Prophecy (1979)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

John Frankenheimer

Writer:

David Seltzer (writer)

Release Date:

22 August 1979 (France)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Horror

Tagline:

She Lives. Don't Move. Don't Breathe. She Will Find You.

Plot:

A log company's waste mutates the environment, creating a giant killer bear-monster.

Plot Keywords:

Toxic Waste | Poison | Axe | Wildlife | Forest

Cast

Robert Foxworth	...	Dr. Robert Verne
Talia Shire	...	Maggie Verne
Armand Assante	...	John Hawks
Richard Dysart	...	Isley
Victoria Racimo	...	Ramona Hawks
George Clutesi	...	M' Rai
Burke Byrnes	...	Father
Mia Bendixsen	...	Girl
Tom McFadden	...	Pilot
Graham Jarvis	...	Vic Shusette
Everett Creach	...	Kelso (as Everett L.Creach)
Charles H. Gray	...	Sheriff
Lyvingston Holmes	...	Black Woman
Evans Evans	...	Cellist
Johnny Timko	...	Boy

Also Known As:

Prophecy: The Monster Movie (USA) (video box title)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:15 (cut) | Canada:18A | Iceland:16 | Sweden:15 | Australia:M | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Norway:18 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Crofton, North Cowichan, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Filmed in British Columbia in 1978, this movie marked the beginning of "Hollywood North", the major start to the development of a massive film production business in Vancouver and other parts of the province of British Columbia, in Canada. Since then hundreds of "American" movies have been filmed in the Canadian province.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Despite the movie supposedly taking place in the Maine woods, foliage and landmarks clearly show the area of the forests of British Columbia, where the movie was actually filmed.

Quotes:

Isley: All that's left is in baskets.
[the bodies of the campers were dismembered and Isley and his workers come to the Indian village going after John Hawks thinking he had something to do with it]

Down on your luck horror

I know of and truly admire the genius of John Frankenheimer, who gave us The Manchurian Candidate, Seven Days in May, Seconds, The Train, and more recently, Ronin. He also gave this ridiculous eco-monster movie enough discipline and artistic snap to raise it above the level of mutant frogs, bunnies, and snakes, all croaking, hopping, and slithering around the late 70s.

I don't dwell on plot in my reviews; I like to talk about what makes the movie worth expending your precious minutes or not, so here is what one geek loves about this silly, fun flick: Even with the overly intense performances, the Marcus Welby music, the clichéd-to-the-point-of-exasperation mean, old corporate polluters, the fact that Talia Shire's face seems to be melting off her head (cheap shot, I know), and the monster--think of Shaq in latex, p.o.'d, with fangs and Mad-Eye Moody peepers--you have a scary, fun, and interesting movie.

Hey, Stephen King liked it, although he was right in pointing out how silly it was to put the Indians in teepees in Maine.

I wonder if Robert Foxworth, Shire, and Armand Assante get fan mail for this 8th grader of a movie. Frankenheimer, God bless him, made this movie work, and passed away a few years ago (no causal relationship, of course). He was so serious and deep, a really, really skilled artist, but I also wonder how he would have responded to fan mail for Prophecy.

I hope all involved had or have senses of humor and when confronted with a request for an autograph on the VHS box, respond with, "Hey, thanks for your support, you geek!"