Customer Reviews
An unsung masterpiece. 
2008-07-14
I can't believe this movie eluded me for so long. I've seen all sorts of horror movies... slasher, goth, psychological, and zombie flicks. However, Fallen is easily one of the best I've ever seen. Seriously, I'd put it up there with The Exorcist,The Silence of the Lambs, and Se7en. Even though it clearly has religious themes in it, religion is not an important factor in order to enjoy the movie. Denzel Washington does an excellent job at portraying Detective Hobbes, who is bent on trying to find a copycat of the serial killer Reese. But we soon find out that Hobbes is not hunting a copycat serial killer, but a demon called Azazel, who can jump from person to person simply by touching them, which he uses to taunt and toy with Hobbes. Through discovering a person who Azazel possessed in order to kill people, he found a cop who sent out to kill him, but ultimately failed. He meets his daughter, an angelologist. Together, they try to find a way to kill Azazel. There's more to it than that, but that's all I'll get in to so as to not spoil it.
The last 15 or so minutes of the film are some of the most powerful I've seen in any film. The action, the dialogue, and the unveilment of Hobbes' plan. There's even a twist near the end which is very unexpected, yet still fits within the story. There is a theme here, which I believe is that there is evil in everyone, no matter how good or innocent we may consider them to be. Overall, this was an incredible film and I recommend it to anyone looking for an ingenious thriller.
If demons can jump from person to person, I wonder if God can... 2008-06-27
Fantastic movie on such a difficult subject. I mean, I never believed in demons much before I saw this movie, but after seeing it, now I'm not so sure, especially after some things I've seen in real life that are eerily similar. But on the positive side, I suppose if a demon can jump from person to person at the touch of a hand, I'm confident the Almighty can do the same, if He so chooses.
INTERESTING PREMISE, BUT SLOW MOVING AND TOO LONG! 
2008-05-31
I liked this film somewhat and thought the premise was very interesting. The cast is excellent, but the pacing is slow and everyone involved seems to be too calm considering what's going on. The film suffers from being too long and a good 20 minutes trimmed off would have helped a great deal. Denzel Washington holds it all together in this ultimately predictable thriller, but I doubt I would sit through it a second time. I rate it 2 1/2 stars for a good premise and cast.
Demon quality 
2008-05-23
Denzil Washington stars in this high class chiller in which he plays a cop trying to deal with an opponent who could literally be anybody at any time. A good cast including John Goodman and Donald Sutherland provide excellent support. Combine this with a surprisingly clever script and decent direction and you'll find a film that thrills and surprises in equal measures. No more so than the ending which has a lovely twist which I certainly didn't see coming.
Fortunately for us there is no basis in reality for this story. If there was you'd look at people a little bit differently in future. Its also worth mentioning that I shall never hear a certain Rolling Stones song in the same way again after watching this film.
This is a much better film than its fairly obscure status would tend to indicate.
Good Movie, But...... 2008-05-14
The movie itself was pretty good, but sometime after watching it I thought of one major plot flaw. This spirit is supposed to be able to go from person to person by a mere brush against them right? Yet the opening scene they are talking to the serial killer in jail. And when they took him to the gas chamber he walked back to say goodby to the others on death row as though he got to know them from sitting on death row. So if he had this ability to move through people so easily then why would he spend many months sitting in jail in the body of the guy he turned into a serial killer?
Other than that flaw I thought it was a good entertaining movie.
Denzel is a bad @$$ 2007-12-31
An ancient demon, a fallen angel, pursues a police officer who is beginning to understand how the demon passes from human to human.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 7-JUN-2005
Media Type: DVD
"Something is always happening... 2007-12-28
...but when it happens. People don't always understand it--or accept it." John Hobbes, "Fallen."
Detective John Hobbes (Denzel Washington) should be at the top of his game. He's captured and sent to the gas chamber one of the most nefarious killers--Edgar Reese (Elias Koteas). Unfortunately, Reese may have had an accomplice--because murders are starting to happen with his same MO.
Worse, people all around him are starting to sing "Time is on my Side" the song Reese sang before he was put to sleep.
When the facts of the case are resistant to interpretation, Hobbes discovers via Gretta Milano (Embeth Davidtz), the daughter of another cop who had a similar experience, that Reese was possessed by the Demon, Azazel, one of the "Fallen" who lives serially in mortals and is transmitted from one host to another by touch.
Now, a cop who bases his judgment on evidence is going to have to fight a criminal who he can't see and isn't quite sure he believes in. But he does believe in evil--and he wants the evil to stop.
Some of my favorite films are blended genres. "Fallen" is one of the most underestimated examples of mystery-horror that I've seen. The film's fast-paced and well-acted.
"Fallen" does come with a warning label or two:
don't watch if you have a low threshold for suspense
don't watch if demon movies scare the snot out of you
Fallen 2007-12-12
This was a replacement for an old VHS tape - I'm a big Denzel fan & I think this was one of his best.
A CAT HAS ONLY 9 LIVES 2007-12-05
A sincere attempt at a Stephen King type film quickly turns into an Alan King type production. Only the acting skills of Denzel Washington and Donald Sutherland prevent this supposed thriller from becoming a 3 Stooges affair. Warned not to get involved in a closed murder case, Officer Denzel does just the opposite and mayhem ensues. A demon is unearthed who writes in ancient Aramaic, yet prefers listening to the "Rolling Stones" in English. This supernatural creature can occupy only one human at a time,but can jump from one person to another in a split second.As dead bodies start piling up,Denzel decides to become the sacrificial lamb, poisoning himself after seemingly all targets of demon occupation have eliminated one another. Frustrated, the demon finally wins out, occupying a stray cat. The flick ends with a loud rendition of "Sympathy for the devil". "Nineteenth nervous brekdown" would hav been better.
Classic suspense/thriller/mindgamer 2007-09-25
4.5 stars
This is a truly underrated gem. The script is genius, with many complex levels that take a few viewings to get, and the acting is uniformly excellent. Denzel is very fine as usual, Goodman is solid, Sutherland and Embeth shine in their supporting roles, and the whole thing is full of x-factor.
Hoblit hits his stride here, with gorgeous shots, his beautifully symmetrical frame compositions adding to the religious/church-gone-haywire feeling. Everything comes together---acting, script, plot, cinematography, lighting, color scheme, music, atmosphere---to create a perfect evocation of the creepy weirdness inherent in the brilliant story.
A must if you like any of the following: Denzel; the occult; the Bible; suspense; psycho-thrillers; late-night-alone scary movies with no violence.
Yes, the best part here is that you get all the scares with almost none of the violence. Great filmmakers don't need to show blood and gore to make a film work. Only bad ones need to do that. Hitchcock and friends know that what you DON'T see is scarier than what you do. Fallen is the epitome of that tenet.
As for the ending not working, the reviewers who say that have missed the gist here. I think the ending is genius, and ties everything together perfectly. That it's a very non-traditional, non-hollywood ending makes it even better. This film forces you to think, and to question your assumptions about what is real. Not an easy feat.
A great movie for a dark, windy evening.
