Angel of Death (2001) User Reviews

Promising Beginning, Awful Development, Terrible Conclusion

[claudio_carvalho · 5/10 · 30 December 2006]

In Seville, the newcomer detective Maria Delgado (Mira Sorvino) arrives during the Holy Week and is assigned to work with detectives Quemada (Olivier Martinez) and Torillo (Féodor Atkine) in the bizarre murder of twins, killed with several bullfighter knives. Maria interviews the old lady Ms. Catalina (Alida Valli), who found the bodies, while a tourist is attacked on the streets by a masked guy with a bullfighter knife. The trio connects the cases and follows the lead to a brotherhood. The director of the brotherhood is also killed by a knife, and Maria follows her instinct and visits Ms. Catalina again in a convent. Ms. Catalina discloses her sad adolescence when Spain was in Civil War and Maria gets closer to the truth.

When I saw the names of Mira Sorvino and Alida Valli, I did not hesitate and bought this DVD. The story has a promising beginning, with a weird death and decomposed corpses that recalled me "Seven", and I was expecting a good dark movie. Unfortunately, director Pepe Danquart did not take any care in developing the characters, and his only concern seems to be a tourist travel through the beautiful Seville in the "Semana Santa". Therefore, the motives of each character are very confused, leading the movie to a terrible conclusion. Mira Sorvino seems to be upset most of the time, and the DVD distributed in Brazil is awfully dubbed in English. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Anjo da Morte" ("Angel of the Death")

Did Mira even read this script?

[tarbosh22000 · 3/10 · 24 November 2004]

"Semana Santa" or "Angel Of Death" is a very weak movie. Mira Sorvino plays a detective who is trying to find a killer who shoots arrows in people. Mira has an Italian accent which falters from time to time. Couldn't she just speak English? All the other characters have a forced Mexican\English accent which is distracting. The dialogue is very bad and the delivery of it is wooden. The cinematography looks nice, but that's not enough to save this tripe. THIS NEXT PART OF THIS REVIEW DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS!!!!

During the climax it looks like the villain is going to get away, but then he comes back down stairs to get shot and do a cool stunt down the railing. That just shows this script has no originality whatsoever. AVOID!

For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

dull and forgotten, leads have no chemistry

[HEFILM · 3/10 · 27 March 2024]

American star who's career is in trouble goes to Europe to appear in a multinational production of little distinction. Those were the days, the late 1960's through mid 1970's and unless your name was Clint Eastwood probably nothing much came of the experience as far as the finished film was concerned. Ah, I feel sort of nostalgic for those euro trash co productions that you just knew were really about tax shelters as well as being one last chance for the star to headline a movie and have a vacation at the viewing public's expense.

Well, ANGEL OF DEATH is just such a movie and it is only from 2002! The original, more germane, title is SEMANA SANTA which means Easter or Easter week, referring to the parades and celebrations that feature hooded monks, one of whom is suspected of being the killer.

No less than six countries are listed in the credits and though set in Spain part of it was shot in Hamburg Germany. I guess I'm talking about all this because all of that is more interesting than the movie itself.

Other than the pleasing distractions of the setting, the story is really really tired. Though based on a novel it really feels like the work of a tired American television cop show writer. Doing some research I found that I was half right, Roy Mitchell is a English television cop show writer. One symbolic killing sparks an investigation. It is hinted that there is some religious connection to the killing. Ultimately this isn't explored in any depth. Woman Cop forced on a male counterpart who doesn't respect her. She is shown to kick ass early in the film to excuse her becoming pretty much just a typical weak woman for the killer to throw around by the end. The dialogue is really flat. A character gets locked in a room by the killer and immediately pounds on the door and yells, "Open this door!" Pretty much all the dialogue is on this level of freshness and creativity. It sounds even worse because we have a bunch of thick accented Europeans speaking lamely written television dialogue while we (the audience) are to pretend they are all really Spaniards. Though when we see anything written down it is in Spanish. It's all just not very convincing.

In the midst of this is Mira Sorvino sporting a pretty good accent but looking very out of place with her blonde hair amid all the dark haired natives. Though it is explained she is half American she should have just died her hair. She pretty much plays the whole film with the same slightly worried or interested expression. There is no chemistry between her and co star Oliver Martinez and though her part isn't written to really carry the film she doesn't rise to the challenge to elevate the material. I guess in this case Mira Sorvino and Olivier Martinez were an item at the time and thought it would be fun to go to Europe and pretend to hate each other on film. She I guess comes off better since she seems like an actress giving a poor performance where he comes off as being a non actor trying to act mean and tough.

Speaking earlier of Clint Eastwood, Mira certainly is in need of Clint saving her post Oscar career the way he did for Hillary Swank.

Ciro Cappellari's location photography makes you want to go there but generates no suspense or style other than a surface gloss to the film. All the production levels are about on par with a really well produced cable movie but not really up to feature standards. The first crime scene is rather gruesome and the second killing is too but after that it's a dullish hunt for the killer structure. The revelation is something of a cheat but does nothing to revive your interest in the story by that point. Two supporting characters are sort of interesting, but so what? One of these is Alida Valli, who makes the most of what little they allow her to do here. She's at least an authentic 70's Euro character actress, having been in SUSPIRIA, LISA AND THE DEVIL, THE ANTICHRIST to name a few of her impressive credits. Mira Sorvino seems almost in awe of her during their scenes together and for good reason, Valli is actually acting! But Valli's presence, and she does have that, just reminds you how blandly directed the film is.

To increase the growing sense of inertia there are extended flashback sequences in the middle of the film set during the Spanish revolution revealing Valli's character's origins.

Asleep at the helm director, Pepe Danquart, got to love that name, directs a movie that cuts together properly but doesn't tell an exciting story. Nor is he able to get a good performance from his leading lady. Nothing is done poorly enough to become silly, other than one scene where Sorvino gets stuck to a staircase rail with a bull fighting pike through the hand and has to pretend she can't get free while fighting and stabbing occurs around her between the macho men.

Music score adds little except in some probably authentic Catholic parade scenes and source music. 5.1 mix does almost nothing with the surround channels.

ANGEL OF DEATH does little with anything. The DVD does offer trailers for a number of better movies available from MGM. Despite the Spanish setting the only alternate language is French which makes no sense given the large domestic U. S. video audience of Spanish speakers who might be interested in the film because of the setting. Oh well, perhaps this is a small mercy for them.

Generalísimo Franco's evil children

[christian-254 · 9 February 2006]

For the life of me I cannot explain why this film has received such hostile comments. Actually, I expected not much when I rented this. The presence of Mira Sorvino led me to think that this might be just another cheapo US horror flick shot in Europe. Not so. In fact, I found it to be a modest, yet highly effective little murder thriller set against the background of picturesque Seville, very much reminiscent of 70s giallo cinema and 70s Spanish thriller movies. It is a film that primarily deals with destroyed families - two of the cops were robbed of their loved ones, and the great Alida Valli (in one of her last roles) plays an old widow who stems from a highly respected family that has also fallen apart. The villains of the piece - and no, this is not really a spoiler! - are monsters from the days of the Spanish Civil War - a degenerated family in themselves. The story unfolds at a slow pace, but a clever and moody screenplay (that is totally devoid of the inane babbling that spoils so many of today's b-horror movies) makes the characters quite interesting and unusual. Throw in a few giallo murders and good photography, and what we have is a charmingly old-fashioned, moody piece of cinema. It is definitely not to be mistaken for a a-murder-a-reel horror shocker, but if one has a sweet tooth for slow, morbid thrillers, it should prove worthwhile. It's maybe not one the same level as Guillermo del Toro's THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE, but what a nice surprise it was...

The Story Went Where?

[aristides-1 · 1/10 · 11 April 2005]

I could not, for the life of me, follow, figure out or understand the story. As the plot advances it too stays incomprehensible. I'm going to guess and say that there was a preproduction story/plot problem that never got sorted out. The producers could never separate the many details that the novel, or any novel, has the time and space to create from the other idea, which was to make a movie about a serial killer and the killer's pursuit by the police. They ended up with too many things happening in a proscribed feature film time limit. Too bad really because they had a solid cast, a director who knows how to move things around and excellent cinematography. In fact, a well made movie that one could enjoy and relax with for a couple of hours.

Stinkbombs

[Johnnieb-2 · 1/10 · 13 February 2005]

When we were in junior high school, some of us boys would occasionally set off stinkbombs. It was considered funny then. But the producers, directors and cast of "Semana Santa" ("Angel of Death" in the DVD section of your local video rental) are adults and they are STILL setting them off.

Like the previous reviewer who wondered if the cast were anxious to get off the set and home, I doubt more than one take was done for any of the scenes.

Mira Sorvino, hot in "Mighty Aphrodite" and other top-rated films, seems to have undersold herself to this project. Her acting is non-existent, confined mostly to wistful stares that are supposed to indicate how "sensitive" she is to the plight of the film's various victims.

But let me warn you--do not be the next victim! Step away from the DVD if you find it on the shelf. Tbere are not many good leg shots of Mira (the only high points I could find in the film) and the supporting cast is of inferior quality, delivering a mishmash of badly-done dialogue with embarrassing "Spanish" accents worthy of the best high school theatrical production.

Jaw-droppingly Bad

[Superwonderscope · 1/10 · 27 June 2002]

Semana Santa is jaw-droppingly bad. It's so wrong in so many ways I don't where to begin. So, let's see...Mira Sorvino, whose judge husband has been shot while protecting her, goes from Madrid to Seville for her cop job. During the holy week (Semana santa, see?...everybody begins to fall sleep..told u it was bad in so many points, even from the beginning), a killer executes his victims like bulls in a bullfighting arena. She teams up with male chauvinist pig Olivier Martinez and nice Feodor Atkine. Soon she discovers she'll be the next target of the killer (who wears a red robe). Why, oh but why?

Why..;that's the questionthat has been in my head the whole movie.

Q :Why did go to see that A : Because i love Mira Sorvino (i even excuse her for that AT FIRST SIGHT crap)

Q : Why were we only 8 people in the theater this saturday on the first week end of release? A : ah-ah-ah. Spider-man got relaesed the same day. But also the fact that the movie has been blast with execrable reviews.

Q : Why this movie has been made? A : Money I guess. But boy did Mira need the money.

then...why???????????? first of all, there's always something wrong with european co-productions. here you got a french-english-german-italian-spanish-danish production. yi-ha.

Then it wants to play on the same playgroung as US thrillers/slashers/whodunit/mysteries/whatever. Even VALENTINE, though unnecessary and badly scripted and shot, was much better in the suspense and the fun.

Then , to give some credit to the story, the screenwriter wanted to add some political sight to the story. Wrong : done in flash-backs in a Traffic-like photography, it's certainly the most interesting thing i n the movie. Could have stick to it, it wouldn't have to sit through the whole movie. Better go straight to Guillermo del Tros's THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE (El espinazo del diablo)for some clever fun.

Then the homophobia. Bullseye! The first victims are S&M drug addicted gay twins who got stabbed to death. The annoying olivier Martinez goes to a dating agency held by a badly shaved overweight transvestive with a blond platinum wig. Calls mira Sorvino's character a big dyke all the time. Do we need this kind of stuff? Nah. Just needless offensive remarks, just like ol'times.

Then the suspense. Yipee. No apparent motive. The first murders are plain illusion as they're a representation of a famous painting. But no. And the revelation of the killer (a horrible fascist, of course) could have been done from the beginning as he appears at the end of the movie as, I guess, it was time for the director to say "weel, time to finish that damn movie. let's reveal right now who the killer is and why he kills".

Then the director thinks he's a director. Wrong : no sense of suspense, no sense of directing the actors, no knowledge of change of pace. A Giant, mega-bore. The scenes of the holy week are needless (maybe a co-production rule saying : ok, shoot in Sevilla but show some creditsof this beautiful and historical town with the celebrations of Easter. There we are : a mystery movie for tourists!)

Then the actors. All wrongs. Mira Sorvino bores herself to death : she does practicly nothing except getting stabbed in the right hand. Everything she did best (the Replacement Killers, Mighty Aphrodite...) were like they never existed. Olivier Martinez...hello, anybody here? When the producers will learn that he's not an actor but a mannequin with no ability of speech nor feelings? Feodor Atkine, bland and transparent. Only do we pay great respect to Alida Valli, one of the greatest actress this last century (and I hope for some more roles in this current one). She's tha main attraction here as she's the only one to give life to her poor lines. I won't mention the other actors as they're only one-sided characters, uninteresting and shallow.

Incoherent direction, inconsistent actors, implausible plot. Idiocy incarnated.

Superwonderscope says : 1

pretty bad

[winner55 · 1/10 · 6 July 2008]

with all the European studios involved in this one, you would think you'd at least get some pretty photography; but the local color is kept to a minimum.

Irritation #1 is Mira Sorvino using a Russian accent in order to play a Spanish cop - WTF? The story is hopelessly confused. There's a supposed romantic back story that is intentionally confused - is she or isn't she a lesbian? - serving no purpose whatsoever. The cops in the movie are the most stupid to have graced a serial killer film in a long time. There seems to be some message about the mid-'30s Spanish Civil War But since pretty much everybody involved in that is dead, one doesn't see the point in it.

Despite the bull-fighting backdrop of part of the narrative (which part? who can tell), you never even get a good look at a bull fight. Earnest Hemingway would have punched the director in the nose - with my blessings.

I don't understand all the hate directed at this movie

[bensonmum2 · 6/10 · 26 March 2006]

I'm shocked by all the negative reviews I've read on Angel of Death now that I've seen it. My rating of a 6/10 almost makes me look like a fanboy in comparison with what most people seem to think about Angel of Death. It may not be the best movie ever made, but it's certainly better than the garbage others seem to be labeling it. Take the criticisms I've seen leveled against Mira Sorvino. The charge - Sorvino sleepwalks through her performance. What these people call sleepwalking I tend to view as a nice, understated performance that works for me. It's like the old adage - one man's trash is another man's treasure.

The plot centers on a series of brutal murders being committed during the Spanish Holy Week celebrations in Seville by a red-hooded monk. Through their investigations, Sorvino and her compatriots discover a back-story of rape and greed dating back to the time of the Spanish Civil War. Sorvino must find the killer before she becomes the latest victims. This plot is, perhaps, the movies weakest point. It's interesting enough, but it's far too involved to completely explore in a roughly 90 minute movie. There are a few subplots that go nowhere and much is left to the viewer to figure out.

In many respects, Angel of Death seems to be an attempt to revive or at least revisit the European or Giallo thrillers of the past. A black-gloved hooded killer, a convoluted plot, beautiful cinematography, and violent death scenes all hearken to the glory days of the Euro-thriller. It's a shame this movie wasn't more well received because I would have enjoyed seeing more of this kind of film.

What happened???

[jeca66 · 1/10 · 3 February 2005]

I agree with the previous comment, what a disappointment. Rented it thinking it was going to be a good movie since Mira and Olivier where in it. I was surprised by their performance, expected more since they're good actors.

Thought it was a slow beginning but it got worse. I even laughed at some bad stunts!! when is supposed to be a mystery movie. You can even guess who is the killer beforehand!!!

For real what happened??

Sorry to say but don't even bother you'll waste time and money.

Boring!!!

A trip back in time

[lastliberal · 6/10 · 20 September 2007]

OK, so this isn't the greatest mystery movie to grace the screen. It did, however, have some good features that made it worth my time.

First, I lived in Andalucia for six years and have fond memories of the Semana Santa ceremonies and processions. The white robes and the pointed masks do not remind me of the Ku Klux Klan, but of centuries of tradition in Spain. Seeing that as a backdrop to the murders and the police work, led by the ever adorable Mira Sorvino, was beautiful.

Second, I love stories that weave in the evil fascists that invaded Spain. The US-backed murderers under Franco provided a credible story that explained the current murders.

Third, I was enchanted with Alida Valli in her last role as Doña Catalina. So much so that I will make it a point to see one of her earlier roles this weekend.

All in all, a good slow murder mystery with several features that made it worthwhile.

One to be avoided

[blackbird-2 · 1/10 · 1 February 2004]

I seems in the beginning a interesting film, a Spanish thriller in a interesting nowadays Madrid, but it isn`t none of that, is actually a film only interesting for future films directors learning about what not to do making a film, it can`t be worse in others words, even the presence of a oscar winner ( Mira Sorvino ) isn`t enough to justify the $ 3.00 dollars expended to see this film , the acting is horrendous and it seems the actors were just waiting to finish the daily shots to go home, it lead to nowhere and is boring, weak and bad, don`t expend time or money on this film.

Pity there Is No Way to Vote -0-

[rsternesq · 1/10 · 4 March 2008]

This may actually be the worst movie that I have ever seen. Incoherent would be a compliment. Even the end made no sense but it was a tremendous relief that it was finally over. I watched it with a kind of fatalistic fascination to see if it could continue to deteriorate and it did. By the end of this mess I was sorry any of the characters survived and I wasn't feeling too charitable about the actors either.If you want to watch a train wreck, I recommend hanging out at a train station. Even waiting on a deserted train platform beats this mess. Apparently I haven't vented enough to fill up my prescribed ten lines so, at the risk of redundancy, I will say it one more time. This movie is a zero and it would be less if I had a word for an even lower rating. How about minus zero?

BORING AS HELL!!!

[andy_n_johansen · 1/10 · 14 May 2004]

This movie sucks big time. It reminded me of the movie Resurrection (Christopher Lambert), which i also found extremely boring. And "Semana Santa" is in every way an even poorer movie.

Only fine one in the cast doing something for this movie is Alida Valli. Alida is one of the grand old ladies in european movie history. I loved her maniacal looks in "Suspiria" and "inferno" (Dario Argento). I will not spend more time dealing with this movie. I will say another good thing about this movie...use it if you want to fall asleep very quickly...

avoid this movie!

[erno-7 · 1/10 · 9 April 2009]

It was agonizingly bad movie. It will eat your heart out while you watch it. I beg you: don't watch this movie! You will hate you losing 1,5 hours of your lifetime! It's not as some movies that are so bad that you can watch those and enjoy... this movie is boring as... there is nothing as boring as this movie. You will hate yourself after watching this movie till the end. And you will hate yourself that you didn't listen to me.

I hate myself. I tortured myself and I did watch this movie to the end. Now excuse me, I will shot myself. I have seen all.

Please. Read this very carefully. Don't watch this film.

Please!

Solid Murder Mystery

[kjs-2 · 7/10 · 10 June 2005]

The only thing special about this film may be the very human everyday interactions between the characters in this film. An important scene might have a little glance or aside that only tells of the place and the people but have no real impact on the story. Mia Sorvino along with the other actors and even the walk-on extras just feel real and utterly regular in the skins that they occupy on screen. 99% of movies do not succeed as well as this one when it comes to that pervasive "REALITY" feeling.

Yes the pacing could have been better. Yes you might be lost if you don't pay attention to each plot revelation. Yes you might not be surprised at all by how the story turns out. But this is a beautiful film in its grounded feeling, the acting, and the little things outside of the main focus which give life to the world and its characters.

Not original at all but great acting and good direction makes for a hidden gem in my opinion.

-Karl

Lots of Power but much less PUNCH

[storyteller912 · 6/10 · 18 September 2005]

This movie has lots going for it. I only wish it had come together better.

Several of the performances are subtle and command our full attention. Alida Valli is stark and quietly brilliant as Dona Katrina as she tells her gripping tale from the war. Feodor Atkine is both confused and valiant as he searches for answers to the murders committed by the man in red. While other roles are too subtly played or bungled entirely. Mira Sorvino is adequate as the reflective outsider who is haunted by her past. Olivier Martinez, gives a one dimensional and overplayed role as the tough cop, solving crimes on the mean streets of Sevilla.

The cinematography is rife with scenes from Sevilla's rich historic architecture and the contrasts in light and shadow give this film a brooding quality. Filming from various angles during the Easter pageant lends depth as the police narrowly miss observing the murders first hand and totally miss their motive. The action scenes however, often appear as if happening in some other story and don't fully connected to the movement of the plot.

I did find this film worth watching to the end if only to find out "who dun-nit". Watch it when you are feeling somber and a little confused.

Moderately entertaining if in the right mood

[slayrrr666 · 7/10 · 4 August 2007]

"Angel of Death" is a mildly entertaining, though flawed slasher.

**SPOILERS**

Transferring to Seville in Spain, detective Maria Delgado, (Mira Sorvino) soon finds herself assigned to a case with Quemada, (Olivier Martinez) involving a string of murders committed during Holy Week, it's renowned Easter celebration. Due to the closeness of the crimes, they go out to track down a lead on the case. The first step in the case is the Brotherhood of Christ, a mysterious religious order whose leader, Castenada, (Peter Berling) doesn't want to cooperate with the authorities, leaving them baffled as to their next course of attack. As the killings continue throughout Spain, they discover that the motives for the crimes can be traced back to the days of the Spanish Civil War and an unspeakable act of brutality. Armed with the new piece of news, they use that to their advantage to track down the killer before they commit even more killings in a quest for revenge.

The Good News: This wasn't all that bad when it really mattered. The film did a really great job at building up a sense of suspense when it tries to. The opening attack is a pretty good example, as there's a combination of stalking, hiding and confrontations that all come together in the sequence to provide a really exciting and entertaining one. The highlight of the film, though, is the stalking during the parade celebration. From the chase through the characters down in the street through to the apartment complex where it really steps up considerably. From the attempts of the second police officer to get to the scene and the various techniques to get inside are it's best moments. The confrontation with the killer is just as nice, as there's an extended stalking scene involved where the victim manages to get seriously injured in the course of it rather than escaping scot-free. The fact that this has a fair-sized body count isn't that bad, and there's some pretty nice kills as a result. There's a spear thrown through the eye, impaled with a sword, a couple set on fire, knife stabbings and a plethora of gunshot wounds to provide a healthy balance. The fact that the killer's chosen such a decorative wardrobe is quite a nice surprise, as it's both new as well as offering a healthy amount of intimidation through it. This here wasn't all that bad when it really mattered.

The Bad News: There wasn't a whole lot that didn't work in this one. One of the biggest problems is that this one is incredibly illogical with the police matters. The first two victims are discovered in a character's home, but no one bothers to interview them at the crime scene. The medical examiner says the victims were killed four weeks before they were discovered, but this doesn't strike anyone as strange. That strikes as something that wouldn't really happen in real life, as that would've been noticed by the smell of the rotting corpses long before. The whole way it's handled is just quite wrong, as they don't even suspect anything is wrong until after they notice all these flies in the home. Not one or two flies, but a huge swarm. That is just out-and-out illogical, as there's no way that a month could go by without them wondering why they haven't seen a tenant. They way it's portrayed to the police isn't any better, as the indifference to the initial discovery, and then the later statement that these murders where actually expected seems odd. The lack of action in the first half is another flaw to overcome, as it's not until the later half that it really starts to up the body count. That these are also pretty bloodless kills is another thing for this one, as there's a big body count but they're not quite bloody or even on-screen. Those small flaws hold this one back slightly.

The Final Verdict: While not the best out there, this still has enough solid moments throughout to put it in the realm of the watchable. Keeping an open mind with this one might be best, as those will be the ones who get the most out of it, while those who won't are advised to seek caution with it.

Rated R: Graphic Language, Violence and Rape