Angel Collection

Director– Robert Vincent O’Neil, Tom DeSimone

Starring – Various

Country of Origin - U.S.

Distributor - Vinegar Syndrome

Number of Discs - 3

Reviewed by - Scott MacDonald

Date- 01/08/2020

    Like quite a few people reading this I lived at my local video store in the late 80's and early 90's. I came of age at a time when it seemed everything I've wanted out of a movie was just a video rental away.  From an early age, I was into horror cinema, and the local shops around my town seemingly had an endless arsenal of those. However, as my teenage years got under way, I wanted things that were a bit more lurid to be nice about it.  Porn was out, I was not 18, and yet video stores would rent out R-Rated erotic thrillers to teens like myself (admittedly, I had my own membership since my parents were always late returning stuff).  These films were slickly produced on a low-budget, usually with a revenge/murder premise, and of course scantily claw women (frequently Shannon Tweed).

    Oddly, over the last few years I've gotten somewhat nostalgic for these films, but getting them out on Blu-ray has been a slow proposition. Vinegar Syndrome have released the Tweed vehicle In the Cold of the Night, and Shout! Factory did a box set of the Poison Ivy films, but outside of those the genre has not been given its due on the format. Enter Vinegar Syndrome once again with their "Angel Collection". The Angel series was a series of 3 films Angel, Avenging Angel, and Angel III - The Final Chapter.  These films were made between 1984 and 1988 timing them perfectly with the video boom.  I did not remember seeing them at the time, but after putting each in my player, memories came flashing back of the films.

    The three films are made by 2 directors Robert Vincent O'Neil would direct the first 2 parts, and was also the creator of the series. The third film would be directed by Tom DeSimone, of Reform School Girls fame. Each film in the Angel series featured Molly "Angel" Stewart as the main character, but similar to the Pretty Peaches Trilogy (Also out via VS), the actress changed with each installment.

    The first film follows Angel, a high-school girl, who attends a boarding school.  She is a student who is part of the honors program, excelling at academics, but has a dark side. She spends her night as a sex worker on Hollywood Boulevard hanging out with washed-up actors, prostitutes in drag, and other weirdos of the Hollywood scene. Into this sleazy underworld comes a murderer of sex workers. Angel catches him in the act, but with her secret breaking out, and her life in jeopardy she begins to hunt for the killer herself.

    The second film Avenging Angel has Betsy Russell in the Angel role taking over for Donna Wilkes. In this one Angel is in law school, and no longer working the streets.  The detective from the first film is killed, and Angel once again hits the streets to find his killer.  The third film Angel III - The Final Chapter sees Angel as a photographer in NYC. She estranged Mother is killed, and she hits the streets looking for revenge.

    The 3 films are pretty typical examples of the erotic thriller genre. The 3 films do try to balance a light-hearted poppier tone in the midst of the sleazier elements. The balance in the first film is solid with the lurid, and dark with the  added cuteness. Like the Evil Dead Trilogy the balance shifts as we get through the trilogy. The sleaze of the first film, becomes less present in Avenging Angel and Angel III.  Still these films taken as a whole are largely entertaining and are fun to watch as nostalgic reminders of a largely glossed over cinematic era.

   All 3 films are well-restored by Vinegar Syndrome and presented 1:85:1 in 1080p AVC encoded transfers. The 3 films are very solid looking with nice detail, colors that are well reproduced, and solid inky blacks. Audio is handled by DTS-HD MA tracks in English, that come through clearly, and without obvious issues. Extras across the 3 films include a commentary with Tom DeSimone on Angel III, and interviews with the cast and crew across all 3 discs. We also get some featurettes that look back on the series, deleted scenes, and trailers. RECOMMENDED.