OCTOBER 9, 2013 9:37AM
Day 9: Favorite Supernatural Movie
30 Day Horror Movie Challenge
Oct. 9: More Than Just Reading Tea Leaves
Angel Heart
has its problems, chief among them the groan inducing allegories and
secret names ('Louis Cyphre', 'having an Epiphany'). It can be racially
problematic if you dig a little deeper. Yet it remains my favorite
supernatural horror movie as well as one of my favorite overall horror
movies. It's a beautiful, horrific mystic noir about a private dick
named Harry Angel and the peculiar missing persons case he is hired to
solve.It has star power in the form of Robert DeNiro and Mickey Rourke, and notoriety in Cosby kid Lisa Bonet's explicit sex scene. It has Charlotte Rampling, a beautiful talent with one of the most unusual filmographies in cinema.
Apart from that, this category is "favorite supernatural horror movie." And the occult was presented quite well (apart from maybe one slightly cheesy instance). No lightning bolts out of the fingertips or in-your-face literal CGI magic antics. The occultism is woven subtly throughout, an Easter egg hunt sure to ring bells for anyone who has read a book or two about the occult and Western esoteric traditions. It is presented quietly, secretly, elegantly, suggesting at the hidden dark power that these characters were adept at wielding.
Astrology charts. A hand of glory. Strange altars. A bather in Coney Island proclaiming "she was doin' a lot more than readin' tea leaves!" Voodoo ceremonies, veves, the child of a loa.
To that last set of things, I can't conclude if the Voodoo religion was treated with respect. Was it depicted as a faith and system of magic outside of the more satanic antics of the white characters? Or was it included among that? I've enjoyed Voodoo themed horror but perhaps it's time to grow up and treat it as the legitimate religious tradition that it is.
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Comments
Sounds like a movie I should get! Thanks for telling me. I love movies, and especially about the supernatural. Thanks again !
I'd forgotten about
this one. I do remember seeing it on video a year or two after it came
out, so it was some time ago and many of the details are lost to me now,
but I do remember liking it and the mood it created. One to revisit.
I think
misappropriation of other cultures and religions typically only has
"charm" when it is cheesy -- insinuating a potential parody. But
ignorance can warrant a Forgiveness Factor when the story has punch.
Angel Heart also made it into my favorites list! (and welcome back, by
the way...OS has been chilly without you!)
KC, lovely to hear from you again! I hope all is going swimmingly!
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