Customer Reviews

The Eighteenth Angel

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Rachel Leigh Cook plays Lucy stanton, a beautiful young girl who wants something exciting to happen. She kind of gets her wish. She meets a man who promises to make her a famous model. what he really intends to do is use to her to reincarnate Lucifer. Rachel was impressive even back when she made this semi horror movie. The actingis incredible from Cook and Christopher McDonald (who plays her father). There are a lot of other striking performances in the film but most of them are actors that I didnt recognize and can't say I have seen since. If you want to watch a movie with a decent story line, very few plot holes, and an exceptionally well acted cast ,this is the film you want. I enjoyed it immensely and have been a fan of Rachel ever since.

I was in a video store the other day when the cover of this movie caught my eye. It looked like a typical, cheesy B-horror movie ("The Crow Flies, The Clock Strikes And the Devil is Due"--words from box cover), but when I saw that Rachael Leigh Cook ("She's All That") starred in it, I knew I had to get it.

I was expecting a badly acted/directed horror movie, but surprisingly enough, I thought it was quite good. It really isn't a horror movie per se, it's more of a suspense movie. It did seem longer than 90 minutes as there aren't a lot of high-intensity action scenes (as one reviewer noted). I won't get into the plot as there are enough reviews to do it justice. The ending was both surprising and typical and I won't spoil it as a couple of reviewers have already done (but if you've seen a lot of horror movies, you can already guess the ending).

All in all, this movie was better than I thought it would be. It actually has a plot and a decent storyline, much more than I can say for some other horror movies I've seen. It may offend some that are deeply religious, as there are some scenes of pseudo-Satanic rituals (but somehow I don't think they would be watching these kinds of movies if they were). But if you're a fan of the incomparable Rachael Leigh Cook, I highly recommend this movie as it showcases her previous modelling experience quite well.

This film starts by asserting, and this is the basis of the film, that the biblical book Isaiah, chapter 14, speaks about Satan. This is clearly untrue, as anyone can find out by looking at the chapter, which does not speak about Satan, but about the country of Babylon. The rest of the film is also based on pure fantasy, although the film-makers hope that their viewers will believe what they see and hear.

An evil priest, a leader of a church full of his followers, has one of his flock hypnotize a woman, the mother of Lucy, and commands her to jump off a roof to her death. The evil priest wants to get her out of the way so that he can gain control of her daughter who is so beautiful that he calls her an angel. He is unafraid of Lucy's father, who as seen in the film, is unable to control his daughter and keep her out of the priest's clutches. The film is filled with tension because, while Lucy's father senses evil around him and Lucy, Lucy refuses to listen to him, and is led to the priest.

The priest is a follower of Satan. He believes that he must find eighteen angels, eighteen beautiful children, who correspond to 666, the number of Satan, when the numbers are added up. He believes that if he prepares the children in a certain way when the clock strikes a certain hour, Satan will rise and overcome God. Those who enjoy being tensed may enjoy the film.

What seperates this movie from others of its genre is threefold:

1. The Satanists see themselves as the *good* guys.

2. They have good philosophical arguments for same (how many people does Satan kill in the Bible? God kills millions...)

3. Erm. The ending. Can't tell you; spoiler.

Trust me, though: the subtleties of the above make this movie, to me at least, completely unlike any other movie in this genre that I've seen, and I've seen my share.

-Robin

In watching this okay thriller, I found myself wondering just how many different ways Satan is planning to come back to earth. This new one about the eighteen angels is one of the wackiest so far, coming supposedly from the Etruscan Book of the Dead. First of all, they get eighteen angels, but only need one? And then when 17 of them are burned to a crisp, what did the purpose serve?
Writer David Seltzer must still harbor Satanic feelings, as he is the one who created Damien Thorpe in "The Omen." While that seventies film provided lots of chills and great actors, "Angel" gives us an undebatedly beautiul Rachael Lynn Cooke, a sturdy father in Christopher McDonald and an overacting Maximilian Schell, but it's all been done so much in the past, there's little suspense or thrills involved. Only Wendy Crewson's spiraling fall is disturbing and upsetting.
David, if you're going to write more Satanic resurrections, try some more imagination, and maybe let the good guys win every once in a while.

I saw this movie this morning for the first time, and I watched it three other times the same day. I've thought Christopher McDonald was a good actor ever since I saw him in "Happy Gilmore", and Rachel Leigh Cook's character creeped me out. I've seen many a horrer movie, and they get repetitive. This movie made me watch the whole thing, from beginning to end. The scenes with the faces grossed me out a little, but they made me want to watch the movie. All in all I thought it was a great movie.

I wish I could give It 6 stars, but there is a limit! The first time I saw the "Eighteenth Angel" I had nightmares. That means that it was scary even for me (I've seen lots of horror movies, by the way). There are 4 thing that I liked in this film. Firstly, the pretty good acting from both Christopher Mc. Donald and Rachael Cook. Secondly, the general Idea that Satan may come to earth without being noticed. The end may have allready started... Thirdly, the clock scenes (you can understand what they are and how they are connected to the movie only if you see it) which keep the viewer's interest unspoiled till the end. Lastly, the very good ending which is hard to achieve in this kind of horror movies. All in all, this is one of my best movies. You MUST see it!

Ok...yeah the premise for the movie was kinda cheesy and a bit warped. But speaking on that front, it was no more cheesy and warped than any other movie of its genre.

Either way, the movie had Rachael in it. Heck, any movie that she stars in gets at least 3 stars in my book (even those really [crummy] ones with Freddy Prinze and Ryan Phillipe). But there was just something about the way Rachael looked in this movie that (even if you're not in love with her) will take your breath away.

If you're looking for a good horror flick, look elsewhere. If you're a RLC fan, this is a must-have.

Rachel Leigh Cook is totally amazing in this movie. The Eighteenth Angel isn't boring, it moves rather quickly and you actually do feel the father's race against time to save his daughter. No this isn't the omen revisited, because everyone know that Damien was born evil. Besides if I even found out that the devil really looks like Rachel Leigh Cook, I'd probably consider converting.

Rachael Leigh Cook (11:14) stars as a young girl caught up in a centuries-old, satanic conspiracy. It seems that an ancient clock has been ticking away the minutes (for 500 years) until Lucifer's return. The plot to resurrect the dark lord involves child abduction, an unspeakable surgical procedure, and (ultimately) mass murder! Christopher McDonald (REQUIEM FOR A DREAM) co-stars as the dad who must solve the mystery before his daughter ends up as devil's food. If you enjoy movies like THE OMEN, THE CALLING, or other devilish fare, then THE EIGHTEENTH ANGEL should be right up your street...