The Eighteenth Angel (1997)

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This ominous apocalypse thriller sports a fairly ambitious but ultimately confusing plot involving a prophecy which proclaims that the return of Satan will be precipitated by the arrival of eighteen physically-perfect angelic beings. In order to fulfill the prophecy, a secret sect of Etruscan monks… More This ominous apocalypse thriller sports a fairly ambitious but ultimately confusing plot involving a prophecy which proclaims that the return of Satan will be precipitated by the arrival of eighteen physically-perfect angelic beings. In order to fulfill the prophecy, a secret sect of Etruscan monks conspire with an obsessed geneticist to artificially manufacture the requisite number of perfect specimens, with the only setback being the lack of a suitably beautiful face for each of the eighteen clones. To complete the equation, the monks devise a plan by which they can obtain faces from unsuspecting "donors." The last of the potential candidates is lovely model Rachael Leigh Cook who, after a bizarre series of events beginning with her mother's death, finds herself in the monks' evil clutches. Decent production design gives some class to this direct-to-video production, together with good performances and a pervasive sense of doom. The film ultimately falls short of cult-classic status due to an excessive amount of irrelevant and frequently unresolved subplots -- particularly one involving the family cat. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi