Mike (Tom Stern) has returned from his duty in Vietnam to join back up with his old motorcycle gang, the Madcaps. They welcome him with open arms only there’s a slight hitch: his gang is led by a new guy. Mike dispatches him quickly and takes the reins of power. His ambition is to build a gang so big and so powerful that Sheriff Bingham (Jack Starrett) of Bakersfield will have to bow down before him. In order to do this, Mike will have to consolidate power by taking over the various rackets in town. What ensues is a few motorcycle chases, lots of boozing and marijuana-smoking, and tons of chasing tail. In the end, Mike begins to scare away even his closest friends with his crazed ambitions, and a confrontation with the law is on the horizon…
Released in 1968, Angels From Hell is one in a long line of motorcycle movies that all kinds of exploitation houses were jumping on. What’s unique about this one, at least to me, is that it predates Easy Rider by a year and yet has some of the same outlaw themes. It’s all about living free, man. And (spoiler alert) they have very, very similar endings. In my mind, that puts Angels ahead of Easy as far as the first to get there, but Easy ended up being the most iconic film (Hollywood always wins). That’s not to say this is some crackling great film. It meanders too much, is laconic in spots where it should be tighter, suffering from the same disease that most exploitation films suffer from when they don’t have a guiding auteur behind the camera: showing drugs and female carousing because it’s “shocking” when really it’s just a way to fill up running time. The motorcycle chases are damned good, though, and we get the requisite shot that all motorcycle movies must have: the one of the gang tooling down the highway in one massive conglomeration of rebellion, rock music throbbing in the background. All in all, it’s not a bad film, it’s just scattered. There are some really cool moments, like when the gang is chasing a dude around on his motorbike, as well as some of the fight scenes (gotta love those karate chops that can stop an elephant with just one blow!). Mike as a main character comes off as a good guy at the beginning, but as the film progresses, we see his madness slowly come to the fore, which makes him far more compelling than just some ratchet-head idiot.
For a biker flick from the late 60’s, you can’t go wrong with Angels From Hell. It’s pretty decent, even if it meanders at times. There’s plenty of fighting and riding and hot chicks to get you through the slower moments. Also, kudos to it for getting the pulse of outlaw America at the time. This film doesn’t sock it to the man, but it does throw a couple good karate chops to the chin.
Two and a Half Stars out of Four
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