History Film / AngelHeart1987

* SouthernGothicSatan: The TropeNamer for LouisCypher, who is well-dressed, urbane, polite, and considers self-damning souls to be the most fun to collect.

* ShoutOut: Several to ''Theatre/KingOedipus''. [[SurpriseIncest Some more obvious than others.]] The entire story is basically a replay of the play's plot, particularly [[spoiler:the detective who ultimately solves his own crime, and learns that you cannot escape fate.]] Cyphre's line, "How terrible is wisdom when it brings no profit to the wise," is a line from the play.

** Many of the images in Harry's nightmares are in fact [[spoilers: Johnny's memories of the events of Harry's death, or images of Hell.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: When Harry finds [[spoiler: Margaret's heart, you hear Epiphany's screams from later in the film.]]

* ShoutOut: Several to ''Theatre/KingOedipus''. Some more obvious than others. The entire story is basically a replay of the play's plot, particularly [[spoiler:the detective who ultimately solves his own crime, and learns that you cannot escape fate.]] Cyphre's line, "How terrible is wisdom when it brings no profit to the wise," is a line from the play.

* MeaningfulName: Early in the film, Louis Cyphre introduces his lawyer as half of the legal practice of "Winesap and Macintosh". Both names refer to types of apples, suggesting the story of the serpent in the Garden of Eden story from Genesis.

* ShoutOut: Several to ''Theatre/KingOedipus''. Some more obvious than others. The entire story is basically a replay of the play's plot, particularly [[spoiler:the detective who ultimately solves his own crime, and learns that you cannot escape fate.]] Cyphre's line, "How terrible is wisdom when it brings no profit to the wise," is a line from the play.

* GrandTheftMe: [[spoiler: Turns out that Johnny Favorite did this rather gruesomely to the completely innocent Harry Angel to try and get out of his DealWithTheDevil.]]

-->[[spoiler: '''Harry Angel''']]: "I know who I am!"

* SpoilerTitle: [[spoiler: The film revolves around Harold Angel's heart.]]

* PrettyLittleHeadshots: Averted with Dr. Fowler. Skull, blood and brain a-plenty on the pillow.

* ImmodestOrgasm: It seems like Harry is strangling Epiphany when she screams. She's actually orgasming. [[spoiler:We find out that that's what Harry ''imagined'' happened. Reality is far worse.]]

* IWasNeverHere: Angel quickly gets rid of all the evidence he met Fowler by wiping his fingerprints and other telltale signs after he finds him murdered.

* ForcedIntoEvil: Margaret was raised a devil worshiper, even reading Tarot before she could write.

* EvilVersusEvil: Private eye Harold Angel finds himself stuck in the middle of a decade-long conflict between Johnny Favorite, a murderous occultist leader who sold his soul to the devil for power, and the Prince of Darkness himself, who feels cheated out of his contract and wants revenge on Favorite.

* DownerEnding: Harold Angel is is revealed to be [[spoiler:Johnny Favorite, who had sold his soul to the devil and tried to back out of it. He murders everyone his past persona knew, including his own daughter, leaving Johnny's grandchild an orphan. He'll likely be executed for the murders he committed under Satan's influence, and burn in hell for eternity, to which he is actually well on his way at the very end.]]

* DevelopingDoomedCharacters: Invoked by Louis:
-->'''Louis:''' Frankly, you were doomed the moment you split that young boy in half.

* BookEnds: The movie has someone whispering "Johnny?" over and over. It ends with [[spoiler:Harry and Johnny whispering to each other, "Harry? Johnny?"]]

* AndShowItToYou: [[spoiler:Part of the ritual for Johnny to steal Harry's soul -- ripping out Harry Angel's heart while it was still beating, and ''eating it''.]]

** Played with in the case of [[spoiler: Johnny Favorite]]. As he's a vicious murderer and incestuous rapist, his most deserved punishment is being dragged to hell. However this happens when [[spoiler:he's still in Harry Angel status, who's a much better man than he.]]

* BilingualBonus: Johnny Favorite's real last name is "Liebling". It means "darling" or... "favorite".

* OccultLawFirm: Winesap and [=MacIntosh=]. Pun - [[spoiler:both names are types of ''apples'', alluding to the biblical story of the devil manipulating Eve to eat the forbidden apples.]]

* ParentalIncest: Epiphany [[spoiler:has sex with Angel, who is later revealed to be her father]].

* SexySecretary: Connie again. Obviously, Harry notices.

* TomatoInTheMirror: [[spoiler:Harold Angel is Johnny Favorite's assumed identity]]. Literally, since every time he looks in the mirror, he gets strange feelings. He even breaks a mirror at one point after seeing his reflection. This is actually pointed about by [[spoiler: Louis.]]

* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: The film's trailer alone cannot go 30 minutes without giving away important plot elements.

* AllGirlsWantBadBoys. Johnny Favourite was a real ladies man. Subverted with Epiphany's mother however, who according to her daughter eventually realized with a monster Favourite was.

* AmbiguousEnding: [[spoiler:Was Harry Angel ever present in the film? Or was it simply Johnny Favourite ''believing'' he was Harry Angel? If he was, then when Johnny's soul is taken (rightfully) to Hell, did Harry's soul go with him?]]

** Played with in the case of [[spoiler: Johnny Favourite]]. As he's a vicious murderer and incestuous rapist, his most deserved punishment is being dragged to hell. However this happens when [[spoiler:he's still in Harry Angel status, who's a much better man than he.]]

* TheBadGuyWins: The bad guy is running around killing off everybody Harry Angel interviews, and each one gets him in further trouble with the police. Harry Angel is desperately trying to clear his name and get the heck out of this madness. [[spoiler: Unfortunately that's complicated when it turns out ''he'' is Johnny Favourite, the man he's been searching for the whole time. To make things worse, it turns out there was an even bigger bad guy- the Devil- who orchestrated the entire movie. Literally, after Johnny Favourite tried to cheat the Devil of the soul he owed him, he suffered an injury in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII that gave him amnesia, allowing him to take over the memories of the man he tried to steal his soul from. Then the Devil let him fall into a false sense of security, only for it all to come crashing down around him twelve years later when he literally hired Favourite to find out who he really was, commit a series of sins that included rape and the murder of all the people who helped him in his efforts to get out of his deal- and in the process condemn himself to Hell, thus fulfilling his debt]]. There's a reason why the tagline was "Harry Angel is searching for the truth. Pray he doesn't find it".

* BilingualBonus: Johnny Favourite's real last name is "Liebling". It means "darling" or... "favorite".

* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Played with. [[spoiler:Johnny/Harry kills several people under Satan's influence, but it's left deliberately vague whether the Devil is directly compelling him to commit the murders or if he's allowing Johnny Favourite's vile personality some freedom to indulge in these acts and Johnny is keeping Harry from finding out the truth about himself.]]

* DoubleMeaningTitle: The title refers to [[spoiler:the beating heart belonging to the original Harold Angel that Johnny Favourite stole]], but the meaning is also more literal in that the movie deals with an actual angel--just [[{{Satan}} not a very good one]].

* EvilVersusEvil: Private eye Harold Angel finds himself stuck in the middle of a decade-long conflict between Johnny Favourite, a murderous occultist leader who sold his soul to the devil for power, and the Prince of Darkness himself, who feels cheated out of his contract and wants revenge on Favourite.

* DevelopingDoomedCharacters: Invoked by Louis:
-->'''Louis:''' Frankly, you were doomed the moment you split that young boy in half.

* {{Hellevator}}: [[spoiler: At the very end of the film, Harry Angel (aka Johnny Favorite) takes a ride on one of these.]]

* IWasNeverHere: Angel quickly gets rid of all the evidence he met Fowler by wiping his fingerprints and other telltale signs after he finds him murdered.

* [[spoiler:TheKillerInMe]]: [[spoiler:Harry Angel is Johnny Favorite and committed all the murders himself, albeit under Cyphre's influence]].

* {{Sexophone}}: Taking place in the neo-noir 1950s, the film's soundtrack consists of this.

''Angel Heart'' is a 1987 ReligiousHorror [[FilmNoir neo-noir]] film directed by Creator/AlanParker, starring Creator/MickeyRourke, Creator/RobertDeNiro and Lisa Bonet. [[TheFilmOfTheBook The film is based on]] the 1978 novel "Falling Angel" by William Hjortsberg.

''Angel Heart'' is a 1987 ReligiousHorror [[FilmNoir neo-noir]] film directed by Creator/AlanParker, starring Creator/MickeyRourke, Creator/RobertDeNiro and Lisa Bonet.

* YourCheatingHeart: On his search, Angel discovers that Johnny Favorite was engaged to marry a wealthy fiancee named Margaret Krusemark but also begun a secret love affair with a woman named Evangeline Proudfoot, which led to the birth of a child named Epiphany.