History Film / Fallen

* SuicideByCop: With a twist. [[spoiler:Azazel possesses a random man on the street, who steals the gun hidden nearby and draws down on Hobbes, who is forced into killing him. The demon then possesses a nearby woman, explaining he can possess anyone within 500 cubits, or about a sixth of a mile (880 feet), if suddenly loosed from his last host. Using this woman Azazel then smears Hobbes, saying he killed the last host without provocation, and the man had no reason to do this, plus the gun only had blanks in it, so the media buys it. Hobbes thus gets suspended, removing him from hunting down the demon.]]

* BewareTheNiceOnes: When Hobbes has to figure out which his co-workers Azazel is possessing, it turns out to be [[spoiler:his likable partner Jonsey instead of his aloof, JerkAss superior officer.]]

* ChildrenAreInnocent: Sam, who is a sweet, trusting kid with a lot of affection for his dad and Uncle John. When he is lead out of his house in a frenzied chase scene and confronted with [[spoiler:news of his father's death]], he quietly says that he's going to go back to sleep and that everything will be normal again when he wakes up.

* OutGambitted: [[spoiler:At the end, Hobbes lures two fellow cops, of which one is possessed by Azazel, into the woods to a secluded cabin. When the demon-possessed cop kills the other man, Hobbes shoots him, but Azazel is going to possess him next. Hobbes is smoking, and reveals his cigarettes are laced with cyanide. Since the demon is only destroyed if there are no hosts left to possess-which he can do even to normally resistant strong-willed people within about 880 feet-the Xanatos Gambit appears to pay off, Azazel will have no place to go except in his dying body. However, the narrator is revealed to be Azazel himself, who reflects how at first he believed ''himself'' to be OutGambitted, but chuckles on seeing a cat near the cabin, saying "Ah, ah, you forgot something, didn't you? See you around, Hobbes." Crowd scenes are then shown, with the implication that Azazel possessed the cat, got it near someone else and hopped bodies from there, going free. Earlier, another cop had committed suicide at the cabin, implying his attempt to pull off the same Xanatos Gambit to similar results. The Rolling Stones' hit Sympathy For The Devil plays over the credits.]]

* SuicideByCop: With a twist. [[spoiler:Azazel possesses a random man on the street, who steals the gun hidden nearby and draws down on Hobbes, who is forced into killing him. The demon then possesses a nearby woman, explaining he can possess anyone within 500 cubits, or about a sixth of a mile (880 feet), if suddenly loosed from his last host. Using this woman Azazel then smears Hobbes, saying he killed the last host without provocation, and the man had no reason to commit suicide by cop, plus the gun only had blanks in it, so the media buys it. Hobbes thus gets suspended, removing him from hunting down the demon.]]

* WronglyAccused: [[spoiler:Azazel frames Hobbes (and in the past, Gretta's father) for his own crimes, and tricks him into killing his own host in broad daylight to get him charged with murder.]]

* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler:Hobbes's ''only'' victories were that he prevented Azazel from killing his nephew and that he helped Gretta uncover some info that her allies could use in future battles with the demons. Outside of that, Azazel did exactly what he claimed he would do at the beginning of the movie.]]
** [[spoiler:Scaring the hell out of an immortal demon should count as at least a partial victory.]]

* ChildrenAreInnocent: Hobbes' nephew Sam, [[spoiler:when he's not possessed by Azazel]].

* CriminalMindGames
* CyanidePill: [[spoiler:Poisoned cigarettes.]]

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:"Forgot something, didn't you?"]]
* DrivenToSuicide: Robert Milano. [[spoiler:This is also essentially what Hobbes does after [[DespairEventHorizon his brother is killed by Azazel]].]]

* HeWhoMustNotBeSeen: We never see Azazel's true form except the human host he possesses, though it may not even be visible to humans otherwise.

* ImpliedLoveInterest: Gretta.

* KillEmAll: [[spoiler:By the end of the film, Hobbes himself, Jonesy and Stanton were dead.]]
* LargeHam: Azazel expecially when possessing Reese [[spoiler: and Jonesy.]]

* PromotionToParent: Hobbes takes care of his brother, Art, and his nephew, Sam. [[spoiler:Gretta becomes newly orphaned Sam's caretaker when they go on the run.]]

* SenselessSacrifice: [[spoiler:Hobbes commits one in the end.]]

* TermsOfEndangerment: For the record, I don't think Hobbes actually considers himself Azazel's "pal".
* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: [[spoiler:Art. Hobbes is a literal case, as Azazel targets him specifically for his moral strength.]]

-->"[[spoiler:Can you imagine what it feels like to be alive for thousands of years, and then realize you're actually going to die, 'cause some self-righteous cop decided that he was going to save the fucking world?]]"

* LargeHam: Azazel expecially when possess Reese [[spoiler: and Jonesy.]]

* OutGambitted: [[spoiler:At the end, Hobbes lures two fellow cops, of which one is possessed by Azazel, into the woods to a secluded cabin. When the demon-possessed cop kills the other man, Hobbes shoots him, but Azazel is going to possess him next. Hobbes is smoking, and reveals his cigarettes are laced with cyanide. Since the demon is only destroyed if there are no hosts left to possess-which he can do even to normally resistant strong-willed people within about ten feet-the Xanatos Gambit appears to pay off, Azazel will have no place to go except in his dying body. However, the narrator is revealed to be Azazel himself, who reflects how at first he believed ''himself'' to be OutGambitted, but chuckles on seeing a cat near the cabin, saying "Ah, ah, you forgot something, didn't you? See you around, Hobbes." Crowd scenes are then shown, with the implication that Azazel possessed the cat, got it near someone else and hopped bodies from there, going free. Earlier, another cop had committed suicide at the cabin, implying his attempt to pull off the same Xanatos Gambit to similar results. The Rolling Stones' hit Sympathy For The Devil plays over the credits.]]

* SuicideByCop: With a twist. [[spoiler:Azazel possesses a random man on the street, who steals the gun hidden nearby and draws down on Hobbes, who is forced into killing him. The demon then possesses a nearby woman, explaining he can possess anyone within 500 cubits, or about a sixth of a mile, if suddenly loosed from his last host. Using this woman Azazel then smears Hobbes, saying he killed the last host without provocation, and the man had no reason to commit suicide by cop, plus the gun only had blanks in it, so the media buys it. Hobbes thus gets suspended, removing him from hunting down the demon.]]

* {{ReasonableAuthorityFigure}}s: A whole police station full of 'em.

--->''"Remember this, Hobbes... what goes around, ''really'' goes around."''

Police detective John Hobbes (DenzelWashington), gains notoriety for capturing wily serial killer Edgar Reese. Immediately after Reese is executed, Hobbes is plunged into the case of another murderer who seems to be copycatting Reese with scary attention to detail.

* SerialKiller: Something of a theme for the director, seeing as how he also helmed ''{{Frequency}}'' and ''{{Untraceable}}''

!! Spoiler Tropes:

These tropes are inherent spoilers. Highlight at your own risk.

* [[spoiler:TheBadGuyWins: Hobbes's ''only'' victories were that he prevented Azazel from killing his nephew and that he helped Gretta uncover some info that her allies could use in future battles with the demons. Outside of that, Azazel did exactly what he claimed he would do at the beginning of the movie.]]
* [[spoiler:BewareTheNiceOnes: When Hobbes has to figure out which his co-workers Azazel is possessing, it turns out to be his likable partner Jonsey instead of his aloof, JerkAss superior officer.]]
* [[spoiler:CyanidePill: Poisoned cigarettes.]]
* [[spoiler:DownerEnding: "Forgot something, didn't you?"]]
* [[spoiler:TheHeroDies: Hobbes himself at the end.]]
* [[spoiler:KillEmAll: By the end of the film, Hobbes himself, Jonesy and Stanton were dead.]]
* [[spoiler:NarratorAllAlong / UnreliableNarrator: Azazel, the demon possessing everyone, is actually the one talking and this is revealed at the end. He's using Hobbes' voice because this is the last human we see possessed.]]
* [[spoiler:OutGambitted: At the end, Hobbes lures two fellow cops, of which one is possessed by Azazel, into the woods to a secluded cabin. When the demon-possessed cop kills the other man, Hobbes shoots him, but Azazel is going to possess him next. Hobbes is smoking, and reveals his cigarettes are laced with cyanide. Since the demon is only destroyed if there are no hosts left to possess-which he can do even to normally resistant strong-willed people within about ten feet-the Xanatos Gambit appears to pay off, Azazel will have no place to go except in his dying body. However, the narrator is revealed to be Azazel himself, who reflects how at first he believed ''himself'' to be OutGambitted, but chuckles on seeing a cat near the cabin, saying "Ah, ah, you forgot something, didn't you? See you around, Hobbes." Crowd scenes are then shown, with the implication that Azazel possessed the cat, got it near someone else and hopped bodies from there, going free. Earlier, another cop had committed suicide at the cabin, implying his attempt to pull off the same Xanatos Gambit to similar results. The Rolling Stones' hit Sympathy For The Devil plays over the credits.]]
* [[spoiler:SenselessSacrifice: Hobbes commits one in the end.]]
* [[spoiler:ShootTheShaggyDog: The movie ends with Azazel himself making it out alive in a cat by Hobbes' cabin, and the protagonist himself dead in the end, after a failed attempt of TakingYouWithMe.]]
* [[spoiler:SpannerInTheWorks: A cat. Implied to have done it multiple times.]]
* [[spoiler:TakingYouWithMe: A tried-and-failed attempt.]]
* [[spoiler:TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: Art. Hobbes is a literal case, as Azazel targets him specifically for his moral strength.]]
* [[spoiler:VillainousBreakdown: When he learns that Hobbes has trapped him to die, Azazel throws a pleasingly cathartic one when he starts cussing Hobbes out like a mad twelve-year-old and crawling around to find a new person to possess before his spirit dies.]]
* [[spoiler:WronglyAccused: Azazel frames Hobbes (and in the past, Gretta's father) for his own crimes, and tricks him into killing his own host in broad daylight to get him charged with murder.]]

* DyingCurse: Before his jaunt to the gas chamber, Reeves gives one to a mildly unsettled Hobbes. [[NamesToRun AwayFrom?AncientDeadLanguages In Syrian-Aramic.]]

* DyingCurse: Before his jaunt to the gas chamber, Reeves gives one to a mildly unsettled Hobbes. [[AncientDeadLanguages In Syrian-Aramic.]]

* MoralEventHorizon: [[spoiler: Azazel possessing Hobbes' mentally handicapped brother Art to make him commit suicide by injecting himself with poison.]]

* OutGambitted: [[spoiler:At the end, Hobbes lures two fellow cops, of which one is possessed by Azazel, into the woods to a secluded cabin. When the demon-possessed cop kills the other man, Hobbes shoots him, but Azazel is going to possess him next. Hobbes is smoking, and reveals his cigarettes are laced with cyanide. Since the demon is only destroyed if there are no hosts left to possess-which he can do even to normally resistant strong-willed people within about ten feet-the Xanatos Gambit appears to pay off, Azazel will have no place to go except in his dying body. However, the narrator is revealed to be Azazel himself, who reflects how at first he believed ''himself'' to be OutGambitted, but chuckles on seeing a cat near the cabin, saying "Ah, ah, you forgot something, didn't you? See you around, Hobbes." Crowd scenes are then shown, with the implication that Azazel possessed the cat, got it near someone else and hopped bodies from there, going free. Earlier, another cop had committed suicide at the cabin, implying his attempt to pull off the same Xanatos Gambit to similar results. The Rolling Stones' hit Sympathy For The Devil plays over the credits.]]

* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: [[spoiler:Azazel is revealed to be the narrator of the story. Just before the movie ends, he tells the audience "See you around," and then we get an image of many people in New York walking in the streets, impling that Azazel is out there somewhere in our world again and has kept on possessing human beings.]]

* MoralEventHorizon: [[spoiler: Azazel possessing Hobbes' mentaly handicapped brother Art to make him commit suicide by injecting himself with poison.]]

* NighInvulnerable: Azazel is of the fourth variety.

* [[spoiler:TheBadGuyWins: Hobbes's ''only'' victories were that he prevented Azazel from killing his nephew and that he helped Gretta uncover some info that her allies could use in future battles with the demons. Outside of that, Azazel did exactly what he claimed he would do at the beginning of the movie.]]
* [[spoiler:BewareTheNiceOnes: When Hobbes has to figure out which his co-workers Azazel is possessing, it turns out to be his likable partner Jonsey instead of his aloof, JerkAss superior officer.]]

* [[spoiler:CyanidePill: Poisoned cigarettes.]]

* [[spoiler:DownerEnding: "Forgot something, didn't you?"]]

* [[spoiler:TheHeroDies: Hobbes himself at the end.]]

* [[spoiler:KillEmAll: By the end of the film, Hobbes himself, Jonesy and Stanton were dead.]]

* [[spoiler:NarratorAllAlong / UnreliableNarrator: Azazel, the demon possessing everyone, is actually the one talking and this is revealed at the end. He's using Hobbes' voice because this is the last human we see possessed.]]

* [[spoiler:SenselessSacrifice: Hobbes commits one in the end.]]

* [[spoiler:ShootTheShaggyDog: The movie ends with Azazel himself making it out alive in a cat by Hobbes' cabin, and the protagonist himself dead in the end, after a failed attempt of TakingYouWithMe.]]

* [[spoiler:SpannerInTheWorks: A cat. Implied to have done it multiple times.]]

* [[spoiler:TakingYouWithMe: A tried-and-failed attempt.]]

* [[spoiler:TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: Art. Hobbes is a literal case, as Azazel targets him specifically for his moral strength.]]

* [[spoiler:VillainousBreakdown: When he learns that Hobbes has trapped him to die, Azazel throws a pleasingly cathartic one when he starts cussing Hobbes out like a mad twelve-year-old and crawling around to find a new person to possess before his spirit dies.]]

* EldritchAbomination: It's implied that Azazel could be this.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: When Hobbes has to figure out which [[spoiler:of his co-workers Azazel is possessing, it turns out to be his likable partner Jonsey instead of his aloof, JerkAss superior officer.]]

* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: [[spoiler:Azazel is revealed to be the narrator of the story. Just before the movie ends, he tells the audience "See you around," and then we get an image of many people in New York walking in the streets, impling that Azazel is out there somewhere in our world again and keeps on possessing human beings.]]

* HeWhoMustNotBeSeen: We never see Azazel's true form exepct the human host he possesses.

* IronicEcho: Hobbes throws Azazel's taunts right back in his face at the end of the movie, from "Open your eyes, look around sometimes," to [[spoiler:smoking cigarettes laced with the poison he killed Hobbes' brother with]], to singing "Time is on My Side".

* SuicideByCop: With a twist. [[spoiler:Azazel possesses a random man on the street, who steals the gun hidden nearby and draws down on Hobbes, who is forced into killing him. The demon then possesses a nearby woman, explaining he can possess anyone within 500 cubits, or about a sixth of a mile, if suddenly loosed from his last host. Using this woman Azazel then smears Hobbes, saying he killed the last host without provocation, and the man had no reason to commit suicide by cop, the gun had only blanks in it, so the media buys it. Hobbes thus gets suspended, removing him from hunting down the demon.]]

* TraumaCongaLine: Poor Hobbes: his whole life is systematically dismantled by Azazel. Apparently, this is what [[CompleteMonster the demon]] likes to do to people who are particularly [[IncorruptiblePurePureness good]], as he's been implied to have done it before, repeatedly.

* [[spoiler:TheHeroDies]]

* [[spoiler: TheBadGuyWins: Hobbes's ''only'' victories were that he prevented Azazel from killing his nephew and that he helped Gretta uncover some info that her allies could use in future battles with the demons. Outside of that, Azazel did exactly what he claimed he would do at the beginning of the movie.]]
* BewareTheNiceOnes: When Hobbes has to figure out which [[spoiler: of his co-worker's Azazel is possessing, it turns out to be his partner Jonsey instead of his aloof, JerkAss superior officer.]]
* BrickJoke: A particularly dark example: [[spoiler: "Forgot something, didn't you? At the beginning, I said I'd tell you about the time I ''almost'' died..."]]
* ChildrenAreInnocent: Hobbes' nephew, [[spoiler: when he's not possessed by Azazel]].

* [[spoiler: CyanidePill]]
* DemonicPossession: [[spoiler: The whole plot. Although not stated, it may be implied that believers can resist demonic possession (at least in most cases). It's said that strong-willed minds can resist demonic possession by touch, but not where the demon is loosed from their last host and within "five hundred cubits," or about a sixth of a mile.]]
* [[spoiler: DownerEnding: Forgot something, didn't you?]]
* EldritchAbomination: It's implied Azazel could be this.
* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: Stated as the goal of the demons, including Azazel, called the "Fall of Babylon." Apparently by possessing humans they further evil in the world.

* ForTheEvulz:
--->'''Hobbes:''' You leave my family alone.
--->'''Azazel:''' But I'm still having fun! Aren't ''you'' still having fun?
* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: [[spoiler: Azazel it's revelaed to be the narrator of the story and he used Hobbes'voice the whole time. Just before the movie ends he, now using a cat as a host, says to the audience "See you around pals" and then we get an image of many people in New York walking in the streets, impling that Azazel is out there somewhere in our world again and keeps on possessing human beings.]]
* [[spoiler: TheHeroDies]]

* ImpliedLoveInterest: Gretta
* IronicEcho
* NarratorAllAlong: [[spoiler: Azazel]]

* TheNthDoctor
* OutGambitted: [[spoiler: At the end, Hobbes lures two fellow cops, of which one is possessed by Azazel, into the woods to a secluded cabin. When the demon-possessed cop kills the other man, Hobbes shoots him, but Azazel is going to possess him next. Hobbes is smoking, and reveals his cigarettes are laced with cyanide. Since the demon is only destroyed if there are no hosts left to possess-which he can do even to normally resistant strong-willed people within about ten feet-the Xanatos Gambit appears to pay off, Azazel will have no place to go except in his dying body. However, the narrator is revealed to be Azazel himself, who reflects how at first he believed ''himself'' to be OutGambitted, but chuckles on seeing a cat near the cabin, saying "Ah, ah, you forgot something, didn't you? See you around, Hobbes." Crowd scenes are then shown, with the implication that Azazel possessed the cat, got it near someone else and hopped bodies from there, going free. Earlier, another cop had committed suicide at the cabin, implying his attempt to pull off the same Xanatos Gambit to similar results. The Rolling Stones' hit Sympathy For The Devil plays over the credits.]]
* PromotionToParent: Hobbes takes care of his brother, Art, and his nephew, Sam. [[spoiler: At the end, Gretta becomes newly-orphaned Sam's caretaker when they go on the run.]]
* SaltAndPepper: Hobbes and Jonesy
* [[spoiler: SenselessSacrifice: Hobbes commits one in the end.]]

* SmugSnake: Azazel views Hobbes as more of a fun diversion than an actual threat, and seems to think that he's free to antagonize Hobbes as much as he wants because there's no way Hobbes would figure out what's going on, much less learn his weakness. [[spoiler: He later realizes just how wrong he was when Hobbes ''almost'' kills him at the end.]]

* [[spoiler: SpannerInTheWorks: A cat. Implied to have done it multiple times.]]

* SuicideByCop: With a twist. [[spoiler: Azazel possesses a random man on the street, who steals the gun hidden nearby and draws down on Hobbes, who is forced into killing him. The demon then possesses a nearby woman, explaining he can possess anyone within 500 cubits, or about a sixth of a mile, if suddenly loosed from his last host. Using this woman Azazel then smears Hobbes, saying he killed the last host without provocation, and the man had no reason to commit suicide by cop, the gun had only blanks in it, so the media buys it. Hobbes thus gets suspended, removing him from hunting down the demon.]]
* UnreliableNarrator: [[spoiler: Azazel, the demon possessing everyone, is actually the one talking and this is revealed at the end. He's using Hobbes' voice because this is the last human we see possessed.]]

* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: [[spoiler: Azazel it's revelaed to be the narrator of the story and he has used Hobbes'voice the whole time. Just before the movie ends he, now using a cat as a host, says to the audience "See you around pals" and then we get an image of many people in New York walking in the streets, impling that Azazel is in the real world again and keeps on possesing human beings.]]

Police detective John Hobbes (DenzelWashington), gains notoriety for capturing wily serial killer Edgar Reese. Immediately after Reese is executed, Hobbes is plunged into the case of a another murderer who seems to be copycatting Reese with scary attention to detail.

However Hobbes's investigation soon leads him to discover that this is no mere copycat as somehow Reese, or at least the evil inside him, has managed to survive the execution. Worse still the demon is able to jump from one host to another allowing it to kill at will and to terrorize Hobbes himself.

* OutGambitted: [[spoiler: At the end, Hobbes lures two fellow cops, of which one is possessed by Azazel, into the woods to a secluded cabin. When the demon-possessed cop kills the other man, Hobbes shoots him, but Azazel is going to possess him next. Hobbes is smoking, and reveals his cigarettes are laced with poison. Since the demon is only destroyed if there are no hosts left to possess-which he can do even to normally resistant strong-willed people within about ten feet-the Xanatos Gambit appears to pay off, Azazel will have no place to go except in his dying body. However, the narrator is revealed to be Azazel himself, who chuckles on seeing a cat near the cabin, saying "Ah, ah, you forgot something. See you around." Crowd scenes are then shown, with the implication that Azazel possessed the cat, got it near someone else and hopped bodies from there, going free. Earlier, another cop had committed suicide at the cabin, implying his attempt to pull off the same Xanatos Gambit to similar results. The Rolling Stones' hit Sympathy For The Devil plays over the credits.]]

* SuicideByCop: With a twist. [[spoiler: Azazel possesses a random man on the street, who steals the gun hidden nearby and draws down on Hobbes, who is forced into killing him. The demon then possesses a nearby woman, explaining he can possess anyone within 500 cubits, or about a sixth of a mile, if suddenly loosed from his last host. Using this woman Azazel then smears Hobbes, saying he killed the last host without provocation, and the man had no reason to commit suicide by cop, so the media buys it. Hobbes thus gets suspended from duty, removing him from hunting down the demon.]]