NIGHT ANGEL/HELLBORN/DELIVER US FROM EVIL (1990)

Taglines- An ancient evil has awaken and lust is her life-force

Spend a night in her arms, spend an eternity in hell

As the movie opens on a sandy landscape, we see a human skull hidden in dunes being exposed by strong winds. Then in another studio set scene against the backdrop of a full moon and the branches of a barren tree, a woman emerges from the earth, totally covered in slime. She rises shakily and rinses herself in a pond nearby, and thus we are introduced to Lilith, the beautiful antagonist of the film.

Interspersed with this scene is a voice-over by an unknown narrator which gives ample information (though cryptically stated) about the origins and intent of Lilith. It goes as follows-

“Since the dawn of history, she has plagued mankind

Many a mother has wept for a baby found dead in its cradle

Many a man has spurned true love for an eternity in her hell

The Babylonians built statues to honour her, the Jews carved amulets for protection from her evil

By many names is she known-from Pele in Hawaii to Kali in India

She was created from dust when Adam was created, but no restful peace in dust will she find

She is Lilith, the temptress, seducer and destroyer, harlot of demons and enemy of love

And she shall stalk us forever

Walking in the shadows, sowing the seeds of discontent, reaping a harvest of souls for the corner of her hell”

The plot concerns itself with the designs of an evil spirit who has assumed the guise of a charming and beautiful woman with the purpose of spreading evil by seducing and killing men. Lilith was the first wife of Adam who fled from the garden of paradise in her temptation to seduce more men, and in the process she became a lustful ‘whore’ for demons. She returns to earth on each lunar eclipse and on the sixth night her powers become heightened, allowing her to claim the heart of a man who has fallen for a mortal woman. We are told that Lilith can be destroyed by a stab to her heart by a special dagger.

In the movie, the trick employed by Lilith is to get on the cover page of a top fashion magazine so that she can become well known and sought after, which in turn would enable her to spread her evil further. She first begins an affair with the magazine boss and then surprises him at home for sex, but ends up killing both him and his entire family. Then she seduces a male editor and kills him, before moving on to the female editor, played by veteran horror actor Karen Black. After she has corrupted the editor, she wheedles her way into the magazine office and brainwashes the entire staff to make them her minions and promote her as the cover girl. This cover-girl is managed in a terrible fashion sense- black latex suit with a half black face mask and tons of golden glitter on the face- which everyone seems to buy as so cool ! (given the low budget and seemingly low ambitions of the producers, not more could be expected). Also, Lilith’s presence changes the atmosphere in the office to such an extent that every person becomes sexually charged and starts engaging in orgies publicly !

Basically, what the plot entails is that Lilith using her enormous powers manages to make every staff member of the magazine company her faithful servants, who are ready to serve by any means towards the fulfilment of her nefarious motives.

While Lilith has secured her position thus, the protagonist Kurt and his girlfriend (who are truly in love with each other and hence the target for Lilith who has to eradicate love in order to spread her evil through lust) are aided by a black female cab-driver who has personal reasons for hating Lilith, being that Lilith snatched away her only son from her by luring him and finally killing him.

The lady informs the couple/lovers that only their true love can vanquish Lilith as she thrives on lust and love is her worst enemy. She also gives them a singular zig-zag dagger which can fatally wound Lilith.

In the finale, there is a confrontation between Kurt and his girlfriend Kirstie  on one side and Lilith on the other side. Lilith entices Kurt to a deserted place where she almost wins him over with her whispers on her ‘perfect lust’ and tries to dig his heart out. At the last moment however, Kurt holds Kirstie’s hand and declares his love for her. This weakens Lilith and she immediately transforms into a hideous winged creature with horrendous fangs. Then she is stabbed in the chest by the cab lady and finally meets an agonising end.

In the epilogue, a wounded Kurt and Kirstie are sleeping when the lock to their door mysteriously twists open and Kurt hears the jangle of bangles. The magazine cover of Lilith mysteriously spurts blood and as Kurt inches closer to it, a pair of hands grabs Kurt and suffocates him. As expected, this is only a nightmare for the still shaken Kurt.

Night Angel proceeds on the common moral assumption that evil never thrives and is ultimately defeated by good powers. In the movie, Lilith is the epitome of evil, pure and simple, and despite her immense powers and strength, she too faces defeat at the hands of strong and true love. Given that it was shot with a minimal budget and that the production values were weak, Night Angel is still a semi-entertaining film within the limits of its genre. There is barely any nudity, sex or gore on display here-all that is left to the imagination of the spectator based on the introduction at the beginning. The only major flaw I found in the script was that the character of Lilith is shown as too obviously and overtly aggressive and hell-bent on achieving her purpose, instead of being subtle, scheming and charming, as is the case with most screen seductresses. The movie has  been released on VHS  by Fries Home Entertainment, and as of June 2017 it was announced that Kino Lorber Studio Classics is bringing a Bly Ray/DVD combo in October. More details of the release and extras are awaited.