Angel (VI) (2015) User Reviews

Angel: Clever thriller though fails to entertain

[Platypuschow · 5/10 · 21 November 2017]

This British thriller tells the story of Angel, a girl in the centre of a paedophilia conspiracy that goes deep into the heart of the UK government. Her mind cracked after years of abuse she is on a killing spree and several branches of law enforcement are after her for varying reasons.

One thing I'll say about Angel is it's smart, its well written and a very clever piece of cinema. Everything that happens is entirely believable and many parts could be considered almost a dark satire.

The trouble is its not very entertaining. We witness Angel on one side and the powers that be on the other leading to the inevitable showdown but when the credits rolled I found myself unimpressed with the film.

Well written, well created and exceeds most British pieces but perhaps it just needed a bit more time to develop. Something about Angel simply missed the mark.

The Good:

Very clever little film

The Bad:

John Hannahs presence is hardly felt

What the hell is with that cover?

Ridiculously stiff acting and boorish script turn the thriller into a comical cringe fest

[quincytheodore · 3/10 · 22 July 2015]

Still Waters (Angel) is almost a parody of classic sci-fi Species. It follows an enigmatic girl as she goes on a killing spree while a team of experts is chasing her. The delivery is astonishingly bad and highly unrealistic, it practically becomes comedy at times. Script consists of profanity spamming for every other sentences, which doesn't help the forced silly acting. The movie is a test of patience and endurance.

The problem starts with the main character Angel (Jenn Murray). Be it the direction or acting from Murray, she looks like a ludicrous imitation of mannequin. It's so terribly exaggerated with repetitive bland monologue and sudden burst of tantrum. This is supposedly to be a dangerous girl, yet she just looks odd as though she's is trapped in bizarre Halloween party for eternity, both the look and reaction are so fake.

Other characters don't fare better either. They are made of several crime drama clichés, the stern female investigator for example. She is the epitome of 80s macho template but now in lady form. The bravado is superficially overwhelming, she may just wear eyepatch and grow a beard. Surprisingly, John Hannah is here, though it doesn't help much with the feeble script.

Writing is sloppy, utilizing chain of curses for any development. Furthermore, the story is littered with irregularities, from surreal reactions to dumb characters. It tries to bring heavy issue like child abuse or psychological trauma, yet the presentation is too odd to be believable. There's no decent conclusion for the excruciating spectacle.

There's a term, uncanny valley, to depict CGI effect that almost mimics real human but eerily not enough and eventually looking like strange doll. This applies to this movie, it extremely fake and foolish, it's unbearable to watch.

Enjoyable movie

[denis-939-200463 · 19 December 2015]

I enjoyed this movie. Jenn Murray is quite believable as a victim of child abuse and her performance was chilling at times in the way she played Angel fighting her inner demons. Peter Hugo-Daly is the essence of evil as the depraved clown and sent shivers down my spine. The only downside to me is the amount of swear words in the dialog. I suppose they were put in to make it realistic but I believe that swear words are unnecessary in a movie as I know several people that won't watch a movie that contains swear words no matter how good the movie is.

The Plot kept me guessing until the very end.

The Film is inspired by the book Still Waters by NigelMcClery and not Core of Evil as stated on the Front Page here. The Book is also a very good read and sufficiently different so as to not spoil the Film. I can Recommend Both.

I'm a highly trained international spy - or I was until recently.

[kobafern · 1/10 · 23 August 2015]

Sadly my career as courier to cheeky governments and well dressed spy, is over. I was thrust into a seat (Like I've been on many occasions In my career - perks of the job etc) while the enemy employ various means to try extract secrets I'm holding.

Well the chair, the heating turned off, a bit of water-boarding began then they tightened the straps ensuring I wasn't able to move and made me watch this film! I gave them everything, including my ultra secret fantasy for Sarah Palin dressed in a catsuit while reading Tolstoy to me.

This isn't a film - It's a torture technique. I hope my eyes will one day forgive me.

Not for me

[fairlesssam · 2/10 · 3 June 2017]

I did not find this movie appealing on any level. Even with horrors or thrillers that are disturbing you still would normally find something you liked about them.

Angel is a disturbed young lady who was horrifically abused as a child by her grandmother and grandmothers friends. The abusers wore masks and called the scene of the abuse a 'party'.

The characters in this movie are very one-dimensional, unlikable and lack depth or development. The story content is of course very dark but the path the movie takes just continues along on that darkness and doesn't let up.

The police and government become involved due to a cover-up whereby Angel shouldn't actually be free.

For me personally I did not enjoy the film, I maybe didn't understand what the makers were trying to achieve. To me it's just a film of misery and darkness.

Never put too much stock in a dvd's blurb. That's the real lesson here.

[daniel-mannouch · 2/10 · 14 February 2020]

Angel is a film based on a novel and that is evident in some places as overwrought is not enough to describe some of this film's dialogue. Truly awful. The whole Yewtree inspired conspiracy plot is tawdry and poorly researched. Sure, some psycho babble about the effects of child abuse in this film might be true, but it's all arse covering nonsense in the end as it's used as just a timely origin story for the titular psycho killer with superhuman strength and a level of convenient intuition Tom Clancy would be proud of. Crap. Can i keep saying that? Of course, it's my review. This film is utter crap.

I don't even know why this story is combined with some Spooks like crap involving some terrorist hunters getting involved in a cover up. I would say the combination of psychodrama and conspiracy spy thriller was quirky, but quirky would suggest the film has charm, which it doesn't.

The oddly specific social commentary in Angel i found to be unneeded, like most of the stuff in the film. Sure, a few little references to real life events will further legitimise our plot said writer/director/tv actor Ray Burdis to himself, probably. But it didn't. It's just esoteric and immersion breaking due to poorly written in it was.

What else to say? The film looks really cheap. Like all poor adaptations, the narrative's focus is scattershot around secondary and tertiary characters. The acting ranged from panto to constipated. Was there a soundtrack here? I can't honestly remember. Angel is really bad. It's tabloid sensationalism, only without the patronising entendres and is not as fascy, though it does have a good go at it. An intriguing premise ruined by an abysmal execution.

Evil Adults/Evil Child

[onlythusfar · 7/10 · 30 September 2016]

I was surprised to read the highly negative reviews for this film. I found it creepy and intriguing. The theme of child abuse pulled at my heart strings. The strange mixture of politics and intimate horror, was quite unusual and interesting, as such. The fact, that the film is British added to my pleasure, as I generally find British films more realistic/serious, than American films. I appreciated all the actors in their roles. The tough female cop, although not unattractive, didn't look like a (ridiculous) fashion model, as so many do in American crime films. I thought, that she had a realistic edginess. This wasn't a "great" film, but I appreciated its dark quirkiness.

Psycho Horror meets Political Thriller

[in1984 · 8/10 · 11 August 2015]

8.5 of 10. As you would expect from well-done horror, the true villain gets away and you wind up with a sort of tragic cliff hanger. As you'd expect in cheap horror, there are lots of clowns, but virtually no humor.

There's much more to this film than simple horror, a psycho serial killer, police detective, spy, or political drama. Thriller ends up capturing a complex film of government power corruption that's based on a book.

Set in the UK, if you don't have it spoiled by a poorly written review or excessive trailer, you also get the pleasure of not knowing what direction the story is going. The actors fit their roles and the sex and action come from unexpected angles. For horror fans and haters alike, the pain and gore aren't forced.

As a whole, a highly integrated, never boring story that defies standard film classifications.

Twisting plot easy to follow

[sj-dwyer · 7/10 · 27 August 2016]

As a lover of movies not everything has to be Finely polished as long as an attachment and understanding can be found with the characters and a story line can carry itself along while keeping me entertained. This movie had all this for me and I found it quite enjoyable. It contained a story line that Contained elements of a thriller, elements of horror as well as comedy. Some people expect to much from movies and give bad reviews simply because they expected something different, a preconceived idea of what a film is about and how it should evolve. You just have to take in what the characters are trying to convey and let the story unfold. Pay attention to the dialogue and the scenes. Take note of all the details on the screen not just the main characters. While some films could have a better ending we can always end it differently in our minds. I enjoyed this film and found it to be individual and different.

Do you know what happens to people who tell?

[nogodnomasters · 6/10 · 19 August 2017]

The film opens with young Angel killing a little girl and a psychic who apparently didn't see it coming. She is sentenced to life in prison. Due to circumstances we discover later, she (Jenn Murray) is released 15 years later and starts killing again which included flashbacks to her abused childhood. There are cops who are quietly trying to get her, which included a bad guy played by Christopher Sciueref who had one of the ugliest grills I have seen in the movies. The killings and stabbings were done off screen, all we got to see were the results. Minimum gore.

Based on the book "Core of Evil" by Nigel McCrery.

One of my favourite British made films, EXCELLENT Music Score,& Directing

[keith-macey · 9/10 · 18 May 2017]

I enjoyed this Film, a lot, it starts off as a Horror,has elements of a Thriller, and has dark Comedy moments, not something I expected,but very much enjoyed, very well DIRECTED by Ray Burdis, (who clearly has a knack for Horror scenes) as the opening of the film works very well and the night time sequence in the rain stand out as well set up, I don't want to give the plot away, so my review covers more the technical side, acting in my view was good, the shots well crafted, good cinematography, and the MUSIC SCORE by JOHN BECKETT was great, I LOVED the song "ANGEL'S PRAYER" sung by Brooke Burdis, A good British film, that deserves much praise for handling a story of mental abuse and the way the victim deals with it, On my favourite top 10 British made films list, along with DARK CORNERS starring Thora Birch, which is another underrated Horror, Personally I can't wait for RAY to Direct another Horror, with hopefully JOHN BECKETT doing the music score, they are VERY TALENTED as this film shows. 9 out of 10 due to a couple of "minor" technical flaws, (I noticed), but I highly recommend it,

This skeevey tale of bloody-minded vengeance is a creepy curate's egg

[Weirdling_Wolf · 7/10 · 25 April 2023]

I wasn't going to mention this Brit-horror oddity, but, on reflection it's arguably hinkey enough for more tweaked B-Horror obsessed misfits to give it a shout. Ray Burdis's 'Angel', sadly, had the potential to be a decent psychological horror film, all the lurid ingredients were certainly present, but the so-so execution, prosaic dialogue, and wildly inconsistent performances did much to clip this Angel's wings. On the plus side, the gamine, Jenn Murray's portrayal of cutesy kooky psycho killer Angel was suitably incandescent. Angel's increasingly demented interludes proved memorable, and the macabre flashbacks to her distressing childhood trauma were genuinely unsettling. Once I realised that 'Angel' was veering inexorably into Schlock Central I started to dig on it most righteously. This skeevey tale of bloody-minded vengeance is a creepy curate's egg, but one hopes that another equally twisted reprobate might share a modicum of my, perhaps, entirely misguided enthusiasm for, Ray Burdis's earnest misfire!

I really need to know the name of the song at the end

[patriciatenaglia · 6/10 · 30 October 2021]

That is such a beautiful song I think it's Brooke burdis but I can't find it anywhere if someone can help me find you that would be great thank you. I've tried on YouTube I've tried on Spotify I've tried everywhere I cannot find the song and I want this song so bad.

After being severely traumatized in her childhood, she is later released from care and attempts to survive with her demons.

[a-m-muller · 8/10 · 26 January 2017]

I liked Angel a lot although it took few viewings to understand all that was going on but that did not minimize the viewing. There is a surreal quality to everything, over-realistic, which made everything more interesting, twisted and gruesome.

The title of the original book, Core of Evil, is very fitting as abuse of people as children is investigated both intimately, personally and according to the higher echelons which also are caught up in this. It is a societal and generational issue and therefore to me important subject matter.

One thing, the female agent, 'This is what I do.' and then she 's sneaking around in loud heals.

Loved the visuals and the characters.

Twisted Sister !

[pkdyer1965 · 6/10 · 6 November 2019]

As far as british films go this isn't half bad. Most pyscopaths were victims of abuse, this is a another such story. Quite a lot going on in this if you like conspiracy pyscho films. Jenn Murray plays Angel quite well, supported by John Hannah & Margo Stilley the pursuers. The only problem was the ending was a bit of an anticlimax but all in all decent horror.