There’s nothing like lightweight sports movies and action-adventure films to relax, but sometimes I’m in the mood for something heavier and more thought-provoking. Thrillers, like Split and Good Luck Have Fun, Don’t Die, do the trick and keep me in suspense until the end.
Angel Heart is a 1987 neo-noir psychological thriller, directed by Alan Parker and starring Robert De Niro, Mickey Rourke, and Lisa Bonet. It received favorable reviews and a strong 82% on Rotten Tomatoes, despite being a financial flop and pulling in around $17.2 million domestically on an $18 million budget. Years later, it’s considered a cult classic for its pulpy detective story and atmospheric vibe.
What’s Angel Heart about?
A supernatural detective movie
The movie is set in New York in 1955. The mysterious Louis Cyphre hires sleazy private investigator Harry Angel to track down a former singer, John Liebling, who owes him outstanding money. The singer was badly injured and disfigured in the war and is supposedly being treated in a hospital.
Angel goes to the hospital but discovers he’s no longer there. He then visits the singer’s morphine-addicted psychiatrist, who faked his medical records and released him from the hospital years ago. Angel locks him in his room, hoping to get answers, but finds him dead by apparent suicide.
He wants to quit the case after becoming a possible murder suspect, but Cyphre offers him a fee he can’t refuse to continue. The investigation takes him to New Orleans, where he meets more people connected to the singer. Each one tells a different story and is found brutally murdered the next day.
What starts as a regular investigation takes a supernatural turn into the occult while Harry tries to piece together the puzzle and stay ahead of the law, now taking an interest in him regarding the ritual murders.
Angel Heart is a masterclass in neo-noir storytelling. It features all the classic elements, like an underdog detective trying to solve a case that leads him deeper into trouble. It takes things further with the supernatural to the point where the investigator and the audience don’t know what’s real and what isn’t. The movie perfectly captures the era and delivers many unexpected twists and turns before the shocking ending, which I never saw coming. Watching it a second time was a different experience because all the clues were hiding in plain sight.
I’m a huge Robert De Niro fan and loved watching him in a smaller and more sinister role than his usual fare. Mickey Rourke is at the peak of his career, and this is one of his best performances, in my opinion.
- notable shows
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Kitchen Nightmares, Merlin
- notable movies
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Clueless, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, How to Train Your Dragon, Mean Girls, Star Trek
- Premium Subscription
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Yes, $13.99 per month
- Originals
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No
- Live TV
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No
Angel Heart is streaming for free on YouTube
You can also watch it on other platforms
Angel Heart is currently available for free with ads here on YouTube. You can also get it on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and Fandango if you prefer to watch it without ads.
Physical media collectors can get it on Blu-Ray and 4K UHD from Amazon.
What other free thrillers are available for free on YouTube?
I like these other thrillers on YouTube and think they’re worth watching. The Purge reinvigorated the home-invasion genre and kicked off a new movie franchise that expanded on its simple concept. It’s set in the near future when America has recovered from an economic collapse. The success is attributed to The Purge. One night a year, all crime is legal, and emergency services are unavailable.
James Sandi, a security expert, thinks his family is safe in their barricaded home on Purge night. It’s put to the test when armed men arrive at the house and demand the family hand over a stranger who’s snuck into their home. You can watch The Purge for free here
The Da Vinci Code is a 2006 adaptation of Dan Brown’s best-selling novel. It’s directed by Ron Howard and stars Audrey Tautou, Paul Bethany, and Tom Hanks as symbologist Robert Langdon. He must solve a murder at the Louvre using clues buried in Leonardo da Vinci’s art to uncover a conspiracy going back to biblical days. The Da Vinci Code is available for free with ads here on YouTube.
- Release Date
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March 6, 1987
- Runtime
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113 minutes
- Director
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Alan Parker
