The Prophecy (1995)

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.

Director:

Gregory Widen

Writer:

Gregory Widen

Stars:

Christopher Walken, Elias Koteas, Virginia Madsen

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Angels come to Earth to find a human soul that can end the war in heaven. Humans are caught up in this battle and must find a way to stop the angel Gabriel before he takes the soul back from where the angel Simon has hidden it.

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Plot Keywords:

heaven | angel | soul | corpse | girl | 

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Taglines:

This film outlines the exercise of faith in a real struggle for the ultimate and most glorious of heavenly prizes.

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller | Fantasy | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and gore, and for some language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 September 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Seraphim

Filming Locations:

Globe, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$16,115,878 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

First Look International, NEO Motion Pictures, Overseas FilmGroup

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

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.

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Goofs

As Thomas looks through Hawthorne's press clippings, a zoom-in shows that in the text of one of the articles, the word "preliminary" is spelled "perliminary".

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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.

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Connections

Followed by The Prophecy 3: The Ascent (2000)

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Soundtracks

"Surf N' Turf"
Written and Performed by Dennis Michael Tenney (BMI)
Published by Psycho Babel Music (BMI)

User Reviews

The 23rd chapter of the St John's revelations........

.......and there rose a second war in heaven.

Gabriel is a rogue angel intent on capturing the black soul of a recently deceased war criminal general. Standing in his way is the good angel Simon, who hides the soul in a child, a couple of honest citizens, and Lucifer himself, who has his own vested interest in proceedings.

Largely ignored on release, and badly marketed as a horror film, The Prophecy, in this day and age of torture porn and slasher overkill, is crying out to be seen more by a jaded horror audience. For it be a film that has an interesting theological heart, that matches its daring and deeply provocative ideas. Here is a film that adds another chapter to the bible, the result being a battle for a soul on Earth that will have major repercussions for both heaven and hell. Gabriel (Christopher Walken) is even (poignantly some might say) using would-be-suicides as his unwilling helpers, their paths to peace blocked by Gabriel in his cunningly crafted intentions-yes this is pretty tight stuff indeed.

Flecked with the odd bit of humour (zip code wise cracks for heaven and hell), Gregory Widen's film perhaps is guilty of not fully realising end of the world promise. But this is a minor itch come the finale, because really the picture should be judged as one complete and intelligent whole. Cast wise you will search in vain for a weak link, because there simply isn't one. Walken is suitably gargoyle like, slick black hair and pasty faced, he induces fear whilst simultaneously charming the beejesus out of the humans, re: talking monkeys. Elias Koteas (a candidate for most undervalued actor of his generation), Virginia Madsen, Adam Goldberg (suicide Jerry), Amanda Plummer (suicide Rachael), Eric Stoltz (Simon) and Viggo Mortensen (Lucifer), all deliver top line performances to ensure the piece lives up to its billing as one of the best acted cult films from the 90s.

It had enough support to warrant a direct to video franchise, with mixed results following each subsequent sequel. But it's here where it matters, a fine film that deserves far better than the bad reputation it gets from those who expected a straight out horror film. I urge anyone who hasn't seen it to give it a go, open your mind and hope Gabriel doesn't come a wandering in. 8/10