Denzel Washington’s Thriller With A Premise Out Of A Horror Novel Is Streaming On Netflix – SlashFilm

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There may be nothing Denzel Washington can not do. It is easy to make the argument that Denzel Washington is among the greatest actors ever. He is an Oscar winner who has been on the high of his sport for many years, working in nearly each style underneath the solar. In all of his many years as an actor, although, he hasn’t dabbled in horror an excessive amount of. However in 1998, he made “Fallen,” a film with a premise that feels prefer it was ripped proper from the pages of a horror novel and dropped at life on display.

Streaming now on Netflix, “Fallen” was directed by Gregory Hoblit (“Primal Worry”) with a script by Nicholas Kazan (“Reversal of Fortune”). The film facilities on a pair of Chicago detectives who apprehend a serial killer, however after the killer is convicted and executed, a brand new sequence of murders mirroring the late killer’s particular type start to pop up. This appears to implicate one of many detectives. With out getting too heavy into spoiler territory, however we come to seek out out a literal physique-hopping demon is behind the bloodshed.

Washington performs Detective John Hobbes, whereas the good John Goodman (“The Huge Lebowski”) stars as Detective “Jonesy” Jones.

“Fallen” is Washington’s solely horror film, and it flopped on the time of its launch. Towards a reported price range of $46 million, it made simply $25 million on the field workplace. Luckily, although, this was at a time when house video provided a a lot bigger second life to most motion pictures, lengthy earlier than Blockbuster went bankrupt on the daybreak of the streaming revolution. Consequently, this film has gone on to get pleasure from a pleasant second life, incomes a deserved re-analysis in recent times.

Regardless of incomes terrible evaluations, “Fallen” is a ’90s horror film that is price watching. However critics weren’t fairly as able to embrace horror fare at the moment, with solely the rarest of uncommon style titles like “The Silence of the Lambs” incomes mass reward. For style followers with an lively Netflix subscription, now could be pretty much as good a time as any to present “Fallen” a go for the primary time, or maybe revisit it if it has been some time.

“I do not get to learn lots of screenplays on this style, I suppose that is a credit score to my brokers who ship the unhealthy ones away,” Washington mentioned in a 1998 interview with John C. Tibbetts. That claims rather a lot about how horror was considered on the time, broadly talking. Horror nonetheless in all probability would not get the respect it deserves, however no less than we’re now residing in a world the place Amy Madigan can win Greatest Supporting Actress on the Oscars for her work in “Weapons,” whereas Ryan Coogler can win Greatest Authentic Screenplay for “Sinners” at that very same ceremony.

For that cause, this can be a film that in all probability slid underneath the radar for lots of parents who will respect what it has to supply. The vital appraisal it acquired in its day is not reflective of what number of fashionable viewers will probably really feel about it. Denzel Washington brings his A-game, as does John Goodman — to not point out the stellar supporting solid that features the likes of Donald Sutherland (“Invasion of the Physique Snatchers”), James Gandolfini (“The Sopranos”), and Embeth Davidtz (“Schindler’s Record”).

There’s rather a lot to love about this film. It is a true blue hidden gem from the late ’90s. You may also seize “Fallen” on Blu-ray or DVD from Amazon.