Editor Reviews :

Product Description:
THE THRILLS KEEP COMING. THE PLOT KEEPS TWISTING. THE SUSPENSEKEEPS GROWING. HOMICIDE DETECTIVE JOHN HOBBES HUNTS A SATANIC FORCE THAT SHIFTS FROM ONE HUMAN HOST TO ANOTHER IN THIS TAUT,TERRIFIC SUPERNATURAL THRILLER.

Amazon.com:
Although it received mixed reactions from critics and audiences alike when released in 1998, this supernatural thriller benefits from a sustained atmosphere of anticipation and dread, and its combination of detective mystery and demonic mischief is handled with ample style and intelligence. Under the direction of Gregory Hoblit (who fared better with Primal Fear), Denzel Washington plays detective John Hobbes, who witnesses the gas-chamber execution of a serial killer (Elias Koteas). But when another series of murders begins, Hobbes suspects that the killer's evil spirit has survived and is possessing the bodies of others to do its evil bidding. Even Hobbes's trusted partner (John Goodman) thinks the detective is losing his grip on reality, but the dire warnings of a noted linguist (Embeth Davidtz) confirm Hobbes's far-out theory, and his case intensifies toward a fateful showdown. Although its idea is better than its execution, and the story's film noir ambitions are never fully accomplished, this slickly directed thriller has some genuinely effective moments in which evil forces are entwined into the fabric of everyday reality. Among the highlights is a memorable scene in which Detective Hobbes must track the killer as the evil spirit is transferred between many people via physical contact. Even if the film is ultimately less than the sum of its parts, it's an intriguing hybrid that resides in the same cinematic neighborhood as Seven and The Silence of the Lambs with a cast that also includes Donald Sutherland and James Gandolfini. --Jeff Shannon

Rating : - RARE IN THIS GENRE....INTELLIGENT
Accept the premise that an ancient and truly evil spirit with only mischief on its mind can occupy and animate normal folks and it doesn't get any better than this film.

I recently caught this movie on TV again and each time I see it, I marvel at how underrated it has been. It has an absolutely top-notch cast. It has an unique and very imaginative plot. It is extremely scary and most attractively---what rarely goes with supernatural films---intelligence and logic. One of my tests of quality is always the value of rewatching a film. This one is worth a look every couple of years.

One last, rather unlikely, titbit to remind viewers of. Denzel Washington plainly likes playing the role of a cop in his films, but this is one of at least three SF/horror films he's made in which he plays a cop. Doesn't seem much like his genre, but he evidently recognizes quality in a fantastic yarn when he sees it. I recommend, from that trio, Deja Vu as well.