Le témoin du mal

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 was actually a pretty clever supernatural thriller. When released it failed at the box office, but has deveolped a following since. It's quite fascinating, hardly ever boring, has a nice cast, and is pretty creepy. It probubly failed due to poor marketing, because if a piece of crapp like "Hollow Man"(2000) can be a hit, this film should definately have been a hit. If you like supernatural thrillers, this will be right up your alley. *** out of ****.

Came across this film in a video store sale bin at a giveaway price and bought it on the strength of the cast, Denzil Washington, John Goodman, Donald Sutherland and Embeth Davidtz. Found it to be surprisingly good. Not a horror film as such, no gore or unconvincing CGI effects but a gripping story with supernatural elements. There are subtle shivers, particularly the 'touching' scenes and the sense of something evil hidden behind the everyday. The setting is bleakly autumnal and it is finishes with a nice twist. If you watch the film again knowing the ending it makes more sense.

Of the acting, Goodman and Sutherland don't have much to play with but it is always good to see them in a film. Washington is very good as his normal cop character grapples with the mystery and Davidtz is excellent as the academic, scared and solitary and fallible. The scenes between Washington and Davidtz are well played. Tan Dun's music adds to the atmosphere. Well directed and well written. Well done.