Bullet Points: Hooded Angels
If I ever met Paul Matthews I would like to first shake his hand, second sit down, third slip off my Bruno Maglis and fourth slap him in the face with said shoe. Who is Paul Matthews and why does he conjure up equal amounts of plaudits and vitriol? Paul Matthews is a writer/director of some of the most entertaining action movies that I would like to shake his hand and thank him for making these movies that are both unique and refreshing. I would also like to admonish him for not making his films more well known so everyone can get a chance to watch. While I realize it is not all Paul Matthews fault, he happens to be standing right in front of me in this hypothetical scenario and is forced to take the brunt of my loafer.
To be honest, I have only seen two Paul Matthews’s movies that I am aware of, Berserker: Hell’s Warrior and the topic of today’s Bullet Points 2002’s Hooded Angels. Both of the movies have a different quality to them that make them stand out from your everyday run of the mill action film, so let’s take a look at these aspects as we journey to Hooded Angels.
- Period Piece – I love a good period piece and Hooded Angels lands right in my wheelhouse. The film starts at the end of the American Civil War and then quickly jumps to three years later in the American Old West. (Back in the late 1800’s it was just the West.) If you are expecting to see a 100% accurate depiction of the Old West you might be disappointed. Paul Matthews has an aesthetic that give his movies a quasi-historical futuristic feel that immerses the audience into the world on screen that not many other films can achieve.
- No Holds Barred – The movie starts with a group of women witnessing their town of Silver Creek getting rampaged by Confederate soldiers. Within the first five minutes the audience is treated to seeing a four year old boy shot dead in the back. And then the distraught mother is faced with what is implied to be rape off screen. The next morning, this mother Hannah (Chantell Stander) walks out of the saloon all ravaged and says “No More!” and takes up arms against the soldiers and her fellow women help finish off all the men including the general who tried to stop the men. So after 10 minutes we are treated to a pre-school age murder, rape and pillage of a town, and the subsequent revenge by the women. C’mon Paul Matthews, I can’t take all this balls to the wall action, I just sat down! The women go on to become a gang of thieves and bank robbers that wear… wait for it… hoods.
- All-Star Actors – If there is one thing that can take a movie from a dud to a gem it is quality actors. A high budget and excellent script with poor acting can sink any movie as the illusion is lost. Poor writing and sets hurt a film, but quality actors can still draw the audience into the world. Luckily, Hooded Angels has a high level of actors that make the audience feel what is happening. I could begin and end this Bullet Point with Paul Johansson (Berserker: Hell’s Warrior) as Wes. Here is an actor that can easily lead an action film, but for some reason there are not enough of them. Hopefully it is his choice and Mr. Johansson is picking the roles he likes, but I wouldn’t mind seeing him in more action roles. Wes is the son of the general killed in Silver Creek and leads a posse to catch the bank robbers not knowing that it is a gang of women. And just like I assumed, Paul Johansson is dynamite proof as proved in one explosive scene. Steven Bauer (Scarface) plays Wes’ number two Manny Jack, a role that Bauer excels in and a little bit of over acting is just what the doctor ordered. Rounding out the posse are David Dukas as Billy and Gideon Emery as Sil. Many of our worldly readers will recognize these fine international gentleman. Even the usually eccentric Gary Busey (Eye of the Tiger) is perfectly restrained in a small role as the Sheriff.
- Hell Hath No Fury – The hooded angels in Hooded Angels that give the movie its title are no less impressive than the posse chasing them. Hannah is the leader and she has a crazy lover named Ellie (Juliana Venter) that shines as the scorned woman after Wes and Hannah hook up. Amanda Donohoe (Starship Troopers 3: Marauder) plays a character only named Widow who takes on the wise motherly role of the group. The rest of the group is filled with attractive tough chicks that I would love to run into in a dark muddy alley of an Old West town. While the women are the bad “guys” it is easy to start to root for them, especially the ones that aren’t going crazy like Ellie. In fact when one the girls, Jane (Jena Dover) is shot I got pretty upset because it is sad in the narrative of the story and I thought she looked pretty good for a red-headed South African actress I have never heard of. Then Jack laments that he had to shoot a fifteen year old. Uh-oh, forget what you just read…(researching)… Hold up. Thank the Lord for the Internet, Jena Dover was over twenty at the time of Hooded Angels. Phew!
Hooded Angels follows the trend of Paul Matthews’s films that I have watched, it is a unique, entertaining, not well known action movie. He combines a story and set that is slightly different than what the audience is used to, is able to get the best out the cast, and is not afraid upset some people to get his vision across. I don’t like to upset the audience, so here are some Bonus Bullet Points that you keep asking for.
- Hallelujah – The original title of Hooded Angels was Glory Glory which is an unfortunate title because there is a 1990 Academy Award winning American Civil War film titled Glory. Hooded Angels can stand on its own without riding any coattails.
- Horseplay – While there are plenty of majestic steeds in Hooded Angels, I was referring to the classic pastime of hijinks in the locker room. Hooded Angels proves that women can get into just as much horseplay when they are in the showers as the boys.
- Unity in Diversity – South Africa doubled as the American West in Hooded Angels and once again proved that the country can provide some of the most spectacular vistas. (See Black Trash aka Death of a Snowman.) The cast is littered with South Africans (Stander, Dukas, and Dover to name a few) that bring their unique beauty, but also drag along their unique accents that seem hard for the actors to shake.
