Fallen Angels: A Movie Review

I pressed play with certain expectations. Fallen Angels had a corny-looking cover and a storyline that allowed for so many laughable possibilities. I hoped for demons and a lot of blood. Man, was I surprised. There actually were demons and blood! And cheesy-looking skeletons, and the quintessential fallen-priest-turned-embittered-cop.

But it also has a strange storyline that floats somewhere between Stigmata and The Order and Devil's Advocate. It isn't too hard to follow, but it covers a lot of ground. I really didn't like the choppy presentation: massive revelations, then slow moments, then action, etc. It doesn't seem balanced.

I have to give a shout out to the makeup and sound crews. They prove that god is in the details, so to speak. Between the demons and the death scenes, there's a lot of good material. One scene was so realistic that it made my teeth hurt! (Believe me, you'll know it when you see it.) Even the conceptually cheesy effects are pulled off seamlessly.

My biggest issue with Fallen Angels is its voice. It preaches. Loudly. It really doesn't leave interpretive wiggle room. You believe what it wants you to, because it comes right out and says what everything means, in detail. As the film progresses, it becomes smaller and smaller. And near the end, it floods us with obvious symbolism. Yes, everything is all better. We get it.

Who can resist a film with such a great cast? Michael Dorn, Kevin McCarthy, David Hess, Daniel Zacapa... They have Michael Berryman! Anything with Michael Berryman is worth watching. Oh, and did I mention Christie Hemme? Pro wrestler who graced the cover of Playboy in April, 2005? Guess what sin she represents. Unfortunately, the talent isn't given a five-star script to work with.

Still, I have to recommend the movie for fans of religious/cult/redemption films. You're used to suspending your disbelief along those lines. For others, just try to accept that predestination and free will don't cancel each other out. Priests are psychic. Psychics are real. Die-hard skeptics can be set right in front of a demon without blinking an eye. Demons can be reformed. All the pieces fall together when a policeman talks to himself in his car to dramatic music. And the initial storyline becomes completely irrelevant after the "real stuff" starts, so it can remain unresolved without anyone caring.

Like so many films, Fallen Angels is thin on plot with a beefy helping of special effects and "Hey! I know that guy!" actors. It's a mixed bag of great stuff and bad stuff. If you're looking for a movie you can be proud to have watched, move on. But if you're choosing between this and Nymphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell, Fallen Angels is the one you want.