MovieChat Forums > Angel Heart (1987) Discussion > Death Flashbacks

Death Flashbacks

posted 9 years ago by Medinensis
4 replies | jump to latest

Am I missing something?

Watched AH last night (it'd been awhile) and noticed something that I would consider an error in the film.

At the end, when Harry is having flashbacks of his killing spree, it appears that we are to understand that each meeting he had with a victim ended in their death -- during that same meeting. He would murder them, but have no recollection.

Ok.

But for Evangeline's murder there is a problem: the detectives see her alive after the infamous bed scene -- the scene during which she was murdered.

Now standard damage control would be to argue that he went to bed with her again after the detectives left and then murdered her. But that is a bit of a cheat. The most obvious reason is that hers is the only murder shown simultaneously with her visit. It is shown in a few glancing frames during the love making and Harry is shown murdering her during that scene. There are other reasons given why we are to understand that that is when the murder took place, but that will do for now.

So I ask again, am I missing something?

I love the film and if this was a flub it doesn't take anything away from the film as far as I'm concerned.

Just curious.

[–] spookyrat1 8 years ago

I think we have to believe there were 2 bouts of love-making, because we see Epiphany at one stage having a bath and singing one of Johnny Favourite's songs. I know it can be confusing with all the intercutting and you do raise a good point, but I think the bath scene is supposed to represent the intermission, so to speak and the police were there for the first half of the show.🐭

[–] Itsmedrooms2 7 years ago

Evangeline wasn't murdered by Harry. She was murdered by the devil's minion( the man in black) who is at the hotel when Harry runs back to presumably save Evangeline. We see Louis Cypher take Harry's gun from Margaret's apartment, so it wasn't Harry/Johnny.

[–] sonofbeach-sheet 7 years ago

So why didn't the cops arrest the black-robed figure sitting outside? Did they not notice him/her?

[–] BlueJean25 (2) 7 years ago

I agree it would be more consistent if Harry did murder Epiphany (Evangeline is her mother btw) during the sex scene we see, but I'm not sure the film really suggests he does. I feel like what happened is Satan sort of invaded his mind? Because it's intercut with, along with the nightmare images, a medieval-looking scene and a couple shots of someone grabbing a terrified Winesap, which Harry wouldn't have been thinking about. The actual shooting looks unrealistically bloody (I wouldn't know but surely the blood wouldn't splatter so nicely on the ceiling?), not nearly so much gore when we see the body later, suggesting this is just a hallucination. Also, unlike the other murders, when we come back to the real world Harry is still with Epiphany, and we know this scene is real since we see the cracked mirror when she's taking a bath.

I think it's ambiguous whether Harry or Cyphre killed Epiphany: Cyphre disappears with Harry's gun and dog tags, and Harry sees him (the figure in black robes) outside his apartment when he runs back. Harry flashes back to Epiphany screaming, not to murdering her, so he could just be remembering the only time they slept together. However, it probably makes more sense for the character/story arc that he did do it, and yes the easiest solution is to assume it happened after the detectives left.