Fallen (1998 film)

Fallen
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Gregory Hoblit
Produced by	Charles Roven Dawn Steel
Written by	Nicholas Kazan
Starring	Denzel Washington John Goodman Donald Sutherland Embeth Davidtz James Gandolfini Elias Koteas
Music by	Tan Dun
Cinematography	Newton Thomas Sigel
Edited by	Lawrence Jordan
Production company	Turner Pictures Atlas Entertainment
Distributed by	Warner Bros. (Time Warner Entertainment)
Release dates	January 16, 1998 (1998-01-16)
Running time	123 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English, Aramaic
Box office	$25.2 million

Fallen is a 1998 American supernatural thriller film starring Denzel Washington and directed by Gregory Hoblit. It was the only Turner Pictures film to receive an R rating. The film was a critical and financial failure, earning only 25.2 million in its theatrical run.

Plot

An ancient and diabolic spiritual being, Azazel, is supernaturally condemned to eternally transmigrate at will between unwitting and susceptible human souls who act as hosts for possession. On rare occasions, Azazel's spiritual transmigration is blocked by an unreceptive human host who appears to be immune. These rare exceptions become special targets for Azazel's sustained spiritual stalking through subtler means.

Detective Hobbes gains notoriety for capturing a serial killer named Edgar Reese. While Edgar is in prison on death row, Hobbes visits Edgar, and unknown to Hobbes, a spiritual being inside Edgar tries to transmigrate into Hobbes through the physical contact of a handshake through the prison bars. Somehow Hobbes is immune to this transmigration attempt and is able to unwittingly block the transmigration of the spiritual being into Hobbes's body. After Reese is executed, Hobbes and his partner Jonesy investigate a string of murders by an apparent copycat killer. Hobbes, through hints given initially by Reese, and later by the apparent copycat killer, tracks down a woman named Gretta Milano. Gretta explains that her father, a detective in the same city as Hobbes, killed himself after accusations and evidence of murders began to pile up on him. Hobbes goes to her family's lake-house, and finds books concerning demonic possession and angels. He also finds a name with which he is completely unfamiliar drawn on the wall, initially hidden by paint, of a being named Azazel.

Hobbes inquires after the name to Gretta, who gravely advises him to drop the case to protect his life and family. Gretta explains that Azazel is a fallen angel who possesses humans due to punishment from God. She explains that Azazel cannot live a single breath without a host, and can pass between living beings by touch. Hobbes realizes that Azazel, while possessing Edgar Reese, touched Hobbes before the execution, but was not able to possess him. Therefore, Gretta explains that the demon will try to ruin his life by another way, and warns him of the inevitability of Azazel's victory. Azazel finds Hobbes at his precinct, and through his coworkers, torments him. Hobbes reveals his knowledge of Azazel's true identity, to which the demon responds, "Fear my wrath", and disappears into the city.

To provoke Hobbes, Azazel possesses his nephew Sam and attacks John's intellectually disabled brother Art in their home. He flees into other people on the street, ending up in a schoolteacher. As the teacher, Azazel draws a gun and forces Hobbes to shoot his host in front of a group of bystanders. Azazel boasts to Hobbes that even if his current host body is killed, he can transfer to any new host body in the surrounding area, without even needing to touch them.

Lieutenant Stanton informs Hobbes that his fingerprints were found at one of the murder scenes and along with the bizarre circumstances of the shooting of the teacher Azazel possessed, he has become a suspect for all the murders. Azazel inhabits several of the witnesses and gives false accounts that the shooting was unprovoked, thereby throwing further suspicion on Hobbes, framing him for the crime.

Hobbes, after consulting with Gretta, formulates a plan to end Azazel. He escapes to the lakeside cabin where he originally found Azazel's name and draws the demon to him. Stanton and Jonesy show up, confusing Hobbes due to their relationships. Jonesy reveals his possession when he kills Stanton dramatically and pursues Hobbes throughout the cabin. After ambushing the demon, Hobbes shoots Jonesy in the stomach, and reveals his plan. Hobbes smokes poison-laced cigarettes, explaining that Azazel will not find another host in the remote wilderness, which will force Azazel to inhabit Hobbes's dying body and die with him. He frantically tries to find a new host but succumbs to the poison in Hobbes' system. Azazel drifts around until a last second reveal that he finds a host, a tawny cat.

Cast

• Denzel Washington as Detective John Hobbes
• John Goodman as Detective Jonesy
• Donald Sutherland as Lt. Stanton
• Embeth Davidtz as Gretta Milano
• James Gandolfini as Lou
• Elias Koteas as Edgar Reese
• Gabriel Casseus as Art Hobbes
• Michael J. Pagan as Sam Hobbes
• Robert Joy as Charles Olom

Reception

The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 40.0% of critics give the film a positive review, based on 55 reviews. The site's consensus reads: "Has an interesting premise. Unfortunately, it's just a recycling of old materials, and not all that thrilling." Janet Maslin of The New York Times called it "A stylish if seriously far-fetched nightmare," but Variety wrote that "Washington has the almost impossible task of holding together a convoluted picture that's only intermittently suspenseful and not very engaging emotionally or intellectually." Roger Ebert gave the film a mixed review, writing "the idea is better than the execution, and by the end, the surprises become too mechanical and inevitable. The Chicago Reader praised Washington's performance, but referring to the film's continual use of The Rolling Stones song "Time Is on My Side", wrote, "The first half of this movie holds some promise, but time is not on its side."

External links

• Fallen at IMDb
• Fallen at Rotten Tomatoes
• Fallen at AllMovie
• Fallen at Box Office Mojo