Fallen (1998)

I caught this one on TV and found it to be an inventive and chilling cross between Along Came A Spider or Silence of the Lambs and The Devil's Advocate. Denzel Washington is a police detective possessed of such integrity and professionalism that he won't let go of a serial murder case: "It's out of my hands. It's my job." He gets more than he bargained for, however, because the killer is an evil spirit that can influence or even briefly or fatally possess others to do his evil bidding. The eons-old spirit taunts Denzel and his chief witness, letting them know he is in charge and there is nothing they can do about it. (Perhaps the most chilling scene in the movie is when the spirit chases the woman down the street, merely by causing a crowded sidewalk full of people to touch each other in rapid succession, until one man catches and pins her against a wall.) Faithwise, Denzel plays an agnostic (most cops cannot afford the luxury to reflect upon the meaning of the human condition) who simply wants to capture the criminal, and he knows that action not hocus-pocus will accomplish this. A double-twist at the end flips the ever-devious villain on its ear (and then back again). This film should keep you guessing to the end, and leave chilling bits in your mind for some time to come, if not for as long as you live. Four stars.