'90s Class: Fallen (1998)

 Can a Cop stop a killer who's thousands of years old?  That's the premise- eventually- of 1998's Fallen.  This is from that period where Denzel Washington was doing this kind of stuff- see The Bone Hunter.

The Plot involves a Serial Killer being executed, only for someone to duplicate his crimes days later.  Is it a Copycat?  No, that's the Plot of a different Film- Copycat.  That's a 1995 Film.

No, the answer is much weirder as he learns the truth far too late to stop himself.

The Director has a long history of Films about Crimes and the Police- ranging from Primal Fear to Fracture and Untraceable.  He also did them allot on Television, working on such diverse shows as L.A. Law, Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue and... Cop Rock?!?  

He also Directed the first Marvel Film (of note)- 1978's Dr. Strange!

So, I guess if anyone can direct your Film about Cops and the supernatural, he's your man!

If Denzel could stop a train and escape a time loop, then surely, he can save the day!
To find out if he does, read on...

The Film proper begins with Denzel narrating what seems to be the Ending of the Film and going back to tell us how it got there.

Past Denzel is there- along with his Boss Donald Sutherland- to see a Serial Killer he caught be executed.  Why does he seem so chill about it then?

Said Killer- Elias Koteas- acts very odd during the whole thing, at one point grabbing Denzel's hand and being surprised when nothing happens.

Oh, well- that's the end of that...except for that weird POV floating out from his dead body...

A strange man- ironically, this same guy would play the Villain in Se7en rip-off Resurrection a year later- carries on the crimes and it is obvious that he gets all of the details right.

What's the story?

Things get murkier when a clue left at the Scene leads to the investigation of a Cop who killed himself 30 years earlier.

On top of that, another victim shows up a few days later...and it is the killer from before.

Help us out, awesome mustache!

It soon becomes clear that the killer can swap bodies just by touch.  He just can't do it to some people- pretty much just Denzel (and maybe the Cop's Daughter).  That's what the hand grabbing earlier was about.

Denzel ignores all advice- both direct and indirect- and keeps pushing things until he learns that it is Azazel, a Demon's spirit behind it all.

I won't SPOIL everything, but the Film essentially does a Horror version of what happened to Denzel in 1991's Ricochet.  It's just darker, since, you know, Horror.

It all builds up to a Finale where Denzel has seemingly outsmarted the Demon, killing its Host and himself with nobody around for it to transfer into.

Oops, there's a cat for Azazel to possess and he taunts us- still in Denzel's voice FYI- that he 'nearly died' and is still out there.  Another possessed cat Ending- why not?!?

A good Film, even if it can be a bit much at times.  The dark, crazy premise is a tricky one to balance for anybody, to be fair.  I think that Denzel and company make it work...most of the time.

Azazel, with his centuries of knowledge, is a formidable threat, but also too much.  It's clear that he could just kill Denzel, but he just doesn't.  He/it/they just want to mess with him and ruin his life first.

I guess they know that the Movie needs to be a certain length.

On the plus side, the Film makes good- and repeated- use of a Rolling Stones song.  It wasn't cheap, I'm sure.  The bit where Azazel hops bodies and keeps singing through his hosts his creepy...but you also notice how NOBODY reacts to this but Denzel.  Huh?!?

The whole Unreliable Narrator thing is interesting, but I think you could have done the Film without it.  It doesn't hurt the Film per se, but it feels a bit showy.  Like they really want you to know how they clever they are for doing it.

Fallen is a mostly successful blend of Cop Film and Horror Film.  It definitely is one of those Films that just raises too many questions sometimes as it tries to raise the stakes.

I'm also not clear why there's a B&W and neon version of the Poster.  Is one supposed to be Azazel Vision?

Next up, I go back to the '80s for a Film the I remember loving as a kid.  Will jaded, adult me feel the same?  Stay tuned...