Angel Heart (1987 film)



"For the manga and anime series of this name, see Angel Heart."

Angel Heart is a 1987 horror movie directed by Alan Parker, starring Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro and Lisa Bonet. Set in the late 1940's, a private detective (Rourke) is hired by a mysterious client (De Niro) who seeks to find a man named Johnny Favorite. This search leads him to New Orleans, deep in the heart of its voodoo district. What starts off as a simple missing person's case soon excalates into multiple murders and the supernatural.

Upon release, the movie was controversial due to a sex scene with Lisa Bonet, resulting in her being kicked off The Cosby Show.

This film displays examples of:

"Epiphany: You know what they say. It's always the badass that make a girl's heart beat faster."
 * All Girls Want Bad Boys. Despite being a Complete Monster, Johnny Favourite was a real ladies man.

""That's it, take a good look! However cleverly you sneak up on the mirror, your reflection always looks you straight in the eye.""
 * Beat Still My Heart / And Show It to You: Margaret, in a scene yjat is actually
 * Best Known for The Fanservice: Most people remember this as "the movie where the Cosby kid gets naked". It's unfortunate since the film is an excellent horror/mystery with great performances by everyone involved, including Mickey Rourke and Robert DeNiro.
 * Bilingual Bonus: Johnny Favourite's real last name is "Liebling". It means "darling" or... "favorite". Some translations, it means "God's favorite."
 * Death By Sex --
 * Eye Scream: Dr. Fowler is shot directly through the eye.
 * Fan Disservice -- One of the advertised draws of this movie was a naked Lisa Bonet. The actual scene had more to do with Squick than fantasy.
 * About half of the sequence is a pretty straightforward sex scene, it's the second half where things get really creepy. Thank goodness for rewinding!
 * Reminded this troper of The Wicker Man--the ORIGINAL!--of "Willow's song". Which is also made of equal parts hard-on and stark horror.
 * Not to mention that Lisa had a Wet Sari Scene earlier as well.
 * Fan Service: Connie. Yowza.
 * Gory Discretion Shot: Thankfully, we never see the Groin Attack on Toots.
 * Hellevator -- Mickey Rourke takes a ride down to Hell in an elevator.
 * Hey It's That Guy: Captain Cragen or an ancestor as the lawyer representing Cyphre.
 * Hollywood Voodoo -- However, has nothing to do with Satan or Satanism.
 * Humiliation Conga: Harry, the main character, gets the crap kicked out of him in basically every scene.
 * I Am a Humanitarian:
 * Identity Denial: "I know who I am!"
 * Incest Is Relative:
 * It's Always Mardi Gras in New Orleans: Averted. The film takes place in New Orleans during a festival but it's a voodoo festival.
 * Large Ham: DeNiro is obviously having a wonderful time with the role. At any moment you expect him to giggle.
 * Leitmotif: The tune to "I Cried For You" keeps haunting Harry. Even Epiphany sings it in the bathtub at one point.
 * Louis Cypher -- The Trope Namer.
 * Male Gaze: Angel watches a nurse's derriere as she walks away.
 * Neo Noir -- One of the few examples of noir crossing over with horror.
 * Noble Bigot With a Badge: Det. Sterne. While he initially comes off as a vile racist, he does care about Epiphany and her orphaned kid. He gives hints about being a Beleaguered Bureaucrat as well.
 * Obviously Evil / Card-Carrying Villain: Even when you can't tell who Louis is, the man is delighting in his own evilness.
 * Occult Law Firm -- Winesap and MacIntosh.
 * Playing Against Type: Lisa Bonet was using this film as an opportunity to get away from her Contractual Purity.
 * Pretty Little Headshots: Averted with Dr. Fowler. Skull, blood and brain a-plenty on the pillow.
 * Satan -- Makes an appearance.
 * Sexy Secretary: Connie again. Obviously, Harry notices.
 * The Stinger: "Harry?" "Johnny?"
 * Surreal Horror -- Some places in the movie get rather like this, especially the infamous sex scene.
 * Suspiciously Apropos Music: During the sex scene with Epiphany, "Honeymoon Blues" is on the radio ("Tom, Dick and Harry...") Then La Vern Baker's "Soul on Fire" takes over.
 * The Big Easy -- The movie ends up in a stereotypical New Orleans.
 * Tomato in The Mirror -- Literally, since every time he looks in the mirror, he gets strange feelings.
 * Actually pointed about by
 * Tomato in The Mirror -- Literally, since every time he looks in the mirror, he gets strange feelings.
 * Actually pointed about by

": "I know who I am!""
 * Twist Ending --


 * Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? -- Harry's "thing" with chickens.
 * Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? -- Harry's "thing" with chickens.