Corman Anthology: Angel IV- Undercover

Alright, now this is just silly.  After three films- two of which were flops in Theaters- the series appeared to be dead and buried.  Leave it to Corman to give this dead horse one more race though!  So, in 1993, a fourth film was made with, you guessed it, none of the original actors.  This plot involves Angel/Molly going, you guessed it, undercover to solve the murder of her never-before-mentioned friend.  Seriously, if Angel ever wants to be your friend, just say 'no!'  This bitch is a freaking death wish!  This movie is not exactly what you'd expect, so let's find out just what it is...

This is Angel/Molly.  No, really.  I can't believe that Baby Spice over here is really supposed to pass for the character!

This is 'Molly's' friend, who was supposedly a hooker that she knew before.  I should just cut and paste my comment from Angel III, but I'll instead point out that this actress actually looks like Molly.  Hello!!!

Her friend is working with a band called AK-47, who's lead singer kind of looks like Jeff Hardy.  By the way, a glam rock band in 1993- timely stuff, Corman!

Roddy McDowall- shortly before appearing in Unknown Origin- is a Music Executive who is not exactly nice.  Despite being involved in some murders, he's not exactly punished in the film...

Angel/Molly has her friend get killed by the drug-addicted Lead Singer of the band and his girlfriend.  Saw that coming, right?

While Angel goes undercover in the band- looking like the man's dead girlfriend- the man starts to go crazier and crazier.  Our heroine pretty much forgets about the whole 'find out who killed my friend' plot because...sigh...the guy writes poetry.

Rather than actually wrap up the plot involving payola and Patrick Kilpatrick- of Scanner Cop II fame- killing/hurting people, we get...sigh...the story of the singer.  He sings a dramatic and sad song...and dies...instantly...from falling a few feet with a chain around his neck.

The girlfriend takes this well.  Nah, just kidding.  She leaps off of the stage at Angel, who's only recourse is to raise a broken guitar neck, causing her to get impaled.  You could have moved, you know!

Kilpatrick and McDowall are never punished, by the way.  The End.

You really just could have stopped at three.  The plot of this movie is not completely-terrible, but it doesn't work for this film.  The Angel films appeared to be going on an upward swing villain-wise, even if the third film's one was a big over-the-top.  In this film, we get two mildly-evil guys who never get punished, a depressed rock star who kills himself and a 'whore' who dies because Angel couldn't just move out of the way.  Actually, let's address that death one more time.  Suppose the lady had landed on Angel- what would have happened?  Was she covered in spikes?  Was she wired to explode or something?  Angel's path from 'girl kept from killing the serial killer' in the original film to 'murdering a lady out of convenience' in this film is now complete!  There are a lot of other problems with this movie.  The pacing is not good, the focus is inconsistent and our heroine just plain forgets to actually do her job.  The only good people in this movie are the boyfriend- although he's a bit whiny- and the Pathologist- who tells her to get off her ass and do her job!  Is this movie an Angel film?  No.  Is this movie a good film?  Again- no.  It doesn't feature two stars...and this re-used joke though...

Up next, I celebrate Christmas Eve with a Foreign import that everyone is talking about.  When in doubt, why not join in?  Stay tuned...

Corman Anthology: Angel III- The Final Chapter

Angel times three.  We're back with the third film in the Angel series and a lot more has changed.  As his tradition, we have a new actress playing the part.  The film takes place roughly seven years after the last film, so you might be able to excuse this.  Although, again, they always cast actresses older than they're actually supposed to be for the plot, putting a big hole in that excuse.  In addition to our lead, her Supporting Cast is all gone too.  Rory Calhoun said 'No' to you guys?  The Yo-Yo Chaplin guy isn't here either?  Well, fortunately, they got a guy who vaguely looks like Reb Brown- and wasn't in Howling V- so I guess that makes up for it.  They also introduce a brand new tradition to Angel- presenting characters from her past that were never shown or mentioned before.  I think it's called a 'Qui-Gon.'  As the teaser mentioned, this film wraps up the 'my mother left me when I was younger' plot, although it just serves to set up the film's main story arc involving prostitutes segueing into porn (big step, I know).  To find out how not-final this film is, read on...

Remember how Angel/Molly was a Law Student in the last film?  Well, now she's a Photographer.  Who said anything about wanting to be a Lawyer?  Not me, obviously!

Angel returns to L.A. to find her mother, since a tip led her there.   Before we move on, take a moment to really enjoy this last bit of '80s fashion (the film was made in '89).

Unfortunately, the happy meeting is ruined by a car bomb.  Yeah, that plot thread was tossed out there just like the Inspector in Avenging Angel.  Note to self- never meet Angel!

Now on the hunt for the killer(s), Angel bunks up with a friend of her's from her past.  I thought that this was supposed to be Yo-Yo/Chaplin, but it's not.  Unless this is somehow supposed to be the 'Gary Glitter' guy, they just pulled this character out of their ass!

The group teams up with "Definitely Not Reb," since he made a documentary about the prostitutes in the area and has connections that allow her to go undercover.  No, really.  Next time I need to infiltrate a Civil War re-enactment, I'll call Ken Burns!

I had to fulfill the 'Random Nudity Reference' so here we go.  I should also note that 99% of the women in this scene are topless...but Angel isn't.  Corman lead actresses never do nudity.  Right, Slumber Party Massacre series?

The trio go undercover at a party designed to hook up the prostitutes with rich businessmen.  How has this scheme been going on so long when they are this blatant?!?

Richard Roundtree- star of Amityville: The Next Generation- is on hand as a kind, caring Police Captain.  Was Ossie Davis busy this time?  He has about four scenes, so that's something.

The finale of the film comes in a warehouse.  The lead villain is locked away in an Ice Cream Truck, while her enforcer gets a hook through the back and is hung out to die.  Our heroes.  The End.

Not quite Final enough.  The plot of this movie is decent, but just feels forced.  The antagonists of Angel films seem to fit a certain mold...until now.  Low-scale for the first film, so it's a generic serial killer.  Raising the stakes for the second film, so it's some evil executives.  Trying too hard for the third film, so it's a business woman who hire prostitutes, makes movies with them and then sells them as sex slaves in exchange for drugs...which she then gives to the prostitutes and, well, you get the drift.  There are just so many elements to it that it makes it really easy to fall apart.  Case in point- Angel gets involved, because they kill her mother.  Why do they do it?  Because she was part of the scheme, which pointlessly-involved trafficking the drugs in via art exhibits.  How much are you paying for the exhibits that you ruin and, later, break to get the drugs?  Wouldn't that eat into your overhead cost?  Speaking of unexplained, how come they never rescue the one, nice prostitute who is sold into slavery?  Granted- you stopped the operation, but there's no mention of 'don't worry- we'll rescue her' or anything!  Add in the death of another prostitute before the finale and you have some bitter baggage for your happy ending!  The film is not as good as the second film, although they don't force in as much comedy this time.  A decent film, but a weak link for the series as a whole.  Hey, Walter Paisley...

Next up, the final...final Angel film.  It's about as related as your dad's best friend's dog-walker.  Stay tuned...

Corman Anthology: Avenging Angel (1985)

Angel continues to have really, really bad luck.  I guess it's karma, really.  This girl becomes a prostitute at age 12 to pay for school, since the Foster Care system is so bad.  Clearly, it's worse than selling your body for money to strangers!  She does this until her secret comes out...but that gets swept away and she goes to Law School.  From Pre-Teen prostitute to Law Student- something has to go wrong.  As it turns out, she is just using up all the good luck, leading to bad luck for pretty much everyone else in her life.  In Avenging Angel, a new actress plays the role, since the movie is set four years later, but made one year later.  Mind you, the actress who played 15 year-old Angel in the original film was actually 24, but whatever!  She's not the only actor to not come back for their role, but more on that later.  To find out just what Angel is avenging, read on...

Angel meets up with her buddy, the Police Inspector...except he's not the same actor.  Why did the guy from Angel not return?  Well, I can wager a guess later...

The first major, superfluous nude scene of the film comes within the first ten minutes.  A woman takes a shower and gets dressed, preparing to meet a 'John.'  As it turns out, however, she's an undercover cop and...

...the sting operation turns sour.  A group of men kill the 'John,' kill her and leave the Inspector lying on the ground bleeding.  Now you see why I imagine that the actor didn't come back, huh?

Angel comes back to town to avenge him- clever title, huh?- and joins up with the landlord from before and her Cowboy friend.  Even Yo-Yo is back as a main character.  You know, that guy who had two scenes and gave me a stinger for the last review?  He's back too- yea?

Back on the streets as Angel, our heroine discovers a scheme to buy up all of the lots and remake the Hollywood Strip.  This wouldn't be illegal if it wasn't for all the murder, really?

Ossie Davis is here for two scenes, playing a never-before-seen or mentioned Captain.  His role- act concerned and save our heroine in one scene.  Loved you in Bubba Ho-Tep, dude!

Robert Tessier- B-Movie Actor and live-action Mr. Clean- has a cameo as a Tattoo Artist.  That's suitably-random, thank you.

Will the villain succeed?  Will the day be saved?  Given this random cast of characters, it's hard to bet against them.  The End.

You're my angel!  The plot of this movie is not bad, but not great.  It's kind of forced to fit into the series.  The transition is jarring from Angel to Avenging Angel for many reasons.  The actor changes, for one, make you feel like you're starting over, not continuing the story.  Second, the tonal changes here are pretty damn weird. The film begins happily, turns to murder and then turns to comedy as our heroes bust the Cowboy out of an Asylum.  Fun fact- the movie thinks that Law Students can file legal briefs in the state of California.  The movie is just full of random tonal changes, including a saccharine sub-plot involving Angel helping out a Pre-Teen prostitute like she once was and a scene involving their Gary Glitter knock-off reading a story to some bums.  Throw in lots of random murder and you've got a movie!  The transition of Angel from a young girl to a woman who fights for herself is a bit awkward too, as most of the action is still done by others and she still needs saving at least twice.  It's a small step towards Feminism, I suppose.  As a whole, this is a more competent- albeit weirder- film than the original.  Can the series keep it up?  Hey, look up there!

Next up, Angel returns after another time-jump to finally wrap up that whole 'my mom disappeared on me' plot.  Naturally, it turns into a plot involving modeling, 'Skinemax' films and human trafficking.  Stay tuned...

Corman Anthology: Angel (1984)

It's rare that a movie sounds so sweet, yet is so full of sleaze.  1984's Angel is the start of a four-film series, despite the third film being subtitled The Final Chapter.  It tells the tale of an under-age prostitute in Los Angeles who is leading a double-life.  This may have sounded like a Christmas film at first glance, but it really, really isn't!  It's a New World Pictures release, which means that Roger Corman has his old man fingers all over it.  As people that worked under him at the time have noted, Corman had a simple business model- make simple, genre films that come out, make a profit and then vanish.  It worked for the longest time, so I guess it's hard to argue with it- at least to a point.  In a post-modern, DVD age, looking back at many of these films does not always do them justice.  The plots are usually simple to understand- sometimes to a fault- and the characters are written as broadly as possible.  Does this first film in the series hold up after 26 years- and change- or did it age like bad cheese?  To find out, read on...

This is Angel.  She's your typical A-type personality and Honor Student.  She spends her nights on the Holywood Strip as a prostitute...at age 15.  Joy.

The problem- a serial killer is on the loose and he's taking out prostitutes.  As the Demon from Millennium said 'Killing prostitutes- that's so cliche.'  This also sets up a sub-plot involving the uniformed officer on the left...which kind of ends abruptly later on.

Angel has friends on the Strip- a cross-dressing man and a guy who thinks that he's a cowboy.  Comedy characters in a film about under-age prostitutes dying at the hands of a necrophilic serial killer- makes sense to me!

Things get 'real' when not one, but two of Angel's friends and co-workers die.  As I lead you through these films, you'll notice that this plot thread comes up a lot!

No Corman film is complete without superfluous nudity.  In this case, it comes from a scene of the co-eds running into the shower at school.  Another common thread for the Angel films- the lead never shows any skin.  Granted, she's supposed to be 15 here, so I can accept it...

The killer grows a fascination with Angel/Molly, especially after she fingers him for the crime.  He disguises himself as a Hari Krishna- I'm sure it made sense to him at the time- and tries to get to her, but first has to face off with the cross-dressing father/mother figure of Angel.

By the way, he randomly kills that uniformed officer off-screen.  See- I told you that it just ended abruptly!

This means 'War' to Angel and she gets out her Chekhov's Gun- which is actually a gun this time- to track him down.  When an under-age prostitute is walking down the Hollywood Strip with a .44 Caliber handgun, it's time to run!

The killer is brought to justice by the authorities.  Nah, just kidding.  He's actually shot to death by the cowboy, who was sparing Angel the job.  It's like Road to Perdition...but with under-age prostitutes, cowboys and a cross-dresser.  The End.

Los Angeles is truly the City of Angel.  The plot of this movie is pretty basic, but it works...at least as far as its trying to be.  Is the film great?  No, not really.  It wasn't trying to be though.  It's a Roger Corman film that was probably made for less than a million dollars and probably made at least four times its budget back on VHS alone.  The mix of comedy, melodrama and sleaze is certainly an odd one.  One minute, Angel is chatting with her cross-dressing father/mother figure- who's supposed to look like Jack Lemmon from Some Like It Hot- and the next minute, her friend is murdered and the scene cuts away just before her killer has sex with her corpse!  That's not to say that you can't mix genres like that, but it does require a subtle touch.  You don't exactly get that here!  With all of that said, the film is decent and gets its message across.  If you're a fan of Corman films, you know what to expect here.  Let's just see if the sequels stack up as well.  What do you think, Creepy Chaplin man...

Up next, the second Angel film features new cast members, dead old cast members and...more comedy.  If you thought the first film was a weird mix, check this out!  Stay tuned...