Teenage prostitute, Angel(Donna Wilkes), working the streets of Hollywood, becomes the target of a serial killer whose slicing and dicing her friends. Angel(..who must also contend with concealing the truth regarding how her mom and dad left her for their own endeavors) becomes a prominent figure in capturing the psychopath while detective Lt Andrews(Cliff Gorman)begins to investigate her.
Despite provocative subject matter(..both the idea that a 15 year old hooking to pay for private school funding and apartment fee since she has no parents and a psycho necrophiliac who bangs the prostitutes after murdering them)director Robert Vincent O'Neill and writer Joseph Michael Cala remain cautious in how they tell the story of a teenager using her body as a tool to pay for what she needs. They don't fail to acknowledge the environment itself(..but, to be honest, ANGEL isn't as tough and gritty as VICE SQUAD dealing with similar themes)filling their film with lots of "street color", folks like Rory Calhoun's folksy cowboy Hollywood relic, Dick Shawn's pleasant, genial transvestite(..who is Angel's confident), and Susan Tyrrell's(..over-the-top) spiky-haired, really loud, cantankerous tenant(..who rents to Angel). Gorman isn't too shabby as Angel's developing friend, who wishes to help her get out of the current morass she finds herself. The film doesn't pass judgment on the characters, and the filmmakers take great strides in displaying care and sympathy for Angel's plight. Despite a lurid synopsis, it's obvious the filmmakers couldn't express explicit sexual details of a miner with her johns. Although, the film has nudity(..plenty of exposed breasts)and rampant profanity, this is far less risqué than you might think judging by it's setting and focus on a depressing life-style. The film also links her current night life with the other world(..normal school surroundings) she inhibits as her frequent defiance to bed the jerk jock comes back to haunt her when he and his goons drive the Boulevard looking for sexual kicks.
It's up to each individual viewer whether or not you accept the idea that Angel could remain so adorable, clean, and innocent, surviving so well in such an environment where your body is used so regularly with all kinds of men. And, the fact that she could achieve high grades at her school, while keeping authoritative figures in the dark regarding her parents, is a bit of a stretch, but I guess it's possible. At times, ANGEL feels like an after-school special, particularly in how the score is used, but it has a gnarly climax as Angel chases after the killer(..disguised as a Hare Krishna!)packing a gun while Andrews and Calhoun's Kit Carson follow in pursuit to save her from herself. Again, the backdrop of Hollywood Boulevard is effectively used as the story unfolds. Diehl's killer is often an after-thought as the film often focuses more on Angel's drama.
Despite provocative subject matter(..both the idea that a 15 year old hooking to pay for private school funding and apartment fee since she has no parents and a psycho necrophiliac who bangs the prostitutes after murdering them)director Robert Vincent O'Neill and writer Joseph Michael Cala remain cautious in how they tell the story of a teenager using her body as a tool to pay for what she needs. They don't fail to acknowledge the environment itself(..but, to be honest, ANGEL isn't as tough and gritty as VICE SQUAD dealing with similar themes)filling their film with lots of "street color", folks like Rory Calhoun's folksy cowboy Hollywood relic, Dick Shawn's pleasant, genial transvestite(..who is Angel's confident), and Susan Tyrrell's(..over-the-top) spiky-haired, really loud, cantankerous tenant(..who rents to Angel). Gorman isn't too shabby as Angel's developing friend, who wishes to help her get out of the current morass she finds herself. The film doesn't pass judgment on the characters, and the filmmakers take great strides in displaying care and sympathy for Angel's plight. Despite a lurid synopsis, it's obvious the filmmakers couldn't express explicit sexual details of a miner with her johns. Although, the film has nudity(..plenty of exposed breasts)and rampant profanity, this is far less risqué than you might think judging by it's setting and focus on a depressing life-style. The film also links her current night life with the other world(..normal school surroundings) she inhibits as her frequent defiance to bed the jerk jock comes back to haunt her when he and his goons drive the Boulevard looking for sexual kicks.
It's up to each individual viewer whether or not you accept the idea that Angel could remain so adorable, clean, and innocent, surviving so well in such an environment where your body is used so regularly with all kinds of men. And, the fact that she could achieve high grades at her school, while keeping authoritative figures in the dark regarding her parents, is a bit of a stretch, but I guess it's possible. At times, ANGEL feels like an after-school special, particularly in how the score is used, but it has a gnarly climax as Angel chases after the killer(..disguised as a Hare Krishna!)packing a gun while Andrews and Calhoun's Kit Carson follow in pursuit to save her from herself. Again, the backdrop of Hollywood Boulevard is effectively used as the story unfolds. Diehl's killer is often an after-thought as the film often focuses more on Angel's drama.