The Prophecy [DVD]

Just before The Prophecy was released, there was a lot of excitement about it in certain circles I was a part of. That excessive hype led to my initial disappointment with the movie. Over time, though, as I have watched it over again a time or two, my appreciation of the film has grown. Biblical prophecy and apocalyptic discourses are fascinating to me, and this movie plays off of some of the more far-fetched ideas in the realm of speculation. As the movie opens, we see Thomas Daggett lose his faith in God at the very moment in which he was to be confirmed as a priest; his loss of faith is interestingly a result of having been shown too much of heaven rather than too little. The movie then jumps to the present, where Daggett is a police detective investigating the death of a man-like enigma with no eyes and fetus-like cell structure. We have already seen how this being attacked the angel Simon and lost the fight. The injuries Simon sustains in the struggle upsets his plans, plans which consist of retrieving the soul of the recently deceased most evil man on earth before "the enemy" seizes that soul for their continuing nefarious purposes. Before Simon dies, he gives the soul to a young Indian girl named Mary, and the plot revolves around the enemy's attempts to retrieve the black soul from her and the efforts of Daggett, Mary's teacher, and a medicine man to release the black soul from within Mary's body. The enemy, as Daggett learns by translating a Bible found on the body of the initial victim, is none other than the archangel Gabriel. An unknown 23rd chapter of Revelation in the ancient Bible describes a second war going on in heaven, a war led by the archangel Gabriel who refuses to bow down to the "monkeys" of humanity whom God gave souls and thus elevated above even the angels. This is not a "Left Behind" type of story about the end times; it is a saga of the second war in heaven, a war among God's angels themselves. Naturally, such a conflict cannot end without the original fallen angel Lucifer involving himself in the action, and all of this makes for a quite satisfying conclusion to the movie.

This movie is blessed with terrific acting. Christopher Walken in particular delivers a powerful portrayal of the tortured archangel Gabriel. There are some pretty good special effects, particularly those showing the horrors of the fighting among the angels in heaven itself. Most religious individuals should have no real problems with The Prophecy because it never portrays itself as representing some kind of truth or challenges its viewers' own beliefs. While the movie has its flaws, it succeeds in presenting a problematical storyline with the required seriousness it requires in order to be effective. It is also improved by small bits of humor along the way, such as Gabriel's dislike for human tears and his inability to drive a car. This is definitely a must-see for Christopher Walken fans. Those unable or unwilling to suspend their disbelief, especially when it involves intractable religious views, will do well to seek their entertainment elsewhere.

The Prophecy is one of those films that at face value sounds bizarre, if not a little rubbish. There's a big war in Heaven, the angels are taking sides, Gabriel's leading a revolt and all he needs to ban us mere mortals from Heaven forever is the most evil soul in the world - which another angel has conveniently placed inside a cute little girl. With us so far?

Well, if it sounds dreadful, then blame my writing skills. The Prophecy is actually one of those low-budget films that makes for great viewing. Christopher Walken is superb as the renegade Gabriel and Elias Koteas more than a match for him as the former priest trying to stop him. Add in Eric Stolz as the 'good angel' who hides the soul and Virgina Madsen as the teacher caught up in the whole bizarre scenario, along with a great script (Gabriel: I'm getting so fed up with you. Catherine: Go to Hell!! Gabriel: Heaven, darling, Heaven. At least get the zip code right.), and you have the makings of a great movie.

This one, though, belongs to the angels. Walken is fantastic, by turn endearing and frightening, and Stolz very nearly steals the show. That honour, however, belongs to the charismatic Viggo Mortensen, who drops in to the last fifteen minutes or so of the movie as the fallen angel Lucifer. It's not often that the Devil is on our side...

As horror films go, this one deserves to be up there with the best of them. It has some great throw away lines, chilling performances and not even the somewhat unnecessary romantic subplot can mar what is a truly wonderful, good fun film.

Christopher Walken brings the Arch-Angel Gabriel to life with a menacing portrayal that stays with you for a long time. The story revolves around a second Angel War with Gabriel wanting to destroy all humans as God has placed them in favour over the Angels by giving them souls. Heaven is closed off to all those who have died until the war is ended and Gabriel wants to fashion Heaven in his own image. This brings in Lucifer who makes a suprising ally for mankind. At times a thought provoking story very well told.