Product Details

• Actors: Denzel Washington, John Goodman, Donald Sutherland, Embeth Davidtz, James Gandolfini
• Directors: Gregory Hoblit
• Writers: Nicholas Kazan
• Producers: Charles Roven, Dawn Steel, Elon Dershowitz, Kelley Smith-Wait, Nicholas Kazan
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Turner Home Ent
• VHS Release Date: August 21, 2001
• Run Time: 124 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (132 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0780623827
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #588,076 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Although it received mixed reactions from critics and audiences alike when released in 1998, this supernatural thriller benefits from a sustained atmosphere of anticipation and dread, and its combination of detective mystery and demonic mischief is handled with ample style and intelligence. Under the direction of Gregory Hoblit (who fared better with Primal Fear), Denzel Washington plays detective John Hobbes, who witnesses the gas-chamber execution of a serial killer (Elias Koteas). But when another series of murders begins, Hobbes suspects that the killer's evil spirit has survived and is possessing the bodies of others to do its evil bidding. Even Hobbes's trusted partner (John Goodman) thinks the detective is losing his grip on reality, but the dire warnings of a noted linguist (Embeth Davidtz) confirm Hobbes's far-out theory, and his case intensifies toward a fateful showdown. Although its idea is better than its execution, and the story's film noir ambitions are never fully accomplished, this slickly directed thriller has some genuinely effective moments in which evil forces are entwined into the fabric of everyday reality. Among the highlights is a memorable scene in which Detective Hobbes must track the killer as the evil spirit is transferred between many people via physical contact. Even if the film is ultimately less than the sum of its parts, it's an intriguing hybrid that resides in the same cinematic neighborhood as Seven and The Silence of the Lambs with a cast that also includes Donald Sutherland and James Gandolfini. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fallen is one of the best horror/thrillers of the decade, January 24, 2000

By 

Eric (Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fallen [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Fallen is underrated, as I felt it wasn't nowhere near as bad as some critics said it to be. It's a very interesting mix of The Exorcist and The Silence of the Lambs and Seven. The result is one of the best thrillers of the decade. It's not quite up there with Lambs or Seven but it's as good as Arlington Road and is significantly superior to The Bone Collector and Kiss the Girls.

The plot is about Detective John Hobbes (Denzel Washington), who has just captured serial killer Edgar Reese (Elias Koteas). Before Reese is executed, he speaks to Hobbes in a strange language and tells him a riddle, asking him why there's a space between Lyons and Spakowsky. Hobbes doesn't think much of this and watches silently as Reese is executed in the gas chamber.

The next day, another murder occurs, and Hobbes and his partner Jonesy (John Goodman) check it out. To his shock, Hobbes finds the same riddle Reese told him scrawled on the wall of the victim's apartment. Unraveling the clue and with the help of an intelligent woman named Gretta Milano (Embeth Davidtz), he discovers that a demon called Azazel had inhibited the body of Reese and can switch from one human host another with a simple touch.

The premise itself is chilling, yet I was a bit hesitant to watch this film. The critics' reviews were mixed but all of them seemed to agree that the film was a bit slow moving. The truth is, Fallen is a bit slow for the first forty or so minutes, but the last eighty minutes are full of intriguing ideas that are well explored along with plenty of extremely suspenseful scenes, especially the ending, which, by the way, has a great twist.

Regarding the suspenseful moments of the film, they can truly be described as edge of your seat. One of the most harrowing sequences in this film is an original chase scene that involves the domino effect, where the demon chases after Davidtz by passing from one human host to another. There's also the chilling scenes where Washington has to try and keep up with who Azazel has just possessed.

Fallen's greatest aspect, despite all those truly thrilling and very suspenseful scenes, is its ending. It first involves a very clever plan being unfolded by one of the characters and ends with a great and unpredictable plot twist. This is truly one of the most unpredictable endings I have seen. It might not have as much of the shock power as the edgy (and twisty) climaxes of Seven and Arlington Road (or for that matter, The Sixth Sense), but it's just as surprising if not more.

The performances in this film are solid. Denzel Washington is fine as the detective who is much more clever than Azazel thinks. John Goodman is his usual solid self as Hobbes' partner, and he excels in this role, proving he has a lot of range ever since his show Roseanne was cancelled. Embeth Davidtz's performance is okay though her character is slightly underwritten. The real scene stealer, though, is Elias Koteas. Though he's in the film for five minutes his Edgar Reese character is scary and actually a bit fun to watch. Most of the characters are well-developed and this helps us care for Hobbes and his family.

The script by Nicholas Kazan is well-written and the twist in the end makes it better to appreciate and Gregory Hoblit's use of a dark, edgy atmosphere and mood is undeniably effective.

31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fallen - A classic in the psychological thriller genre!, April 18, 2004

By 

K. Wyatt "ssintrepid" (Cape Girardeau, MO United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fallen (Snap Case Packaging) (DVD)

Simply put, "Fallen" is a pure classic in the psychological thriller genre! Very few films in this genre that attempt such status actually ever achieve as successfully as this film does. From the very beginning of this film to the end it is an intense, script and character driven silver screen masterpiece. One of the most interesting aspects of this film is that it can be watched over and over again, given time in between viewings, and one can pick up different things every time, making it that much better.

Performance wise, Denzel Washington delivers one of his most powerful and memorable performances in this fine film. Of course, over the years he's proven himself to be one of Hollywood's finest in that very few films of his are less than spectacular. This particular role for him almost engenders the aura that it was specifically written with him in mind as the lead. John Goodman's performance is right on par with his usual style of acting, making the film that much better. Donald Sutherland's performances over the years have been, to me, somewhat spotty with his performance in this film being one of his better ones. The only other film that I've watched in which Embeth Davidtz, and incredibly beautiful actress, has starred in was "Schindler's List." Her performance in "Fallen" is extremely memorable, leaving one to the conclusion that they should check out her other films. Of special note is seeing a pre "Sopranos" performance by James Gandolfini.

It's official, I'm a fan of Director Gregory Hoblit's films as he's not only deftly directed this fine film but other enjoyable films such as "Frequency" and "Hart's War." Granted, he benefited greatly from the superior script of "Fallen," it's the style in which he portrayed this film that makes it such a powerful, edge of your seat film.

The Premise:

Denzel Washington plays homicide detective John Hobbes. Shortly after watching the execution of Edgar Reese (Elias Koteas), many of the same things that were happening to Detective Hobbes prior to capturing Reese start happening again but wait a minute, it was Reese that was doing these things before but that's impossible because he was executed.

What follows from there is one of the most intense and powerful psychological thriller to ever grace the silver screen as detective Hobbes starts to learn just exactly who or what he's dealing with...

The only true surprise in this film is that it didn't really gain overwhelming critical support when it was in the theaters. I highly recommend this film to any and all who are fans of films in this genre as it can only be described as tops in the genre. {ssintrepid}

Special Features:

-Feature Length Audio Commentary by Director Gregory Hoblit, Screenwriter Nicholas Kazan and Producer Charles Roven
-Production Notes
-Cast & Crew bios
-Theatrical Trailer

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very, Very Creepy, April 30, 2006

By 

Craig Connell (Lockport, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fallen (Snap Case Packaging) (DVD)

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.

The DVD provides excellent entertainment. The visuals are decent on this disc 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. if you get confused, you aren't alone. Maybe I'm not too bright because it took me a couple of viewings to see it all in perspective.