The Prophecy II (1998)

Gabriel returns to try to destroy the human race he despises so much, with the help of a suicidal teen and the opposition of the angel Danyael.

Director:

Greg Spence

Writers:

Gregory Widen (characters), Matt Greenberg (as Matthew Greenberg)

Stars:

Christopher Walken, Russell Wong, Jennifer Beals

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christopher Walken	...	Gabriel
Russell Wong	...	Danyael
Jennifer Beals	...	Valerie Rosales
Brittany Murphy	...	Izzy
Eric Roberts	...	Michael
Glenn Danzig	...	Samayel
Steve Hytner	...	Joseph
Bruce Abbott	...	Thomas Daggett
William Prael	...	Rafayel
Renee Victor	...	Nana
Elizabeth Dennehy	...	Kathy Kimball
J.G. Hertzler	...	Father William
Nicki Micheaux	...	Detective Kreibel
Tom Towles	...	Detective Waltrip
Danny Strong	...	Julian

Storyline

Gabriel returns to Earth to prevent the birth of a child conceived by one of his kind (the Angel Danyael) and one of God's "monkeys" (a human woman - Valerie). The coming of this child has been prophesied by a monk, Thomas. When the Angel Danyael kills members of Gabriel's army of angels, Gabriel instead employs the assistance of a teenage girl (Izzy) who has just committed suicide. Gabriel keeps her alive to assist him in his war against Danyael and the other angels which climaxes in a battle in Eden.

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Plot Keywords:

neo noir | angel | monk | suicide | returning character with different actor | 

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Taglines:

Evil Has Declared War... Again!

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and gore, and a strong sex scene

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Latin Spanish

Release Date:

20 January 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ashtown: Prophecy II

Filming Locations:

First Congregational Church - 540 S. Commonwealth Avenue, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dimension Films, NEO Motion Pictures, Overseas FilmGroup

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Christopher Walken was robbed at the airport in Venice and his The Prophecy II script, glasses, keys, drivers license, and $100 were stolen. All items were later found (including the script) except for the money.

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Goofs

Izzy is standing outside the church, gun in hand in a standoff with police. When Gabriel exits the church, Izzy quickly hands the gun to Gabriel, who is immediately met by a rain of police bullets. A number of exploding blood packets are clearly visible, almost extruding beneath Christopher Walken's shirt.

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Quotes

Valerie Rosales: [referring to God] It's not that he stopped loving you. It's because you don't listen.
Gabriel: What does he say ?
Valerie Rosales: [whispers into Gabriel's ear] Jump.

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Connections

Follows The Prophecy (1995)

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Soundtracks

Missing
Performed by Thermadore
Written by Robert Allen © 1996
Courtesy of Atlantic Records
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products
Published by Songs By Polygram International, Inc. & Saucy Pierre Music (BMI)

User Reviews

You have no choice but to watch it

If you're reading this review, chances are you've already seen & liked the first Prophecy and are debating whether to continue the saga. Either that, or maybe you're just a weird person who likes to watch sequels before seeing the original. Whatever waxes yer wings...

In either case, if you are interested in dark, religious thrillers about angels doing nasty things, you MUST see the Prophecy trilogy. Yes, I know there are 5 Prophecy films, but we'll just focus on the first 3 for now.

Much like Star Wars/Empire Strikes Back/Return of the Jedi, the first 3 Prophecy movies tell a continuing story about 1 character: Gabriel, the Archangel of Death (played by Christopher Walken). Although the films' plots are mostly independent of each other, the theme of Gabriel's quest is a continuing story that doesn't wrap up til the end of the 3rd movie. Ergo you can't stop at Prophecy 1. You have to watch all 3.

That's all you need to know, but if you want to know more about Prophecy II, here it is. By itself it's a worthwhile flick. What makes it special is the surreal blending of dark suspense and cozy humor, as in the first Prophecy. Although we lose some of the quirky characters who made the first film so memorable (such as Jerry the oozing sidekick, Rachel the catatonic chauffeur, and most of Joseph the stand-up comedic coroner), we get a new one who's just as memorable: Brittany Murphy as Izzy the suicidal emo girl (long before the term 'emo' came into being).

Walken and Murphy maintain the wacky humor that made the first Prophecy so characteristic & human. The other characters are there for action and furthering the plot, which is pretty straightforward as far as angels-fighting-a-war-on-earth movies go.

The music isn't quite as lush as the first, although one of the themesongs (the airy tribal piece) is carried over. Most, if not all, of the movie takes place at night so it is both literally and figuratively dark. Not quite "The Crow" dark, but dark nonetheless.

This movie has a distinct early-90s feel to it. The 90s was a decade of action films leaving behind the simple, clean stories of the 80s and embracing a darker realism (as in "Seven" and "The Usual Suspects"). I'd say this 2nd Prophecy film is closer to the 80s than its groundbreaking predecessor, but it's still a good film.

Watch it for Walken, watch it for the continuing epic story, watch it for some engaging action and a few great gags. Most of all... just watch it.