ANGEL (1983) – Episode 278 – Decades of Horror 1980s

“Look, Miss Hoity Toity. The woman cannot answer the goddamn door ’cause she can’t get out of her goddamn bed. Is that goddamn clear enough for ya?” Crystal. Join your faithful Grue Crew – Crystal Cleveland, Chad Hunt, Bill Mulligan, and Jeff Mohr – as Jeff gets his Rory Calhoun fix and the rest of the crew decide what they think of Angel (1983).

Decades of Horror 1980s
Episode 278 – Angel (1983)

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Synopsis: High-schooler Molly secretly earns her living as Angel, a street prostitute whose only family and friends are the ones she works with on the streets. She must survive against a serial killer who is targeting people of her profession.

• Directed by: Robert Vincent O’Neil
• Writing Credits: Robert Vincent O’Neil & Joseph Michael Cala (as Joseph M. Cala)
• Selected Cast:
  • Donna Wilkes as Molly ‘Angel’ Stewart
  • Cliff Gorman as Lt. Andrews
  • Susan Tyrrell as Solly Mosler
  • Dick Shawn as Mae
  • Rory Calhoun as Kit Carson
  • John Diehl as The Killer
  • Elaine Giftos as Patricia Allen
  • Donna McDaniel as Crystal
  • Graem McGavin as Lana
  • Mel Carter as Collins
  • Steven M. Porter as Yoyo Charlie
  • David Underwood as Ric Sawyer
  • David Anthony as Howie
  • Joshua Cadman as Spike (as Josh Cadman)
  • Greg Lewis as Themopolis
  • Karyn Parker as Diane
  • Dennis Kort as Wayne
  • Ken Olfson as Mr. Saunders
  • Peter Jason as The John
  • Gene Ross as Vice Cop
  • Jackie De Rouen as Tanya
  • Laura Sorrenson as Roxie
  • Joseph Michael Cala as Usher
  • Donna Fuller as Jesus Peddler
  • Ross Hagen as Urban Cowboy
  • Robert Acey as Driver
  • Dick Valentine as Older Cop
  • Marc Hayashi as Young Cop
  • Bob Gorman as Zigmand
  • Todd Hoffman as Punker
  • Christian Dante as Police Sketch Artist

Is Angel (1983) a horror film or not? A serial killer who practices necrophilia and cuts the bodies of his victims into pieces? Jeff doesn’t really care as long as it has Rory Calhoun in the cast. The Grue-Crew are divided on this one, especially Chad (actually, Chad is pretty certain), but they all agree the strength of the movie is its cast. Susan Tyrrell and Dick Shawn steal every scene they’re in, and Rory plays an actor from B-movie westerns like the actor from B-movie westerns he is. Cliff Gorman is the earnest and compassionate detective who completes the caring group of friends acting as Molly/Angel’s (Donna Wilkes) family. Angel is a quirky one, but three-fourths of the Grue-Crew enjoyed the film. However, the three sequels might be a different story.

At the time of this writing, Angel (1983) is available to stream from PlutoTV, Plex, Vudu/Fandango, Night Flight, and Troma Now. It’s also available on physical media as a Blu-ray formatted disc from Vinegar Syndrome, 

Every two weeks, Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror 1980s podcast will cover another horror film from the 1980s. The next episode’s film, chosen by Bill, will be Dario Argento’s Inferno (1980), the second film in his Three Mothers Trilogy. Italian horror? Yay!

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