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Night Angel
AKA Hellborn
Directed By Dominique Othenin-Girard
Released: 1989
Starring: Isa Jank, Linden Ashby, Debra Feuer, and Karen Black
Running Time: 90 minutes
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The newest model at Siren Magazine just happens to be Lilith (played by
Isa Jank), a man-devouring demon. Despite the fact that the leading men at the magazine
office are being killed in horrible ways, a new romance springs up
between Siren reporter Craig (Linden Ashby) and jewelry designer (and boss’s
daughter) Kirstie (Debra Feuer). Soon, Craig and Kirstie discover that
everyone at Siren Magazine has become obsessed with Lilith and are
becoming increasingly deranged and violent. The two are approached by
Sadie (Helen Martin), an old mystic whose husband was devoured by Lilith many years ago. Sadie vows to destroy the demon before she breaths
her final breath. When Kirstie is kidnapped by one of Lilith’s zombie-like
followers, it is up to Craig and Sadie to send her back to Hell.
Oh, Night Angel,
where have you been all my life? Oh yeah, at the video store. I must have
passed up this title a thousand times at the video store. Big mistake.
Night Angel
is one of those forehead-slappers I should have seen 15 years ago.
Directed by Dominique Othenin-Girard (Halloween
5, After Darkness), this very odd
film goes the distance with strangeness, trashiness, and some eye-opening
gore and special effects sequences. The writing is decent enough (barely) despite some
thinly conceived characters and wince-inducing dialogue. Camerawork by David Lewis (Night
Of The Demons)
is excellent with some tricky (read as: pointless slow motion) editing
from Jerry Brady (Halloween 5).
The acting isn’t great but it’s quite serviceable considering the
material. Isa Jank gets pretty hot and heavy (well her blatantly obvious
body double does anyway) in her role as the evil Lilith. Linden Ashby (of
Mortal Kombat
fame) is here to play our heroish (not heroic) guy, Craig. Debra Feuer is
suitable as his love interest, Kirstie (yawn). Ken, the resident nerd, is
played by Doug Jones (Hellboy)
who grows quite creepy after he is enslaved by Lilith.
The wildly prolific cult
actress, Karen Black (Trilogy Of Terror,
The Pyx),
turns in an outlandish performance as Rita, editor of Siren Magazine.
Black looks a little worse for wear but hey,
Five Easy Pieces was a long,
long time ago. And then there’s sassy Sadie played by Helen Martin who has
been in everything from
Death Wish
to “Good Times” to Repo Man
to 50 other thankless bit parts.
What amazes me about Night Angel
is just how outrageous it gets. Subtle it is not! Just when I thought
things were starting to slow down, the film goes bonkers. There is a
nightmarish bondage orgy-like scene with poor Craig looking awfully disturbed
as all kinds of monstrosities are rolled out merely for the sake of some
sweaty soft-focus weirdness.
There is a gifted (well endowed, that is) young actress named Susie Sparks
(of Smothering Tits
1 and 2) who plays a character called “Woman with Faces under Breasts”.
Mm-hmm, you get the idea. The fact that Night Angel is slipping into VHS/late
night cable (thanks FLIX)
obscurity is a damn shame. Don’t listen to all those knuckleheads on IMDB,
this one satisfies all your deepest darkest desires of 1989 and then some.
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Quotes
“Oh my gosh, would you look at the rib melons on this babe!”
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