The ‘90s often get a bad rap with horror fans. After the numerous successful slashers and creature effects films of the ’80s, the ‘90s offered a different variety of horror fare. Though there were plenty of hits, hidden gems, and misunderstood classics, the ‘90s usually don’t get the kind of love that other decades get when it comes to horror. It’s time to change that.
It’s tough to accurately capture just how much horror became entangled with police procedural movies in the ‘90s. Thanks to the success of films like The Silence of the Lambs and Seven, filmmakers felt confident about injecting cop dramas with more overtly genre elements. One film that went fully supernatural with its approach was 1998’s Fallen.
The movie opens with Detective John Hobbes (Denzel Washington) visiting the execution of Edgar Reese (Elias Koteas), a serial killer who has a particular obsession with the detective. After the execution, a series of murders begin to happen that appear to be the work of a Reese copycat. Hobbes begins to realize that the murderer is a body-jumping demon named Azazel that was possessing Reese. Now, Azazel is trying to frame Hobbes for these murders and Hobbes has to find some way to stop him.
Because of its directly spiritual concept, Fallen feels the need to be a little less stylish in its direction and execution in order for audiences to buy into the movie. Fallen is a fairly straightforward detective flick, but that hard-boiled familiarity is welcoming in the best of ways. Director Gregory Hoblit — whose prior film was the widely praised Primal Fear — approaches the material with a grounded sensibility that keeps the whole endeavor on track. With the exception of some highly saturated and distorted demon-vision, things don’t get too crazy in terms of the actual filmmaking.
What does get deliciously kooky is the entire idea of a villain that gets to inhabit tons of different people throughout the movie. Watching various actors get to let loose for a bit is always a treat, and Fallen is littered with these small moments. One such instant involves character actor Graham Beckel (trust me, you know him) who only gets a few lines but steals the scene. You can tell that these actors really enjoyed being totally evil, even if it’s just for a brief scene.
Thankfully, the main cast is equally up to the task. In addition to the eminently watchable Denzel Washington, Fallen boasts an excellent ensemble of dependable actors. Elias Koteas doesn’t hang around too long, but he perfectly cements the personality of Azazel so that the audience understands exactly who this villain is. We also get effective turns from A-list talent like John Goodman, Donald Sutherland, James Gandolfini, and Embeth Davidtz. This is a fantastic group of actors, and though they aren’t asked to go too big for the majority of the film, they each get a real moment to shine.
To be frank, most of Fallen moves along at a steady and measured pace. There could definitely be a more bombastic take on this material, but it soon becomes clear that Fallen has an ace up its sleeve when it comes to the story. Even though this movie is over twenty years old, I do want to say that anyone who hasn’t seen Fallen should avoid the next section since it contains SPOILERS for the ending of the film. And the ending of Fallen is something you shouldn’t be spoiled on…
So Hobbes discovers that Azazel switches bodies by touching people, but if his host is killed then he can inhabit the closest potential host without touching them. However, Azazel has a limited time — the length of a single breath — to possess someone if his host is dead. Hobbes creates a scenario where he poisons himself out in a remote location and becomes possessed by Azazel. It’s an extremely clever bit of writing in regards to creating a set of rules for your monster and then figuring out how to use those rules against them. Also, it’s a heroic sacrifice for our main character to make that will leave the audience on a high note. But, Fallen subverts its triumphant ending at the last second and Azazel possesses a cat that walks its way back to civilization. It’s a gut punch finale that’s also tinged with wicked glee. One wonders if such an ending would be okay’ed in a modern take on the story.
Fallen is a solid flick that gets the job done while presenting a few intriguing twists along the way. It’s always cool to see horror play around in other established and formulaic genres. Though Fallen might hew a little closer to its police procedural trappings (I could do without the stereotypical lead character voiceover), its horror surprises are more than worth it. And you’ll never be able to hear “Time Is on My Side” by The Rolling Stones again without thinking of this movie.
