Angels Fallen (2020) Review
After the tragic loss of his wife battling the forces of darkness, Gabriel (Houston Rhines, Criminal Minds) is persuaded to rejoin his former team of demon hunters travelling from relatively obscurity in America to the deep unknown regions of Europe. He is joined by his estranged best friend Michael (Michael Teh, Sleepy Hollow) who harbours a dark secret, the mystical Hannah (Posener, Mythica: The Necromancer) whose visions predict the future, and a motley crew of demon slayers. After losing part of his team Gabriel must confront his tragic past and decide who really is friend or foe.
ANGELS FALLEN was not the simplest of titles to research on Google prior to reviewing. The search engine would eagerly direct you towards the recent Gerard Butler starrer ANGEL HAS FALLEN every time instead. Admittedly Google’s algorithm is there to point you towards more popular options under the misguided notion that the user is a twerp who may have missed out a word when typing in what they wished to search for. In this case I didn’t want the Gerard Butler flick (which is actually one of the Scottish wonder’s better films) but the latest low-budget horror that (briefly) stars Michael Masden and Eric Roberts.
ANGELS FALLEN is enthusiastically performed by a cast of relative unknowns and moves at a decent pace courtesy of director Ali Zamani. The film’s energy elevates this above the usual miserable risible releases that clog up the direct-to-digital-download market. There’s absolutely nothing new here to see but I kept watching anyway – it does help a lot that lead actor Houston Rhines is very easy on the eye – whether it be for the occasional unintended giggle (THAT sequence with the possessed doll) or marvelling at how much of the demon dispatching plays out the same way as Marvel’s BLADE staking a vampire.
The effects work leaves a lot to be desired, as does some of the film’s make-up effects, however by having the film’s action take place in choice foreign locations ANGELS FALLEN ends up looking more lush and professional than most of its ilk. Ultimately ANGELS FALLEN is not a very good film but it does qualify as a guilty pleasure for the less discerning or critical viewer. Take director Zamani’s film for what it is, rather than what you might wish for it to be, and you’ll enjoy the ride.
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