extremely campy even for a mid-80s action flick. We get some unintentionally funny one-liners and the cast really hams it up. The characters are mostly forgettable but you can tell the cast was having a lot of fun on set with this one. It’s such a strong contrast to Night of the Eagles and the cast.
The story for this one mixes Nazi history with 80s direct to video action flicks. If you are a fan of straight to video action flicks then you will really enjoy the campy action meets horrors of the holocaust. Taking someone so despicable as Mengele and turning him into an action villain is pretty god damn genius if you ask me. It gives the story so much more depth than you would normally get from a straight forward action flick. We still get the cheesy action and gun fights that you would expect but the characters, though forgettable, work very well with the story.
Finally, the film has a little blood and some gunfights but nothing that will stick out to the viewer. It’s focus is the story and it does that very well. Overall, Angel of Death is a different spin on the 80s action flick that actually works. I really enjoyed it and the Full Moon release looks fantastic. As always, it’s a damn shame that this one doesn’t have any special features to supplement the release.
Special Features:
None
