Angel: Written Review

December 10, 2018

Angel

Written Review

Hi everyone and welcome to MyIndie Review Vlog, the show that gives you spoiler-free reviews of indie films. My name is Asaf Angel from MyIndie Productions.

Today’s review is of 2018’s Horror Feature, Angel, written and directed by U.S. indie filmmaker Tory Jones. Thank you, Tory for sharing your film with us.

Piper, Caleb, Rachel and Felix, portrayed by Cameryn Zupon, Tyler Riley, Chelsea Skalski and Brady A. Myers are young investigative journalists with a flair for the mysterious.

An opportunity arises when they are hired by Benjamin, played by Dale Miller to investigate the disappearance of his daughter Ava, Katie Hubbard in the abandoned town of Raven Rock which is infamous for its horror riddled history.

Reluctant at first, but eventually caving in to their curiosity, the group embarks on a trip into the creepy town, armed with Caleb’s camera, a security enforcer named Mr. Lutz, played by James Tackett, and a short-fused guide, Mya Bates (played by Sonya Delormier), who once spent a period of time in the town, so knows it well yet has seriously unpleasant memories from her time there.

Not too long after the group enters the town and start nosing around, does the terror that resides there raises its ugly head and marks them all as prey.

It feels Tory’s vision was designed to let the eeriness of Raven Rock creep through the visuals and get under the viewers skin, just from looking at it. The location is complimented with fearless aerial wide-shots that function as both exposition and ominous speculation about the imminent fate of our group, given how small they are in frame and how dominant the town is in these marvelous shots.

Tory also built character arcs that justify the absurdity of some of the decisions our characters make, the worst of which was entering Raven Rock in the first place. Piper bravely leads her initially reluctant team, despite learning scary details about the town that should not have been taken lightly. It feels she was blinded by her investigative drive and mostly by her naivety, which will inevitably cost her.

Jones also uses the premise and plot to give interpretation of how different people act in different ways in life and death situations. The guide, Mya Bates is the single most experienced person against the terror that lies in the town. Despite her paranoic nature, we see her keep her cool when things go down. As opposed to how other characters behave, it is quite an interesting arc.

With an atmosphere that feels to call back to iconic horror films, the likes of The Hills Have Eyes, The Strangers and even certain aspects of Silent Hill, Tory Jones gives us a fun and inspiring experience with wonderful aesthetics. There were elements, mainly regarding story and structure, which I felt could have been handled differently, but in total, Tory and team have done a wonderful job!

Angel gets a 7/10 on the Look At Me, I’m A Film Critic scale!
The film is coming soon to Concept Media’s official website, and will be available for purchase there, so stay tuned for its release! Click HERE for more details!