The Prophecy - 1995 - PFF

What if you could have Christopher Walken, Elias Koteas, Virginia Madsen, Eric Stoltz, and Viggo Mortensen together in the same film? It actually happened once. The result was the 1995 religious horror hit “The Prophecy” This movie spawned four sequels starring such great stars as Jennifer Beals, Brittany Murphy, Jason Scott Lee, Doug Bradley (Yes, THAT Doug Bradley), and Tony Todd. But, for right now, we are going to discuss the first film in the series.

As I said before this is religious horror. Those who are unfamiliar with this might not understand what that means. Religious horror is usually dealing with religious themes. Some other examples of religious horror are “The Exorcist (1973), “The Omen (1976 & 2006), “Stigmata (1999), Legion (2010), and “The Rite (2011). I have always had a soft spot for good religious horror. By good, I mean something that sticks with you, after the film has ended.

What I love about this film are the angels. They are not the glowing, perfect beautiful angels you think of when you usually think of angels. They are flawed, have tempers, are not all that attractive in some cases, and I would even say a bit greedy. There are bits of humor laced throughout the film that helps to lighten up the darkness of the plot. This film stars with a haunting monologue from a lone figure staring at what looks like an angel's skeleton as he speaks of the first war of the angels. We then jump to an ordainment ceremony inside a Catholic cathedral, which is where we see Thomas for the first time. When we finally end up where the story is set to start, we see Thomas not in priests’ robes but dressed as a detective belonging to the Homicide division. Things have obviously changed in Thomas’ world and they are about to test the limits of his sanity and what is left of his faith. There is not a lot about the plot of this film that can be discussed without spoiling the film. However, I can say that, to me, this is one of the best portrayals of angels I have ever seen. I would also venture to say that this is the best in the entire series. Though the other films are pretty well done as well.

This film does a great job in its simplicity. It does not use huge, overblown sets. (Though a couple of the locations they use are simply breathtaking) Nor is there overdone CGI, there is some but it fits the story well. The makeup department does a great job with the look of our angels and the “makeup effects”. The cast is amazing from Christopher Walken as the Archangel Gabriel (super creepy by the way), to the very talented Moriah Shining Dove Snyder, who played the young innocent Mary. The other actors and actresses in this film should not be counted out as Virginia Madsen and Eric Stoltz do a great job in their respective roles, as well as a great role for the wonderfully talented Viggo Mortensen (You will know it when you see it).

Speaking of the cast, let’s talk about his stellar cast of characters. First off, you can’t really talk about the “Prophecy” films without talking about the Archangel Gabriel, played by the phenomenal and creepy Christopher Walken. By the time he landed the role as everyone’s favorite flawed Archangel, Christopher was already a household name with roles in “The Sentinel” (1977), and “The Deer Hunter (1978). The 1983 film adaptation of the Stephen King novel “The Dead Zone” brought him into the hearts of horror fans everywhere. Most people think of angels as beautiful beings with white robes, wings, and a harp. Yeah, not so much with this angel. He is more of an Armani suit kind of a guy. His personality isn’t really what you would consider angelic either. He is rude, overbearing, and has a temper. Christopher’s Gabriel would be in three of the 5 “Prophecy” films. After his time as Gabriel, Christopher continued thrilling horror fans as the Headless Horseman in the 1999 Johnny Depp blockbuster hit “Sleepy Hollow” as well as a role in the 2007 remake of the 1988 cult classic “Hairspray”. Most recently you can hear him in the 2016 Disney live-action remake of the 1967 animated film “The Jungle Book”. He has had quite the career and his star shows no sign of burning out. Be sure to check out some more of his many films.

This beautiful actress had a pretty successful career before she became our naive schoolteacher “Miss Helen”. I’m talking about the beautiful and talented Virginia Madsen, sister of the wildly popular screen actor Michael Madsen, she has established herself as a successful actress in her own right. One of her earliest roles was in the Sci-Fi classic “Dune” (1984) with Kyle MacLachlan, Patrick Stewart, and Sting as the Princess Irwlan. “The Prophecy” was not her first trip into the horror genre. She had a role in 1987’s “Zombie High” as well as becoming a household name to horror fans worldwide for her portrayal of Helen Lyle in the 1992 Horror cult classic “Candyman” with the legendary Tony Todd. Her star continued to climb after “Prophecy” with roles in the 1996 drama “Ghosts of Mississippi” with Whoopi Goldberg and Alec Baldwin, 1999’s “The Haunting” with Liam Neeson and Catherine Zeta-Jones. She continued thrilling horror fans with the 2009 “Haunting in Connecticut” and the 2011 “Red Riding Hood” with the beautiful and talented Amanda Seyfried. Recently she had a recurring role in the supernatural TV series “Witches of East End.” So with her vast experience and natural talent, it is easy to see why she is a favorite actress for horror fans worldwide. And she is perfect to play our teacher “Miss Helen”. She obviously loves all of her students but seems to have a special soft spot for little Mary. Not gonna lie, it was really odd seeing her with dark hair in this film. She is a fantastic heroine. She is strong, yet tender, but there is no real romantic pull in this film, so there is nothing to distract or take away from her strength and drive to protect Mary.

Helping Miss Helen protect Mary is Detective Thomas Dagget, played by the very talented Elias Koteas. Not going to lie, I have always had a soft spot for the original Casey Jones. Elias already had quite an established career as a supporting actor before becoming our leading man. He had roles in the 1987 rom-com “Some Kind of Wonderful”, and he was the vigilante crime-fighter Casey Jones in the 1990 live-action remake of the 1980’s cartoon classic “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”, a role that he reprised in the 1993 “TMNT 3: Turtles in Time.” After playing our tormented detective, he went on to continue delighting horror fans as the villain in the 1998 horror film “Fallen” with Denzel Washington. He also dove into the realm of Stephen King in 1998, when he played the object of Brad Renfro’s torturous delight in the film adaptation of the short story “Apt Pupil”. He then reunited with his Prophecy co-star Madsen in “A Haunting in Connecticut” and worked alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and screen legends Max Von Sydow and Sir Ben Kingsley in the 2010 psychological thriller “Shutter Island”. Most recently he has had roles in the hit TV series “The Killing”, “Chicago Fire” and “Chicago PD”. He is another actor that has a great resume. For our purposes, he plays Thomas Dagget, once a man of the cloth, now a homicide detective that has been pulled into an angelic civil war. Thomas is tormented by his past and the wavering of his faith, when he comes face to face with angels and he has to decide what he believes in and what he is willing to do to protect this little girl. Not always the greatest acting from him but really one of his first roles as a leading man, so no real complaints here.

Our last member of this stellar cast that we are going to discuss is the versatile Eric Stoltz, most people will recognize him from the 1982 stoner classic “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” as well as “Rocky” Dennis in the 1985 tearjerker “Mask” with Cher and Sam Elliot. Eric has grown up since those early roles to play the angel, Simon. Simon is tired, tired of the war that is pitting angels against each other. So when he finds a way to slow down or stop the war he jumps at it with tragic consequences. His soft-spoken mannerisms and boyish good looks help make the role of Simon believable and likable. He is Gabriel’s polar opposite. Where Gabriel seems to have an extreme hatred for the “talking monkeys”, Simon is kind and gentle and tries to lead our characters to what they are supposed to find. This film was almost a reunion for Eric and Elias, having both worked on “Some Kind of Wonderful” (1987). He also starred with Christopher Walken in Pulp Fiction (1994), though the two had no scenes together. After he played our angel, his star continued to rise, having roles in “Jerry McGuire” (1996), and Anaconda (1997) with Jon Voight and Jennifer Lopez. He sickened us as the pedophile “Mr. Miller” in the cerebral 2004 Ashton Kutcher film “The Butterfly Effect”. Most recently, you can see him in the Television series “Madam Secretary”. With his amazing range and talent, check out the rest of his body of work.

This film is not overly scary, though some of the subject matter might disturb some people. There is no real sexuality either, blatant or implied. The special effects department does a great job with what little blood and gore there is. It is a great film to have on a religious horror binge day. And don’t forget to watch for the super talented Viggo Mortensen in a role that will make you appreciate his talent.