Amazon.com video review:
Although it received mixed reactions from critics and
audiences alike when released in 1998, this supernatural thriller
benefits from a sustained atmosphere of anticipation and dread, and
its combination of detective mystery and demonic mischief is handled
with ample style and intelligence. Under the direction of Gregory
Hoblit (who fared better with Primal Fear), Denzel Washington
plays detective John Hobbes, who witnesses the gas-chamber execution
of a serial killer (Elias Koteas). But when another series of murders
begins, Hobbes suspects that the killer's evil spirit has survived and
is possessing the bodies of others to do its evil bidding. Even
Hobbes's trusted partner (John Goodman) thinks the detective is losing
his grip on reality, but the dire warnings of a noted linguist (Embeth
Davidtz) confirm Hobbes's far-out theory, and his case intensifies
toward a fateful showdown. Although its idea is better than its
execution, and the story's film noir ambitions are never fully
accomplished, this slickly directed thriller has some genuinely
effective moments in which evil forces are entwined into the fabric of
everyday reality. Among the highlights is a memorable scene in which
Detective Hobbes must track the killer as the evil spirit is
transferred between many people via physical contact. Even if the film
is ultimately less than the sum of its parts, it's an intriguing
hybrid that resides in the same cinematic neighborhood as Seven
and The Silence of the Lambs with a cast that also includes
Donald Sutherland and James Gandolfini. --Jeff Shannon
Amazon.com video review:
Although it received mixed reactions from critics and
audiences alike when released in 1998, this supernatural thriller
benefits from a sustained atmosphere of anticipation and dread, and
its combination of detective mystery and demonic mischief is handled
with ample style and intelligence. Under the direction of Gregory
Hoblit (who fared better with Primal Fear), Denzel Washington
plays detective John Hobbes, who witnesses the gas-chamber execution
of a serial killer (Elias Koteas). But when another series of murders
begins, Hobbes suspects that the killer's evil spirit has survived and
is possessing the bodies of others to do its evil bidding. Even
Hobbes's trusted partner (John Goodman) thinks the detective is losing
his grip on reality, but the dire warnings of a noted linguist (Embeth
Davidtz) confirm Hobbes's far-out theory, and his case intensifies
toward a fateful showdown. Although its idea is better than its
execution, and the story's film noir ambitions are never fully
accomplished, this slickly directed thriller has some genuinely
effective moments in which evil forces are entwined into the fabric of
everyday reality. Among the highlights is a memorable scene in which
Detective Hobbes must track the killer as the evil spirit is
transferred between many people via physical contact. Even if the film
is ultimately less than the sum of its parts, it's an intriguing
hybrid that resides in the same cinematic neighborhood as Seven
and The Silence of the Lambs with a cast that also includes
Donald Sutherland and James Gandolfini. Included on the DVD is a
full-length audio commentary by director Hoblit, screenwriter Nicholas
Kazan, and producer Charles Roven. --Jeff Shannon
