An Angel for Satan

An Angel for Satan (Un Angelo Per Satana) (1966)

Runtime: 92 minutes

Directed by: Camillo Mastrocinque

Starring: Barbara Steele, Anthony Steffen, Claudio Gora, Mario Brega, Marina Berti

From: Discobolo Film

In this special late-night posting on Letterboxd, I discuss another film watched on the Eternal Family platform; that esoteric service also has a quartet of streaming channels divided by genre. While the channels don’t tell you how far along in the movie or short you are, at least every few minutes, in the bottom right corner the name of the film and year of release are shown-especially critical for a platform full of obscurities.

The film is rather reminiscent of Mario Bava’s Black Sunday, and not solely due to both starring cult favorite Barbara Steele. The scenario of Satan: a sculptor travels to a small Italian village by a lake during the last years of the 19th century. Barbara Steele hires him to restore a statue recently pulled from the lake after 200 years, despite the protests of the superstitious village. Well, they were right in their fears; someone witchy is causing havoc, tearing the town apart. To be fair, some of those people deserved it…

Yes, the movie is not as good as 1960’s Black Sunday. That doesn’t mean it’s not worthwhile, or that you wouldn’t have a good time seeing this as the back half of a double feature w/ Black Sunday during a chilly fall evening, perhaps while drinking chilled or warm apple cider. Ms. Steele was especially bewitching here; the rest of the main/supporting characters are colorful archetypes. It was a delight watching a specter ravage the town & causing so much havoc. The black and white photography was note-perfect for this Gothic tale & all the spooky happenings. Appropriate OOT acting + the atmosphere = a pretty good time.

Again, this film is rather “normal” compared to much of what’s on Eternal Family. By the end of the month, you’ll see what I’m referring to.