John Hobbes
Denzel Washington
John Hobbes
Fallen
“Detective John Hobbes is searching for a criminal he's already met... already caught... and already killed.”
6.8
1998
2h 4m
CrimeDramaThriller
Director: Gregory Hoblit
Overview
Homicide detective John Hobbes witnesses the execution of serial killer Edgar Reese. Soon after the execution the killings start again, and they are very similar to Reese's style.
Trailer
Original Theatrical Trailer Official
Cast
Jonesy
John Goodman
Jonesy
Lt. Stanton
Donald Sutherland
Lt. Stanton
Gretta Milano
Embeth Davidtz
Gretta Milano
Lou
James Gandolfini
Lou
Edgar Reese
Elias Koteas
Edgar Reese
Art
Gabriel Casseus
Art
Charles
Robert Joy
Charles
Tiffany
Aida Turturro
Tiffany
Sam
Michael J. Pagan
Sam
Charles' Killer
Frank Medrano
Charles' Killer
Mini Golf Owner
Ronn Munro
Mini Golf Owner
Reviews
CinemaSerf
I must have watched this film three or four times now, and each time it takes me the first half hour to recall. It's an intriguing story rooted in Aramaic mythology but applied to 20th century Philadelphia. "Hobbes" (Denzel Washington) is a detective who worked on the case of serial killer "Edgar Reese" that saw him captured and executed. Not long after this supposed closure, however, other - very similar - crimes start to occur and he and his partner "Jonesy" (John Goodman) are perplexed. He keeps hearing a song - the same song the deceased sang as he died, but the people singing it are different. There is something mysterious afoot that can inhabit a body, move effortlessly and invisibly from one to another - and it seems to have "Hobbes" in it's sights. Desperate to shield his family from this evil, he must try to find a way to destroy it before it destroys him. It all takes too long to get going, and Goodman is not particularly well cast, but once we have the gist of the plot then Washington and director Gregory Hoblit turn in quite a well put together story, using the photography well to give us a perspective from our menace whilst effectively conveying the sense of nimble mobility this creature possesses as the resourceful "Hobbes" tries to combat it. Donald Sutherland pops up now and again, to no real purpose, indeed much of the supporting cast sort of blend into the wallpaper of this exercise that really plays to the strengths of an on-form Washington delivering a solid and interesting theme. It's too long, but still worth watching.
Read full reviewGenerationofSwine
I generally have a distaste for movies where Denzel plays the smart cop/government agent/detective because he does it far too often, he seems to be typecast, and it's a waste of pro talent. He's above playing the same sort of role over and over again. But this is one of the exceptions. He does an excellent job, but despite this, it's not Washington you remember. You remember Elias Koteas and he's only in the film for a few short minutes. It's remarkable that in a Denzel Washington movie, someone else steals the most memorable role, and it's even more rare that the role you remember has nearly the least amount of screen time. So... it's already off to a good start, or at least a memorable one. Those are two things that tend not to happen. But then you have a William Holden noir style character monologue that is actually done right and adds more to the story's atmosphere than it really should. You have a spooky plot, and on top of that you have some extremely well done and downright spooky scenes. From start to finish it's just a well executed movie, a well acted movie, and one that deserves to be remembered a bit more than it is. It's one of the movies that I always recommend to people.
Read full review Movies
Similar Movies
More movies you might want to watch next.
4.1
Terrified
1995 Movie
5.2
The Death of the Jackal
1984 Movie
3.4
Killing for Love
1995 Movie
4.8
Forbidden Siren
2006 Movie
4.2
Escape from Death
1989 Movie
7.3
Detective Conan: The Last Wizard of the Century
1999 Movie
2.6
The House of the Lost Dolls
1974 Movie
3.9
Cries of Pleasure
1983 Movie
4.0
Bloodrage
1980 Movie
5.8
Elsewhere
2009 Movie
5.5
In Dreams
1999 Movie
6.5
The Neon Demon
2016 Movie