Comparing 'Falling Angel' and 'Angel Heart' Review: A Haunting Tale

Falling Angel was written by William Hjortsberg and the 1987 film adaptation was directed by Alan Parker.

The story follows Harry Angel (Mickey Rourke), a down-on-his-luck private investigator hired by a mysterious client, Louis Cyphre (Robert De Niro), to track down a missing person. Set in the gritty backdrop of 1950s New York City, Angel's investigation takes him through a dark and disturbing journey, filled with macabre discoveries and unsettling encounters. As he delves deeper into the case, he realizes that there is more to it than meets the eye, leading to a shocking and sinister revelation. Angel Heart is known for its atmospheric tension, gripping performances, and a compelling narrative that blends elements of noir, mystery, and supernatural horror, leaving viewers both enthralled and disturbed.

Certain death scenes were the same as they were in the book, but here’s where I have to nitpick a bit. Like I said before, I realize there are rather…sensitive details that you can’t put in the movie. A good example of this would be the pianist, Toots Sweet’s, death. With that being said, Mr. Krusemark didn’t die from drowning/being boiled alive in gumbo. In the book Harry catches him after a Satan worshippers anonymous meeting and interrogates him. This results in a fist fight where Mr. Krusemark is electrocuted/run over by a subway train.

The twist of the book and movie are done pretty much in the same way. And that’s a very good thing since everything that’s happened culminates into this one horrifying realization by Harry. And without spoiling too much for anyone who hasn’t but wants to read or watch it, Harry finds out the man he’s looking for is a lot closer than he thought.

Both Falling Angel and Angel Heart are pretty heavy on the religious symbolism, but I have to say it works. In this particular case it puts the fear of Satan into the viewer.

Naturally the movie has to cut certain things out and add other things in order to make it all work. Overall I have to say that everything ties together as well in the movie as it did in the book, if you’re willing to overlook a few things. The characters themselves hold pretty true to the book characters and were believable. I feel like the movie was a bit rushed though. But since you can only fit so much into about 2 hours worth of screen time, it did a pretty decent job.

The real question is, which was better? The book or the movie? In the grand scheme of the whole plot and it’s characters I have to say the book did a better job of grabbing your attention and twisting your expectations of what would happen. The movie was interesting to watch and certainly was a fun little trip on it’s own though. I just feel like you would be able to understand the whole idea of it better in the book. There are certain clues and hints for the reader to pick up on so it doesn’t feel like the ending is thrown at you as much as it kind of was in the movie.

So I would recommend that if you like mysteries with macabre themes and voodoo mixed in, read the book then watch the movie.

If you would like to read Falling Angel, you can rent or buy it through my affiliate link.

You can also rent or buy Angel Heart (1987) through my affiliate link.