Fallen (1998)

Film Overview
"Fallen" is a 1998 supernatural thriller film directed by Gregory Hoblit, released by Warner Bros. It stars Denzel Washington as Detective John Hobbes - a Philadelphia authorities detective with a steadfast commitment to his job. Together with Washington, the cast consists of John Goodman as Hobbes's loyal partner Jonesy, Donald Sutherland as Hobbes's manager Lt. Stanton, and Elias Koteas as Edgar Reese, a founded guilty serial killer.

Plot Summary
Detective John Hobbes has simply recorded and effectively assisted sentence-to-death serial killer, Edgar Reese. During the execution, Reese passes away while cryptically singing a tune. Not long after, Hobbes starts to witness weird occurrences. A series of killings start, bearing an incredible resemblance to Edgar Reese's design. This development is worrying due to the fact that Reese is already dead. As the murders continue, Hobbes attempts to fix the secret, which entraps him in a supernatural twist.

The Supernatural Element
Unfolding the case, Hobbes discovers Reese was not the real culprit behind the spreading scary. Rather, an ancient scriptural demon, Azazel, who can have bodies at will, utilized Reese for some time prior to leaping to other hosts. Azazel, while only being able to possess and move through touch, demonstrates power through his ability to control people's actions and minds of those he has, utilizing them to dedicate horrifyingly ruthless criminal offenses. This discovery turns the detective thriller into a supernatural horror, from being a hunt for a living serial killer to a battle against an ancient force capable of damage and mayhem.

Hobbes' Struggle
Throughout the film, Hobbes deals with the demon in various human kinds, making it challenging to kill or capture it. Hobbes's preliminary thoughts that the wrongdoer is a Reese copycat or had an accomplice turn all dovetail into the cooling awareness of dealing with dark forces beyond human understanding. Hobbes also faces other battles internally. His devoted partner Jonesy becomes progressively despondent as they have a hard time to unwind the scary twist in their case. Lt. Stanton does not at first believe Hobbes's theory about the presence of a body-swapping devil perpetuating the killings making his pursuit of justice more difficult.

Conclusion
In the climactic end, Hobbes develops a dangerous and nearly suicidal plan to eradicate Azazel lastly. He draws the satanic force into a remote cabin where he successfully requires it to possess him, then kills himself, making sure that the satanic force has no other people to host within his radius and hoping to take Azazel with him to death. However Azazel survives, moving to a cat at the last minute leaving the ending ambiguous and chilling.

Themes and Reception
"Fallen" is a mixture of crime thriller and supernatural scary, dealing with themes of great and wicked, salvation, and the dark powers afflicting the world. Denzel Washington's performance was praised for infusing emotional depth and conviction into his role. Some critics opined the film's execution didn't rather live up to its enthusiastic property, but Washington's performance and some genuinely tense set-pieces have caused it being kept in mind as an unique take on the supernatural category.

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