This is one of those films I missed when it was first released but had always heard from various friends and family it was worth checking out. I finally got around to watching it and I’m glad to report it’s pretty great. I read that Fangoria Magazine completely trashed this film when it was first released and I think that’s just ridiculous. This is a solid little crime thriller with strong performances from Denzel Washington, John Goodman, and an amazing, scene-stealing role by Elias Koreas (The Thin Red Line, Gattaca) as a psychopathic murderer now on death row.
The concept of combining demons & possession with a serial-killer murder mystery is an interesting one and the demon passing between people by touch is used to great effect. There’s a scene toward the beginning of the film that beautifully illustrates the concept, with no dialogue and great choreography. One thing I really disliked was the opening in media res and also the annoying voice over narration. That all should have been cut. The cinematography is pretty drab but that was common for the late 1990’s stretch of murder-mystery films. The direction’s competent and well-paced but nothing to shout about. Just a solid piece of filmmaking from a journeyman director. All told, this is one of the better supernatural mystery films of the 1990’s.