'80s Roulette: ANGEL

When sleaze actually has a soul

I have (almost) every single movie released in theaters in the ‘80s in the United States on a hard drive, and once a week, I’m going to hit shuffle and review whatever film comes up first.

Welcome to ‘80s Roulette!

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JANUARY 13, 1984

Angel
Cliff Gorman, Susan Tyrrell, Dick Shawn, Rory Calhoun, Donna Wilkes, John Diehl, Elaine Giftos, Donna McDaniel, Graem McGavin, Mel Carter, Steven M. Porter, David Underwood, David Anthony, Joshua Cadman, Greg Lewis, Karyn Parker, Dennis Kort, Ken Olfson, Peter Jason, Gene Ross, Jackie De Rouen, Laura Sorrenson, Joseph Michael Cala, Donna Fuller, Ross Hagen, Robert Acey, Dick Valentine, Marc Hayashi, Bob Gorman, Todd Hoffman, Christian Dante
cinematography by Andrew Davis
music by Craig Safan
screenplay by Robert Vincent O’Neil & Joseph Michael Cala
produced by Donald P. Borchers and Roy Watts
directed by Robert Vincent O’Neil
Rated R
1 hr 34 mins

A high school honor student is forced into sex work when she’s left alone without parents, but a serial killer may put an early end to her career.

There are many different types of exploitation films, subgenres on top of subgenres, and while I am a fan of exploitation in general, there are certain types of films that make me uncomfortable. While it’s hard to deny the camp appeal of a movie with a poster tag line that reads “High School Honor Student by Day, Hollywood Hooker by Night,” exploitation films about sex workers often turn into exploitation films about rape, and that’s when I check out of being able to have fun with the film.