Review of Angel Heart (1987) by Stephen C — 21 Apr 2013

Director Akan Parker seems to have fallen off the radar these days and if he doesnt make another film then thats a shame because he is capable of making interesting films such as this eerie Voodoo ,Horror Noir.

Set in the mid 1950s Mickey Rourke plays down at heel private eye Harry Angel who is assigned by his mysterious client Louis Cyphre to track down missing band leader Johnny Favorite who ows Cyphre a debt which he is now calling in .

Harry starts his quest on the mean streets of Harlem and then follows his nose down to New Oreleans where he encounters murder and Voodoo rituals which may or may not be directly linked to the mysterious Johnny Favorite.

Mickey Rourke is on great form here as Angel, he is so down at heel one can almost smelll the whiskey breathed fumes coming through the screen as he shambles around looking for clues and discovering nothing but dead bodies.

Robert De Niro is suitable excellent as the long nailed egg eating Cyphre and the final denoument with Angel is pretty scary stuff.

Parker lays on the noir and Gothic atmosphere with some neat touches and even the widely debated sex scene with Lisa Bonet appaers tame by todays standards.

So if you like your film noirs with just the right touch of horror thrown in, then maybe its time to revisist this classic.