Movie Info
Movie Name: The Prophecy
Studio: First Look Pictures
Genre(s): Horror/Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Release Date(s): September 1, 1995
MPAA Rating: R
Nothing creepy about a guy hanging out with kids asking if they want to blow his horn…
A war is brewing in Heaven, and it is spreading to Earth. The angel Gabriel (Christopher Walken) has come to Earth to find a soul capable of great damage. When the soul is hidden in the vessel of a young girl, the only person who can save her is a police detective named Thomas Dagget (Elias Koteas) and her teacher Katherine (Virginia Madsen). Gabriel is coming for the soul and angels cannot be stopped!
Written and directed by Gregory Widen, The Prophecy is a fantasy religious horror movie. The movie was met with mixed reviews but gained a cult following over the years.
I wanted to see The Prophecy when it was released. It looked creepy, and Christopher Walken was riding high in 1995. Despite this, I never did end up seeing the movie…for years. Finally after years of waiting, I did see The Prophecy…and wasn’t that impressed.
Could we get more Amanda Plummer?
The story for the film is kind of all over the place and lacks direction for a long time. While I kind of like where the film ends up, I wish it hadn’t taken so long to get there. Once the war in Heaven is revealed in visions, the movie gets focused and better. It also feels that Widen couldn’t commit to which genre he was going to write the film in. Instead of a good blend, it feels like the genres are watered down and blasé.
Christopher Walken is fun as Gabriel…he’s creepy and antisocial (which makes for an interesting angel). Like most of his movies, he really holds the film together in his small scenes. I actually like Elias Koteas a lot, and Virginia Madsen always is an underused actress. There are some criminally underused actors in the movie script with Eric Stoltz, Viggo Mortensen, Amanda Plummer, and Adam Goldberg just not having enough material for characters that are interesting…I like Mortensen’s Lucifer, but he needed to be in the script more.
I’ll show your mind can’t conceive…you won’t believe the numbers of ending on LOTR: ROTK
There are some great visuals in the movie, but like the script, they could have been utilized better. I like the idea that angels are like birds of prey and “perch”. The imagery of Gabriel on the edge of the school is great. I also like some of the imagery of the war in Heaven. The dusty Arizona setting also helps for the spiritual nature of the film.
The Prophecy provides a real mixed bag, and I wanted it to be better than it was. I like what the movie attempted, and I like the blending of religion with real world issues. I really wish the horror aspect of the story had been boosted along with the idea that Heaven is something that should potentially be feared. The film’s success did start a franchise and the straight-to-video sequel The Prophecy II followed in 1998 with Walken returning.
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