The Angel Was a Devil
Adam
An American Hippie in Israel
Chapter 1: The Precursors: From The Angel Was a Devil to Frozen Days
The Ed Woods of Israeli Cinema
Rabies (2010) was the first Israeli film marketed as a horror film. But the first forays into the genre date back to the 1970s, when three unusual films were produced in Israel: The Angel Was a Devil (shot in 1971 and released in 1976), An American Hippie in Israel (1972), and Adam (1973). All three were made by one-off filmmakers outside the local filmmaking community. All three were envisioned as psychological thrillers, a rare genre in Israeli cinema even today. All three included visual and narrative elements of horror. Each can compete for the title of the “first Israeli horror film,” as well as the dubious honor of being “the worst Israeli film ever.”
Questions for discussion
- Which elements of the horror genre can you identify in these films (or film clips)?
- In what way are these three films precursors of New Israeli Horror? You can think of their production as well as the films themselves.
- What was each film’s reception by audience and critics?
Availability
The Angel Was a Devil is not distributed as of now, but An American Hippie in Israel is streaming on Tubi, Plex, and Amazon Prime Video. Adam is not streaming but you can buy a DVD at the Third Ear store in Tel Aviv.