A new entry in the psychological thriller genre, 2019’s Angel of Mine introduces us to Lizzie (Noomi Rapace). A few years earlier, her infant daughter died under unfortunate circumstances.

Lizzie continues to attempt to rebuild her life. However, matters complicate when she meets Lola (Annika Whiteley), a young girl whose family moves in next door to Lizzie.

Lizzie grows to believe that Lola is actually her own supposedly-dead daughter. Lizzie goes down a path that leads her toward confrontation with Lola’s mother Claire (Yvonne Strahalski).

If nothing else, Angel gets credit for its willingness to shift the perspective we usually see in this genre. Normally a movie of this sort would focus on the mother who needs to defend her child.

Instead, Angel concentrates on the perspective of the ostensible aggressor/antagonist. That seems like a good twist, one that allows the film to take a path different than the norm.

Unfortunately, Angel can’t muster the substance to generate much intrigue beyond aspects of its basic concept. Slow and rootless, the movie doesn’t bring the expected thrills.

Angel generally avoids a lot of the standard melodrama we find in this sort of film, and I feel that means I should praise it. However, the story progresses at such a sluggish rate that I can’t find much positive to say about the slow-moving tale.

At the heart of the problems, Angel doesn’t develop Lizzie in a particularly compelling manner. We don’t get to know her at all pre-tragedy, so we find ourselves left with the mentally unstable version, and she doesn’t provide an engaging lead.

Of course, not every movie needs to focus on likable main characters, but these flicks should at least make the roles interesting. That doesn’t occur with Lizzie, as she seems relentlessly dull.

As such, we don’t take a lot of interest in Lizzie’s path, a fact the filmmakers seem to acknowledge via the movie’s massive twist ending. Obviously I won’t spill those beans, but the finale comes as such a shock that it feels out of nowhere.

Indeed, it reminds me of how Saturday Night Live would drop a fake cow onto the set when they couldn’t figure out how to finish a sketch. In this case, the filmmakers seem to hope that the shocking finale will convince us that we saw a quality character tale over the prior 85 minutes.

This doesn’t work, and the unnaturally sunny way that the denouement proceeds comes as even more of a stretch. Despite some positive attributes, Angel tends to sputter as a thriller.

Angel of Mine appears in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The film boasted fine visuals.

Sharpness worked well. While the occasional wide shot betrayed a sliver of softness, the majority of material appeared accurate and concise.

No issues with moiré effects or jaggies occurred, and I saw neither edge haloes nor source flaws.

The movie favored a standard teal/amber palette. Within the stylistic constraints, the Blu-ray reproduced the colors in a favorable manner.

Blacks came across as deep and dense, while shadows appeared smooth and well-developed. The movie offered pleasing picture quality.

Also good, the movie’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio also satisfied. Music showed nice stereo presence, while effects added immersive material.

The occasional “action” sequences boasted fine use of the side and rear speakers, all of which brought us into the story well. Much of the film opted for general atmosphere, and those moments provided nice immersion.

Audio quality seemed strong. Music was full and rich, while dialogue seemed natural and distinctive.

Making Angel of Mine runs nine minutes, 38 seconds. It offers comments from director Kim Farrant, producers Su Armstrong, Josh Etting and Brian Etting, and actors Noomi Rapace, Yvonne Strahalski, Luke Evans, Richard Roxburgh and Annika Whiteley.

As expected, “Making” looks at story/characters, cast and performances, and Farrant’s impact on the production. This becomes a pretty standard promo piece.

Under Cast/Crew Interviews, we get individual segments with Farrant (10:45), Rapace (4:21), Strahalski (4:35), Evans (3:24), Roxburgh (3:48) and Whiteley (2:40).

Taken from the same sessions used for “Making”, we often get literally the same soundbites here. Because the “Interviews” cover the same territory, I’d recommend you simply skip “Making” and watch the “Interviews” instead, even though they don’t muster a great deal of substance either.

The disc opens with ads for Inconceivable, The Poison Rose, Matriarch and Unlocked. We also get the trailer for Angel.

At its core, Angel of Mine offers potential to become a good twist on the standard genre thriller. Unfortunately, it tends to bore too much of the time until it gets to its literally unbelievable conclusion. The Blu-ray boasts very good picture with positive audio and minor bonus materials. Angel lacks dimensionality or conviction.