Fallen (1998) Worth Watching?

It’s about a serial killer who gets gassed for serial killing, only to return from the dead to continue serial killing.

Fallen was directed by Gregory Hoblit and stars Denzel Washington (from The Bone Collector), John Goodman (from Red State) and Donald Sutherland (from An American Haunting).

Detective John Hobbes is searching for a criminal he's already met... already caught... and already killed

Fallen shares the same exact same plot summary as Shocker and House 3, both of which came out back in 1989. 9 years later, Fallen was released and made more of the story than either previous movie could have dreamed of. Fallen was better directed, better funded and featured an all-star cast that all combined to put it in a league of its own.

Fallen has one of the greatest opening scenes of any thriller. It shows convicted serial killer Edgar Reese dancing his way to the electric chair as The Rolling Stones' "Time is On My Side" plays cheerfully in the background. Not only is he not afraid of being put to death, he welcomes it.

Fallen drops clues surrounding the source Edgar Reese's supreme confidence, as well as his weakness and apparent defeat, starting from the first few frames of the film through the last. And the movie unfolds so well that even when you think you know what's going on, you really don't.

I've probably watched Fallen a dozen times and continue to find new subtle clues each time.

It's really impossible to say anything more without risking spoilers, and this is a movie you really should go into blind, so I'll just say this is a 10/10 thriller that everyone should see at least once.

Worth Watching?

If you like thrillers that rely more on story, tension building, and mounting dread than those that rely on jump scares, blood and predictable tropes than you'll probably love Fallen as much as I do. There's literally only one single jump scare which actually wasn't planned. Part of the set actually collapsed unexpectedly so the reaction you see from Denzel is genuine. It's a smart movie that I personally don't think can be improved upon.