Returning friend of the show Comrade Yui swings by to discuss the 1994 Full Moon direct-to-video masterwork Dark Angel: The Ascent. The story follows the exploits of a bored, beautiful young demon Veronica Iscariot (Angela Featherstone) as she defies the orders of her parents and the rules of hell to visit Earth and walk among the humans. It's not long before she realizes that humanity has forsaken its God-given gifts and descended into all manners of evil, which must be brutally punished. Written by Freeway director Matthew Bright and directed by Linda Hassani (her sole feature directorial effort), the film defies all expectations of the DTV format with an unusually rich premise, emotional depth, and style to spare.
We begin with a discussion of the film's unique theology, offering a vision of Heaven and Hell working in concert to do the bidding of the Almighty. Then, we explore how Bright's script searingly antagonizes many of society's ills, especially those germane and topical to the mid-90s - anti-welfare rhetoric, police brutality, antisexualism. Then, we uncover the film's depthful look at the notion of fallenness, and how its characters perceive of complacency and disregard for evil as tantamount to evil itself.
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