VividSimon Simply Perfect

Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

GazerRise Fantastic!

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

slayrrr666 "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

Christian Kessler 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...

jeca66 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!!!

Superwonderscope 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