Fallen (1998)
Directed by Gregory Hoblit
Homicide detective John Hobbes witnesses the execution of serial killer Edgar Reese. Soon after the execution the killings start again, and they are very similar to Reese's style.
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This would, too, work with a movie well, like it did with "Picnic At Hanging Rock," but the story and direction in "Fallen" is a brief and unique one--if you jump to the wrong conclusions about its missing plot twists, then you can get the wrong interpretation of what the movie is actually about.
At heart, "Fallen" is an updated remake of popular possession pix like "The Exorcist" and the '50s classic "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," which had a similar paranoia about normal-looking folks controlled by unseen forces.
For a film about a demonic serial killer, Fallen is surprisingly free of the sort of visceral shock tactics that made The Exorcist and Seven such controversial hits.
I wouldn't say that they were entirely dashed by this so-called supernatural thriller's seeming dull-wittedness, but it's not difficult to lapse into imagining how good this could have been as wistful thoughts about "Rosemary's Baby" waft to mind.
The garish "Angel Heart" also comes to mind when the plot takes some particularly lurid twists.
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The screenplay, by Oscar nominee Nicholas Kazan (“ Reversal of Fortune ”), shows us Hobbes at home (he lives with his brother and nephew) and at work (Jonsey is a good pal, but a lieutenant played by Donald Sutherland seems to know more than he says).
"FALLEN" features performances by such terrific actors as Denzel Washington, John Goodman and Donald Sutherland, and was written by Nicholas Kazan, who wrote the scintillating "Reversal of Fortune," and was directed by Gregory Hoblit," who did "Primal Fear" and also directed Emmy-winning "L.A. Law" episodes.
Aside from Washington and the rest of the cast, it boasts a script from Nicholas Kazan (Reversal of Fortune) and direction from Gregory Hoblit (NYPD Blue, Primal Fear).
So if Fallen , a modest and relatively unassuming thriller written by Nicholas Kazan (Reversal of Fortune) and directed by Gregory Hoblit (Primal Fear), is one of the better films in this genre, it’s not because it faces a lot of competition.
In fact, it stirred fright in me like "The Silence Of The Lambs" did seven years ago.