Review: 'Fallen' fails to rise up to the occasion
Posted Thursday, February 24, 2022 at 2:21 PM Central
Last updated Thursday, February 24, 2022 at 2:22 PM Central
by John Couture
Ever since 1973 and the ridiculous success of The Exorcist, Hollywood has seen no shortage of exorcism movies. While the quality of said films has run the gamut and their individual success fails to live up to the original, that doesn't stop them from rising again and again from the proverbial ashes.
While there has seemingly been every single permutation on this theme that you can think of, as I read the logline of Fallen I was intrigued. Seemingly incorporating more traditional horror themes, this ambitious take on the subject matter was looking to mine its Italian horror roots to create a new masterpiece that might come to define the genre for years to come.
Spoiler alert: It didn't happen.
Father Abraham was ready to save the world from an evil menace using exorcism—until tragedy struck. Years later, he lives on a remote farm with his daughter, haunted by the faces of those he saved and those he could not. After finding a pale humanoid creature lurking in the woods one night, he shoots and cremates the monster. But all too soon he discovers that the beast was not alone, and that his troubles have only just begun. This frightening supernatural horror tale will chill you to your soul.
The film has so much promise out of the gate setting up Father Abraham as a broken man. A priest with a wheelchair-bound daughter with so much pain in his past that at best he's a flawed man. And given a new threat to his life and humanity as a whole, the setup for a great redemption tale is well done.
Sadly, the execution from a first-time director, a less than flimsy script, and a budget that would make Clerks look like an MCU film all conspired to doom Fallen. I wanted to like this movie so bad, but ultimately I was unable to find much to write home about.
The Catholic church has certainly been no stranger to controversy these days. Heck, I was up in Detroit this past weekend for a funeral and there was a report of the Vatican voiding up to 800 baptisms for improper word choice in the sacrament. I mean, I get it, but creating a bit of a controversy over what amounts to semantics might not have been the best course of action given recent events.
So, starting with the concept of a flawed man with tragedy in his past that still holds onto his faith is a juicy idea. But I think the filmmakers tried to do too much when a much simpler story could have been told more effectively.
The script certainly didn't help matters as it was never clear what the providence of the antagonist creatures was. Were they demons? Human zombie type monsters? Aliens?
The film sort of hints at a larger story with various mentions of "The Darkness," but these are quickly swept under the rug and forgotten about. Take a film like 10 Cloverfield Lane which is what I would have aimed for if I were making this movie and you see where Fallen frankly falls short.
If they would have simply kept things small, which given the budget seems like the obvious choice, it might have been a better experience. There were hints at a crisis of faith, but that should have been explored in greater detail. I mean, Father Abraham hacked up his wife with an axe because she burned sage in their house to try and cure their daughter.
I mean his faith has been tested and now you really expect the audience to buy that some mysterious creatures might push him over the edge?
Ultimately, I think the film tried to do too much, which is something that you see a lot from first-time filmmakers. The idea was strong, but the execution was lacking. The end result was an uneven movie that felt like just another low-budget yawner that perhaps should have stayed on the pass pile.
Fallen is now available on DVD.
