Angels Fallen
Angels battling demons is a tale as old as time, but Ali Zamani’s (EuroClub, C.I.Ape) take on it is pretty fresh indeed combining gunplay, martial arts, and demon slayers. A bit like Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Constantine, Angels Fallen puts a unique twist on some well-trod elements.
After retiring from demon hunting after the death of his wife, Gabriel (Houston Rhines) is called back into action when fallen angels come to earth. If they’re not reunited in time, Earth is about to get a lot more dangerous. Now back in action, Gabriel forms a team of fellow demon-hunters to help him on his mission while he takes sage advice from Balthazar (Michael Madsen).
Despite the Biblical elements, Angels Fallen isn’t as straight a religious film as one might think. The focus here is on action and dramatic character beats. Amanda Barton’s (The Amityville Terror) screenplay moves things along at a good clip while keeping the action sequences relatively inventive. On top of all this, the gore and nudity make it clear this is no Sunday School movie.
The story is by its nature rather episodic, but the quirky personalities of the characters help carry the film along. Eric Roberts’ (Rice Girl: My Redneck Neighbor II, The Pope of Greenwich Village) brief role as Werrick is pretty lively as is Michael Teh’s (Alien Rising, Paradise Cove) sardonic dark take on Michael. Although the film takes viewers from North America to Europe, the small scope and limited budget of the film keep it from feeling as epic as it could be at times.
A lot of the action tends to be bar brawls and gun fights until the more supernatural elements play up during the film’s climax. The way the film cuts between action sequences and character moments keeps the pacing decent, although at times there’s so many characters and locations that one wishes it would take a breather every so often just to relax.
Special effects are a bit of a mixed bag. The demonic faces characters tend to reveal can look a bit silly, but the effect of them fading away into ash and fire is a nice touch. Things have come a long way since Dracula.
Angels Fallen has a nice premise and ambition, it just is often trying to do too much too fast.
Angels Fallen is available on streaming and digital formats.