10 Most Terrifying Horror Movie Villains You've Never Heard Of
4. Azazel - Fallen (1998)
Time is on my side. Yes it is Incredibly underrated director Gregory Hoblit doesnt seem to make feature films anymore. Thats a crying shame, because Fallen, his serial killer chiller from 1998 starring Denzel Washington, is a perfect little jewel of a film, all the more wonderful for being completely unexpected. Detective John Hobbes is present when deranged murderer Edgar Reese is executed for his crimes. He knows hes dead. So how are the same crimes being committed once more? Its because Reese wasnt the killer - oh, his hands committed the deeds, but the demon possessing him was the true killer. Azazel has been killing for thousands of years, cheerfully passing on in the air to take over his next victim whenever he feels like it. Unable to possess Hobbes for some unexplainable reason (well, it wouldnt be much of a movie if he did), Azazel decides to hound him to his death instead. What follows is a breakneck police thriller and a supernatural fantasy in one, as Hobbes desperately tries to find a way, not just to survive, but to finally and for all time take down Azazel too. Unfortunately, he realises at the end that in order to do one, hell have to forget all about the other Swaggering, arrogant and free n easy, Azazel loves his life and makes no bones about it. Whether its Elias Koteas playing him with shuffling, cackling glee, James Gandolfini grinning that familiar Tony Soprano crooked grin, or John Goodmans vast, inhuman amusement, the tone and quality of the character shines through. Azazel is an unrepentant bastard through and through.
Professional writer, punk werewolf and nesting place for starfish. Obsessed with squid, spirals and story. I publish short weird fiction online at desincarne.com, and tweet nonsense under the name Jack The Bodiless. You can follow me all you like, just don't touch my stuff.
