# Dark Angel (1990 film)
**Dark Angel** is a 1990 American science-fiction action film directed by Craig R. Baxley, in which a Houston police detective teams with an FBI agent to hunt an extraterrestrial drug dealer who kills humans to harvest endorphins from their brains. It was released in the United States under the title **I Come in Peace**, and is also known by that name.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58467-I-COME-IN-PEACE) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099817/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original and US titles | Shot under the working title *Dark Angel*; released in the US as *I Come in Peace* on 28 September 1990; earlier titles were *Lethal Contact* and briefly *Death Angel*[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58467-I-COME-IN-PEACE) |
| Director and writers | Craig R. Baxley; screenplay credited to Jonathan Tydor and David Koepp[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Dark-Angel) |
| Cast | Dolph Lundgren (Det. Jack Caine), Brian Benben (Arwood "Larry" Smith), Betsy Brantley (Diane Pallone), Matthias Hues (Talec), Jay Bilas (Azeck)[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Dark-Angel) |
| Running time and rating | 91 minutes, rated R[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58467-I-COME-IN-PEACE) |
| Box office | $4,372,561 domestic gross on a budget listed at $7,000,000; opening weekend $1,912,421 in 1,041 theaters[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Dark-Angel) |
| Reception | 42% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (31 reviews) and 47% on the Popcornmeter; 6.1/10 on IMDb from about 17,000 votes[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i_come_in_peace) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099817/) |
| Current availability | Streaming on Prime Video in 68 countries; free with ads on Tubi and The Roku Channel in the US[5](https://www.flickfinder.net/movie/dark-angel-1990-19384) • [6](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/dark-angel/1016834/where-to-watch/) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
The story is set in Houston at Christmas time. A man driving a [Mercedes-Benz](https://www.edgepedia.org/mercedes-benz) swerves to avoid an accident and runs into a field of Christmas trees; a fireball then hits the earth nearby, and from the crater rises Talec, a tall alien with cloudy eyes, who says, "I come in peace."[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58467-I-COME-IN-PEACE) Talec injects people with overdoses of heroin and then extracts endorphins from their brains; on his home planet the substance is a valuable and illegal drug.[7](https://streamfreak.nl/film/dark-angel/)
He arrives in the middle of a local drug war. Detective Jack Caine, a vice cop who has forgotten the rule book, is running an undercover operation to entrap the supplier Victor Manning when his partner is killed.[5](https://www.flickfinder.net/movie/dark-angel-1990-19384) Caine is forced to work with the by-the-book FBI agent Arwood "Larry" Smith ([Brian Benben](https://www.edgepedia.org/brian-benben)), and the two discover that the drug ring's operation extends to an extraterrestrial visitor; they are not the only ones pursuing the dealer, and the cast also includes Azeck, played by [Jay Bilas](https://www.edgepedia.org/jay-bilas).[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Dark-Angel) • [7](https://streamfreak.nl/film/dark-angel/)
Talec's signature weapon is a gun that fires compact discs, which turn out to be ultra-thin magnet discs made from an extraterrestrial material; the projectiles cut through everything in sight and ricochet around any set they are used in.[8](https://www.screenslate.com/articles/dark-angel)
## Production and title history
The film went through several names. According to the [American Film Institute](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-film-institute) catalog, the original title was *Lethal Contact*, per a 6 January 1989 *Houston Chronicle* report; principal photography began on 24 February 1989 under the working title *Dark Angel*, as *Variety* noted on 15 March 1989; and a 20 June 1990 *Variety* item reported that producers briefly gave the film a third title, *Death Angel*, before settling on *I Come in Peace* for the US release.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58467-I-COME-IN-PEACE)
The production was originally scheduled to shoot in Los Angeles in January and February 1989, moved to Atlanta, and then relocated to Houston, Texas, for a nine-week shoot.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58467-I-COME-IN-PEACE) Budget figures differ between sources: The Numbers lists a production budget of $7,000,000,[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Dark-Angel) while the AFI catalog quotes executive producer Mark Damon telling *Variety* in October 1988 that it was a $12-million production.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58467-I-COME-IN-PEACE)
**The director.** Baxley was a longtime stunt coordinator who made his directorial debut two years earlier with *[Action Jackson](https://www.edgepedia.org/action-jackson-1988-film)* (1988), and he had worked as stunt coordinator and second unit director on *Predator*.[8](https://www.screenslate.com/articles/dark-angel) In a later interview he said he was signed to the film, originally titled *Lethal Contact*, after the 1987 writers' strike ended.[9](https://crypticrock.com/interview-craig-r-baxley/)
## Release and box office
The film languished for over a year before its release, as the *Orange County Register* noted in June 1990.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58467-I-COME-IN-PEACE) It opened wide in the United States on 28 September 1990, distributed by Triumph Releasing, in 1,041 theaters.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58467-I-COME-IN-PEACE) • [3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Dark-Angel) Trade papers reported that it ranked number seven at the box office when it "arrived quietly" in theaters.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58467-I-COME-IN-PEACE)
Its opening weekend gross was $1,912,421, 43.7% of its eventual total; the film dropped 54% in its second weekend and finished with a domestic gross of $4,372,561, with The Numbers recording a domestic share of 100.0%, that is, no recorded international gross.[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Dark-Angel) The Numbers classifies the film's target audience as a cult movie.[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Dark-Angel)
In Germany, the theatrical version was cut to reduce violence in a few scenes, because the distributor Ascot Filmverleih was seeking a "not under 16" rating from the FSK, the German voluntary film-rating body.[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099817/)
## Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 42% Tomatometer from 31 reviews and a 47% audience score from more than 2,500 ratings.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i_come_in_peace) Critics were divided on its tone. Kevin Thomas of the *Los Angeles Times* wrote that Brian Benben was "a capable comedian done in by tiresome, repetitive material," while Dave Kehr of the *Chicago Tribune* called Benben "a wily scene-stealer with a very sharp sense of comic timing."[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i_come_in_peace) [Mark Kermode](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-kermode), writing in *Time Out*, described it as "an unashamedly ridiculous affair with moderate ambitions and matching success."[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i_come_in_peace) Dennis Harvey of 48 Hills wrote that the film "has no original ideas, but it is energetic and well-produced, pouring on the stunt-filled action setpieces," including a car chase through a mall during peak Christmas shopping season.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i_come_in_peace)
**Later commentary** has emphasized its genre mixing. Screen Slate's Justin LaLiberty described it as "a tonally awry blend of police procedural and *Predator*" and one of the earlier attempts at injecting Christmas spirit into science fiction, comparing it to Charles Band's *Trancers* (1984).[8](https://www.screenslate.com/articles/dark-angel) The film announces its holiday setting early: "Merry fuckin' Christmas" is the third or fourth line, exclaimed moments after a distracted driver careens into a lot of spruce trees.[8](https://www.screenslate.com/articles/dark-angel)
## Home media and streaming
In Germany the film has received Blu-ray releases, including a limited numbered edition with postcards and German audio.[10](https://www.wunschliste.de/spielfilm/dark-angel)
As of October 2026 the film streams on Prime Video in 68 of 108 tracked countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, and is not on Netflix, Disney+, Max, or Hulu in any tracked country.[5](https://www.flickfinder.net/movie/dark-angel-1990-19384) In the United States it is also available free with ads on Tubi and [The Roku Channel](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-roku-channel); it can be rented on Apple TV from $3.99 or bought from $14.99.[6](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/dark-angel/1016834/where-to-watch/) [Availability](https://www.edgepedia.org/availability) varies by region: FlixPatrol lists it on the Apple TV Store in Germany, Honduras, Jordan, Latvia, Lithuania, and Slovakia, on [Paramount+](https://www.edgepedia.org/paramount) in Ireland and the United Kingdom, and on Freevee in Germany.[11](https://flixpatrol.com/title/dark-angel/streaming/) In the Netherlands, one Dutch streaming guide listed no available streaming options for the film.[7](https://streamfreak.nl/film/dark-angel/)
## References
1. [I Come in Peace (1990), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58467-I-COME-IN-PEACE)
2. [I Come in Peace (1990), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099817/)
3. [Dark Angel (1990), Box Office and Financial Information, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Dark-Angel)
4. [I Come in Peace, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i_come_in_peace)
5. [Where to watch Dark Angel (1990), FlickFinder](https://www.flickfinder.net/movie/dark-angel-1990-19384)
6. [Dark Angel (1990): Where to Watch & Stream, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/dark-angel/1016834/where-to-watch/)
7. [Dark Angel online kijken, Streamfreak (Netherlands)](https://streamfreak.nl/film/dark-angel/)
8. [Dark Angel, Screen Slate (Justin LaLiberty, 2023)](https://www.screenslate.com/articles/dark-angel)
9. [Interview: Craig R. Baxley, Cryptic Rock](https://crypticrock.com/interview-craig-r-baxley/)
10. [Dark Angel (I Come in Peace), TV Wunschliste (Germany)](https://www.wunschliste.de/spielfilm/dark-angel)
11. [Dark Angel Streaming, FlixPatrol](https://flixpatrol.com/title/dark-angel/streaming/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Science fiction and fantasy films (individual works) › Science fiction and fantasy films of the 1990s › Released 1990 to 1995*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license