FlashCallahan 15 year-old Molly is the best in her class. Nobody suspects that the model pupil earns her money as lady of the night "Angel".The well organised separation of her two lives is shattered when two of her friends are murdered.She's the only eye witness and becomes a target. The investigating Detective helps her, not only to survive, but also to query why she does what she does....I really have no idea what I actually just saw, but after about thirty minutes, I couldn't stop myself from enjoying it.Everything about wreaks of exploitation, but it's not in your face. Never once do we see the titular character partake in any occupational traits, it's as if she spends the night with the worse cross-dresser in town, and a woman with amazing eyebrows, whilst avoiding a killer.Diehl is brilliant as the killer, and although he virtually utters no lines, he's quite a sinister presence.With films like this, there are huge unintentional laughs, and the best pedestrians on the street looking bemused, but that's what makes this film so much fun.It's bonkers, cheesy, way over the top, and short.Plus it's the best film ever to feature a Hare Krishna fight a transvestite.

windypoplar The best movie ever! OK, so its not. But trust me if your'e looking for exploitation fare at its best, this is it. I'm talking teenage prostitution, guns, the sunset strip in all its decadent glory, drag-queens, dykes, nerds, high school pressure! This movie has it all! This isn't Shakespeare, it is what it is. The use of La is fantastic, the soundtrack is great. Director Andrew Davis ( the Fugitive) worked on the photography. Donna Wilkes (where have you gone Donna?), is simply so precious, so innocently sexy, she takes your'e breath away. Rory Calhoun, matinée idol in the '50s, is totally whacked out here, he's surreal as Kit Carson(!) Cliff Gorman does a great job as the cop whose seen too many young kids sucked into the sewer of LA, he should have gotten better parts after this. Dick Shawn, who I never really liked, is just great here, a totally sympathetic drag-queen! WOW! Susan Tyrell is awesome as always,s he repulses and fascinates in the same frame.Angel is the type of late-night viewing that really sticks with you. The plot is complicated by a serial killer, well-played by John Diehl, and you really feel the tension build. Note the small performances in Angel, the guy who plays the street performer was in love with one of the murdered prostitutes, notice his face when he learns of her brutal death. Terrific.Angel is well worth your trouble, sure it reaches out to the slimy pervert in all of us, but it makes you think at the same time. Is it ever worth it? To damage one person so severely just to get off? Terrific movie.

badgrrlkane Pure 80's exploitation, I remember (sadly) at the age of 9, after seeing this film that being a hooker might be fun, as this movie so plainly tries to make it out to be, as long as you dodge knife-wielding psychos & make sure you get straight A's & make sure your "two worlds don't collide"! Yes,I'm being sarcastic but i truly love this & the other great hookers-in-peril 80's film Vice Squad (which is a way more serious film). Donna Wilkes ( who in my opinion should have stayed in the business, she was a very good actress.) is in fine form as the main character Angel, the high school honor student by day, Hollywood Blvd hooker by night whose 2 worlds start to collide as a psycho with a knife starts to target her hooker comrades (one who is played very well by another underrated B-movie actress from the 80's & also one half of the Motley Crue backup vocalist group named the Nasty Habits, that toured with the Crue in the late 80's on their Girls Girls Girls tour, Donna McDanel)& as she's the only one to witness the guy picking up her soon to be murdered friend, the police want to her to identify him.Also, great is the late actors Rory Calhoun & the truly wonderful Dick Shawn (in one of the truly greatest drag queen performances of all time)as her friends from the street who think her mom's an invalid & she hooks to help them both survive. Also great is Susan Tyrell as Sally the landlady. The only thing that disappointed me about this films( as their were like 4 or 5 more sequels) is that they always replaced the actress to play the character of Angel with a different actress each time. Why didn't they just get Donna Wilkes? Betsy Russell, nor Mitzi Kapture did her justice not the way Ms Wilkes did. If you like 80's cult films this is a must-see. I must say though when I moved to Hollywood for a brief period in 2000 & in 2001, I never saw any prostitutes on Hollywood Blvd not like all of the ones i saw in 80's films?????? **** out of *****

Jason Anderson While not being a Hollywood triumph, Angel is a wonderful film. Showing life on the streets is a large premise of the film, it takes care to preserve some humor as well. Not in the sense that it is a funny movie, as it is not; but it shows life as... well, life.As most people who watch movies can relate, the enjoyment of a movie is not as a critic would describe. If you can feel the emotions of the characters, you can love them. If you can relate to the characters, you can befriend them. If you can care about the characters, the writers did their job, and you are now hooked. While Angel will not likely be a model in film school as one of the great classics, nor as an example of how to make a great movie, it is a highly entertaining film. You can feel the characters, even though they are not deeply constructed. The exception being Angel herself, whom you can see the wear and tear she goes through as an honor student and a prostitute.I firmly believe that there is a message to be heard here, a storyline full of life, fun and adventure. Granted, it is not the best kept together, it does do the trick of conveying the message of the story across. The film allows you to care for the star, feel for the star, and cry with the star. A compassionate film that has supporting cast as abstract as could be, a little far fetched, maybe... but who really knows what kind of characters are really out there on the streets. But their conveyances of who they are allows you to realize their sense of why they are there. They are scared, they need the money, or they love it. Each supporting role as different as the others, but allows you to see the richness of the film in its entirety.I thoroughly enjoyed this film numerous times, and am sure that you will too. Regardless of critical un-acclaim, most filmgoers can still see the enjoyment in a movie. Give every movie a chance. Especially Angel, as it is one of the finer forms of the un-acclaimed heroes in rental today