Fallen Angels

Fallen Angels is an unusual horror film. It moves fast, has demons and cool kills, quite a few actually, and immerses you in a great story. With Screamfest you have to appreciate the wide range of films that are all in one genre but yet span so many differences. Hatchet plays like an original 80s slasher film with style and wit, Feast is an awesome monster romp, and Behind the Mask was a great mockumentary. Bringing me to the new Fallen Angels, a very creepy and elaborate demon movie with a great cast, featuring all the genre greats, and an even better story. From the start, I didn't know what I was watching as the film moved from one location to the next introducing themes and characters that ultimately all tie together in a very satisfying and original ending. The effects are awesome, Bill Moseley did rock! in a very different role for him, and all the actors fleshed out characters that are different from what we normally see as cannon fodder in films. Plus, the main location of the prison is both breath taking and chilling. My only complaint is with the score. Sometimes overbearing, is is somewhat powerful but very overpowering, sometimes less is more guys. At times sexy (love the dominatrix) and at times scary (love the Bill Moseley vs. Kane Hodder scene), Fallen Angels is always rewarding for telling a great story with cool creatures. The final frames are very unusual for the genre but provide a great cinematic experience.

I soooooo wish someone had clipped writer-director Jeff Thomas' wings before they allowed him to get behind the camera and make this turkey! This "Fallen Angels" crap should NEVER have gotten off the ground! Yes, it's THAT BAD! Despite the incredible cast, this movie sinks faster and stinks worse than most direct to DVD efforts! GEEZ! I had such high hopes, too. It sure is being promoted to hell on MySpace and other areas---probably because it's such a turd that they are hoping to score SOME of the money back before word gets out.

In Thomas' head, I'm sure this all makes sense and I'll bet he thinks he has made a masterpiece. OOoooo... How sad. He had a cool location and an amazing cast---but nothing to hold them together. The script was incoherent, laughably amateurish and jaw-droppingly implausible...despite the supernatural elements! And, once we get into the "demons" (yawn...the one with the silly eyeball sticking out is laughably silly, by the way)...at the end, it's an overly used cliché that defeats them (I'm avoiding spoilers...why, I don't know, since everyone should AVOID this movie).

But HOW did he rook the cast (which includes Michael Dorn, Bill Moseley, Adrianne Curry, Christopher Knight, Ruth Buzzi, Reggie Bannister, R.A. Mihailoff, Kane Hodder, Michael Berryman, Kevin McCarthy, Martin Kove and David Hess!!!!) into being a part of this snooze-fest? Most only have what amounts to cameo appearances (I kept waiting for Adrianne Curry to pop up, not realizing she was the girl in what I thought was a pre-title nightmare sequence...although, maybe it wasn't a nightmare?). The other cast members were strictly amateur hour nobodies. I'm embarrassed for EVERYONE involved.

Be weary of all of the hype on the Fallen Angels review/message boards. I'm sure by and large it is by people involved in one way or another with the production. Yes, THAT is how desperate they appear to be to unload this crap-o-rama turd.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!!! You have been warned...

First, the people who created this film are clearly Christians with a religious motive. From the content of the movie, I'd guess they're conservative evangelicals, though not complete fundamentalists. So if you aren't OK with themes and a message that are specifically religious, beware.

Nevertheless, they do not shy from gore, employ good special effects and deliver some high quality chills. The demons, settings, and killings are very well done, and make most of this movie worth watching for fans of the genre.

Having said that, the film suffers from a few flaws severe enough that I would advise most viewers against it. First, weaknesses in the acting and/or script make the dialogue painful at times to watch. Second, the plot is rambling, difficult to follow, and unnecessarily convoluted.

But the biggest failure is the ending, which is an unmitigated disaster that posthumously dynamites the chills delivered earlier. Mind you, it's not the message, per se, that I object to, but the fact that in terms of tone and theme it's so utterly incompatible with the rest of the movie, that it drags down the whole edifice.

Recommended for only for serious fans of supernatural horror, but stop the movie about 10 minutes before the end.

I've been looking forward to Fallen Angels for a long time, as I loved Jeff Thomas's other movie, 13 Seconds. While 13 Seconds had it's flaws, mostly in the acting and dialog, I thought it was a brilliant movie. It was a good story, a great twist ending, and some seriously creepy filming.

Scenes like the reflection in the doorknob and the upside down creature in the airvent were brilliance in their simplicity. I put 13 Seconds near the very top of my list of favorite Horror movies.

So I was really looking forward to his follow-up film, especially since it seemed he had more money to put into it, and had a slew of Horror Cult legends in the cast.

And while Fallen Angels wasn't a bad movie by any means, I was pretty disappointed. It looked like there was more focus toward making scenes just for the sake of putting familiar actors in the movie then there was in telling a good story. Many of the characters aren't even around long enough to make any kind of real impact or let the viewer make an emotional investment in them.

The great Reggie Bannister was here, then gone. Michael Berryman had a quick scene. Christy Hemme, who looked great, was in the film for all of 7 seconds, with no dialog. It seems like the addition of so many 'names' took away from the overall quality of the film.

Also, much of the film was too dark. It was difficult to see what was going on in some scene. I know the film was taking place in the sub-basement of an abandoned prison, and it's supposed to be dark, but the lighting could've been better.

I did enjoy the movie though, although it's probably not one I'd watch again and again like 13 Seconds. The scene with the Medium was very well done, probably my favorite in the movie. The ending 'revelation' was pretty cool, although it's execution came off a little bit hokey, and some of the kill scenes with the teeth pulling were pretty intense.

I will say it was a much better horror film then the garbage the big budget movie studio's have been pushing out for the last several years. Mainstream horror has really lost it's way over the years, unless another mindless, by the numbers, Saw sequel is your thing. I'll take a good indy flick from the likes of Jeff Thomas or Dante Tomaselli over that nonsense any day of the week.

Jeff Thomas is a very talented film maker. All you have to do is watch Fallen Angels and especially 13 Seconds to see that. And I have a ton of confidence that by the time he's finished, he's gonna have a long line of great horror films under his belt.

But for his future work, he needs to focus on making a great movie and telling a good story more then making a film that tries to jam as many Kane Hodders and Reggie Bannisters into a 90 minute film as he can.

Oh...and Peter Brady? C'mon Jeff.

That being said, I'll be eagerly awaiting Jeff Thomas's next film, whenever and whatever that may be.

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Kenny

I ordered Fallen Angels from Amazon and watched it from beginning to end including the commentary. I was very impressed on how the movie did not seem like an independent film. The entire film flowed smoothly and kept my interest the entire time. Law and Order is one of my favorite television series so I personally enjoyed the "CSI" type plot. I especially enjoyed how each part of the movie kept you guessing what was going to happen at the end, it made you want to keep watching. The ending really surprised me but it made sense how each piece of the film fit and came together at the end. The ending truly required a lot of thought as it had theoretical and religious meaning. I thought the acting was fabulous and each actor did a great job portraying their character. It takes someone with true talent to make this type of movie. I highly encourage anyone who enjoys horror films to watch Fallen Angels. I will be looking forward to more films written and directed by Jeff Thomas.