Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Angel Of Light.

As director Leopoldo Laborde told me: he had a dream of having supernatural powers and when he looked in the mirror, he had become a demon. The Angeluz was born.


In Angeluz (also known as "Angel of Light"), we meet Miguel (Roberto Trujillo). Miguel wears all black clothes, has long hair and seems rather different than other guys his age. I don’t say this because he dresses a certain way, but because Miguel is actually a demonic entity called “Angeluz”. The Angeluz has unusual powers that end up killing a bully that was trying to mess with Miguel & his friend Luis (Jose Luis Badillo). After the death of the bully; Miguel hides away at home, fearing that something even more bad will happen again because of his true nature. Luis along with his little sister & his girlfriend Sandra find him and try to help him out, but things gets extremely complicated when the brother of the guy Miguel got killed goes after him. Miguel is also being looked for by a bizarre psychologist who knows all about the “Angeluz”.


I first caught Angeluz on krca-62 a few years ago and it really caught me by surprise since this was a very different Mexican movie. This wasn’t just another videohome that the tv channel normally would air, this was something much better than that. Sure the movie is still very low-budget looking, but when you look over that and watch the movie, you’ll see that Angeluz still tells a very unique, interesting story about demons & adolescents.

One of the main things about Angeluz I like are the characters. Be it the good ones and the bad ones, they’re all very unique & likable In their own way. The relationship between Miguel and his friends is very wholesome. They all care about each other and you root for them all throughout the movie. Tragedy does strike one of them (very early) and you feel the sadness over it. The supernatural/demon aspect of the movie is also quite intriguing. The movie builds up little by little with Miguel’s transition to full on demon and I love it. You know when they say someone is battling their demons? Well, this is exactly what Angeluz is about. Miguel literally battles with the demon that he truly is. Miguel however is a good person. He uses the powers he has for good intentions, but the demon in him wants to be full on evil and this is what Miguel tries to overcome.

The demon makeup was done fairly well since it’s quite creepy looking & all. Very post-punk/goth inspired clearly.

After hearing about Leopoldo Laborde given his big break by Hugo Stiglitz to make this movie (despite their visions for the movie being different from one another), I like the movie even more. Angeluz is entertaining from beginning to end. And I say this for both the version everyone has seen and to the director's cut as well. If you like movies about demonic entities, then Angeluz is a must watch. It doesn’t disappoint. Being an low-budget-indie movie, it’s still a very well made movie with its unique story & characters.

Angeluz is a high recommendation for sure. A must watch. 9/10.

watch the Director's Cut: