Dämon - Trau keiner Seele

Just caught this film for the first time on TV, drawn to it by the cast. The suspense builds with good acting by Denzel Washington, Donald Sutherland, John Goodman and James Gandolfini (just before the Sopranos). Proving that you don't need too much blood and guts to create a good thriller. Definitely worth a look.

Fallen (1998)

Half detective, half supernatural thriller, this movie really moves. It's clever but not preposterous, and Denzel Washington anchors the whole things with his smiling believability. This is a good one. And the rest of the cast is fabulous, from John Goodman to Donald Sutherland. The one woman is the convincing Embeth Davidtz, and there is a small role even for the late James Gandolfini.

The plot seems straight up at first, as Denzel's character, Hobbes, looks for a murderer who seems to become a serial murderer. This morphs slowly into a a supernatural evil force inhabiting people and making them bad. This grows without a sense of shock so that there is a logic gradually built up.

And the target of this evilness seems to be Hobbes, though we never quite know why. (He catches bad guys and one of them is executed at the start, but the spirit shouldn't have been bothered by this.) Hobbes of course feels that the crimes don't make sense, and his encounter with Davidtz's character, who studies angels and spirits, is a turning point.

There are of course hundreds of horror films with similar kinds of plots, and what makes this one rise above most of them is how well made it is. Credit here goes beyond Washington, though he's clearly key. The cinematographer, Newton Thomas Sigel, is excellent (he also shot "Three Kings" and "Drive") and the coherence of the complex movie is partly because of a consistent visual flow.

Director Gregory Hoblit is mostly a TV guy, but around the time of this movie he made a few others with similar success, including "Fracture" which is quite good in the same solid way and "Primal Fear" which has a terrific performance by Edward Norton.

"Fallen" does come out of a familiar mold, and that is one reason why it is satisfying (many of us know we like this kind of film) and also limited ultimately (it isn't completely fresh, after all). I suspect nearly everyone will like aspects of this, even if the most demanding viewer will groan at some of the clichés. The acting alone rises up in so many cases, the rest is easy to really like.

Philadelphia Homicide detective John Hobbes (Denzel Washington) witnesses the execution of a serial killer named Edgar Reese (Elias Koteas) who is sent to the electric chair . Before dieing Reese unleashes an evil spirit called Azabel . Having captured the murderous , Hobbes is convinced that cops are the chosen people and he turns up on television smiling and proud . Soon after the execution the killings start again , and they are very similar to Reese's style . Azabel's aggressive spirit is passed along with touch , as a fluid is taken into the bodies , in a crowed city of Philadelphia anyone can become villain . Things get worse , however , when Hobbes is drawn to the biblical injunction 'hide your works' and strange words on walls and corpses .

This thrilling film written by Nicholas Kazan packs intrigue , action , chills , suspense , twists and turns . Hybrid of cop-thriller and supernatural story contains solid interpretations and eerie atmosphere similarly to ¨Seven¨ including a surprising final . On a metaphorical level , this does sense AIDS and a fear of the city are central to the 90s . Very good Denzel Washington as an obstinate cop who becomes involved about cruel ominous copycat murders but slow to realize an explanation beyond the normal . Magnificent support from John Goodman , Donald Sutherland , James Gandolfini , Elias Koteas , Robert Joy , Gabriel Casseus and special mention to Embeth Davidtz . Colorful cinematography in Panavision by Newton Thomas Sigel, including the fidgety camera zooms in fascinating way . Thrilling musical score fitting to action by Tan Dumb who the next year would win Academy Award for ¨Crouching tiger , hidden dragon¨. The motion picture is well directed by Gregory Hoblit , a fine professional who works as TV , he's co-producer with Steven Bochco , as Cinema in successful pictures such as ¨Fracture¨, ¨Frecuency¨, ¨Hart's war¨; his greatest hit is ¨Primal fear¨ . Rating : 6,5 . Good film , but some moments doesn't pay off and takes much too long to get where it's going . Worthwhile watching .

This gets good marks simply because it is such an interesting, involving story that hooks you right away and every time you watch it and doesn't overwhelm you with violence and gore.

Denzel Washington is appealing as always as the good guy and John Goodman is surprisingly low-key for most of the movie. All the characters are very interesting and the special effects are creepy.

The story is pure "Hollywood theology" mean also means the characters - include the heroes - in here have no clue about God or the purpose of life. Believability-aside, it film provides excellent entertainment. The visuals are decent and sound-effects are chilling in spots. As the demon sees through the eyes of people and passes by with these "whoosh" sounds, it's very effective. As mentioned, the film doesn't need a lot of violence to succeed with it's horror-type tale.

One note about the final scene. It isn't exactly clear on a couple of points so if you get confused, you aren't alone.

The Good:

• Denzel Washington and John Goodman are as excellent as ever and create a believable on-screen friendship.
• I really enjoyed the neo-noir style voiceovers that happened throughout the film as well as the noir themed soundtrack.
• The creepy POV shots helped to elevate the horror aspect of the film.
• Throughout the movie, the plot was intriguing and had some great tense moments.
• I loved the idea of possession throughout the film. This created some really interesting dynamics and moral choices for the characters.
• The final act is absolutely exciting, tense, and thrilling and definitely made this film a lot better.

The Bad:

• The first 10 minutes of the film felt very convoluted and confusing to me. It hardly explained itself and left a lot for the viewer to decipher.
• There were a few awkward character interactions within the first hour of the film that kinda took me out of the film.
• Although the premise of the film was very intriguing, it didn't really engage me fully until the last 45 minutes.

Overall Fallen is a very well-made and entertaining 90s thriller with a unique premise and enthralling acting. The only thing that lets it down is its slightly slow pacing and lack of fully engaging scenes in the first half...

7/10