The Prophecy (1995)

Director:

Gregory Widen

Writer (WGA):

Gregory Widen (written by)

Release Date:

1 September 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller | Fantasy | Mystery

Tagline:

Dagget consults the most unlikely of sources for advice.

Plot:

The angel Gabriel comes to Earth to collect a soul which will end the stalemated war in Heaven, and only a former priest and a little girl can stop him.

Plot Keywords:

Heaven | Angel | Soul | Corpse | Young Girl

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Christopher Walken	...	Gabriel
Elias Koteas	...	Thomas Dagget
Virginia Madsen	...	Katherine
Eric Stoltz	...	Simon
Viggo Mortensen	...	Lucifer
Amanda Plummer	...	Rachael
Moriah 'Shining Dove' Snyder	...	Mary (as Moriah Shining Dove Snyder)
Adam Goldberg	...	Jerry
Steve Hytner	...	Joseph
J.C. Quinn	...	Burrows
Emma Shenah	...	Grandmother
Albert Nelson	...	Grey Horse
Shawn Nelson	...	Indian Healer
Emily Conforto	...	Sandra
Sioux-z Jessup	...	Nurse

Also Known As:

God's Army (Europe: English title)
God's Secret Army (Europe: English title)
Seraphim (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and gore, and for some language.

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1995) (uncut) | Finland:K-16 (1995) (cut) | Finland:K-18 (2002) (uncut) | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Hungary:18 | South Korea:15 | USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | Canada:14A (Canadian Home Video rating) | Australia:M | Denmark:15 | Germany:18 | Norway:18 (video premiere) | UK:18 (video premiere) | USA:R | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Superior, Arizona, USA

Company:

First Look International

Trivia:

In a bit of truly inspired foreshadowing, in 1993, 2 years before this films release, Christopher Walken played an eerily similar role to that of his portrayal of the Archangel Gabriel in The Prophecy. In the Madonna video for the song "Bad Girl" (from her album "Erotica"), Walken plays the Angel of Death who silently follows a woman (Madonna) as she is being destroyed by her lifestyle. Though there is no speaking part, his mannerisms and look are strikingly similar to his later depiction of Gabriel - even down to his slicked back hair, pale complexion and mostly black wardrobe.

Goofs:

Plot holes: Even though Thomas Dagett's writings are found at the scene of a possible homicide (that of Uziel at the hands of Simon), Detective Thomas Dagett is not named as a murder suspect in the subsequent murder investigation.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Simon: I remember the First War, the way the sky burned, the faces of angels destroyed. I saw a third of Heaven's legion banished and the creation of Hell. I stood with my brothers and watched Lucifer Fall. But now my brothers are not brothers, and we have come here where we are mortal to steal the Dark Soul, not yet Lucifer's, to serve our cause. I have always obeyed, but I never thought the War would happen again.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hellraiser: Prophecy (2006)

Soundtrack:

Surf N' Turf

A very impressive and inventive film about angels

I first saw this film on TNT some months ago (and, of course, it was edited for content) and my aunt got me this movie for Christmas. And as with the television version, I was entertained.

"The Prophecy" is about the Archangel Gabriel (Christopher Walken) who, believing that his Heavenly Master favors humans more than angels, decides to start a war in Heaven. He goes in search of an evil soul to carry out his dirty work, and Gabriel sets his sights on the spirit of Colonel Hawthorne, a Korean War vet. Gabriel, accompanied by his human lackey Jerry (Adam Goldberg), heads out to the Arizona desert where he digs up Hawthorne's remains, only to find that his soul has been stolen by Simon (Eric Stolz), another angel determined to stop the coming war. Gabriel soon discovers that Simon has hidden Hawthorne's soul inside a little girl named Mary (Moriah Snyder). Soon, it's up to police detective Thomas Daggett (Elias Koteas) and schoolteacher Catherine (Virginia Madsen) to stop Gabriel from obtaining Hawthorne's soul, and things get a bit complicated when Lucifer (Viggo Mortensen) gets into the mix.

I really enjoyed this film, mainly because of Walken and his enjoyably off-kilter portrayal as a dark, evil version of the Archangel Gabriel, who, in the Holy Bible, was one of the good guys. (I wonder what the real Gabriel thinks!) In many ways, his performance is brilliant, yet at times, dare I say, laughter-provoking even though it doesn't mean to. All of the other performances by Elias Koteas, Virginia Madsen, Adam Goldberg, and Eric Stolz are just plain fine (but not at all bad), but Viggo Mortensen gives one of the most accurate on-screen portrayals of the Prince of Darkness aside from Al Pacino in "The Devil's Advocate." All in all, "The Prophecy" is an entertaining and sometimes humorous apocalyptic thriller with an inventive (though what some very conservative Christians would probably call "unholy") concept about angels and God.

I give this film a 10 out of 10 on a scale of 1-10 in my humble opinion.