Customer Reviews

Prophecy

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I was maybe 7 or 8yo when I first saw this in the theatre and I had nightmares for a while after viewing it. It has great cinematography with thrilling, intense chase scenes. Yeah, you'll laugh a few times at people getting killed in some funny ways, but it in no way negates the seriously dark nature of this truly disturbing and haunting B-movie classic.

P.S. for those of you who bash the "eco" aspect of this film - CHILL OUT.

No one has nightmares about loggers polluting lakes and it's really just a subplot to explain how the bear got deformed in the first place.

a "Leftist Laughfest"??? What's laughable is how right wingers have time to bash a 1979 horror movie for being too "leftist"... No, actually that's beyond laughable...

I saw this several times when it came out in the theater and I recently bought it on DVD. I don't understand how monster movie fans could not like this film. The monster looks pretty cool, even though it is shown too much towards the end. And how can people have reviewed it and complained that it spared too many characters? I can think of several who come to particularly nasty endings! This has always been one of my favorite movies and I think people who claim it is heavy-handed and tries to sell a "message" are over-reacting and trying to display a dismaying "i'm too hip to do anything but mock the 70's" attitude towards the supposedly far-fetched basis for the monstrosities at loose in the woods; on the contrary I always thought PROPHECY posited a rather plausible explanation for the deformities seen in the monsters. I have seen photos of the same kind of genetic damage from Minamata, Japan, caused by the same kind of industrial pollution. And I grew up in the Pacific Northwest in a definite logging industry environment and that has always made this movie resonate with me. So count me as one of the defiant few who not only sees nothing wrong with this movie but thinks it is a classic--across the board--the acting is all first rate--especially Robert Foxworth, who gives a truly committed performance; To me, this is the ultimate monster movie from the 1970's.

the title of this message sums it up. All 70's-80's horror flicks suck big time. This bear should have done that to THIER faces he is a bear after all. Grizzly bears(esp mutant ones) can pretty much win every fight and would maim the victim eventually. A human cutting up a bear with a knife and drowning it? c'mon, man! Watch "Grizzly" instead. Yeah it's early 70's feldercarbon, but it is very disturbing to the eye(s).

Robert Foxworth and Talia Shire are a socially concerned husband and wife, lured to the forests of Maine in order to study the environmental effects of a paper mill. Upon arrival, they find themselves in the middle of a dispute between loggers (led by Richard Dysart) and indians (led by Armand Assante). One evening, Foxworth and Shire are assaulted by a crazed raccoon! Later while fishing, Foxworth sees a duck get swallowed by a five foot long salmon! Does he grab Talia and run back to the plane? Nah, he scratches his head and moves on. Then, he discovers tree roots growing above ground and a twenty pound pollywog! Does THIS force him to reconsider his mission? Nope, he's dead-set on getting to the bottom of this mystery. Foxworth discovers that the paper mill has been pumping mercury into the river for twenty years, causing hideous mutations like the terrifying tadpole and Armand Assante indians. Meanwhile, a dad and his two kids are camping, when suddenly, something huge and ugly attacks! The next thing they know, dad and sis are screaming and junior is flying through the air in his sleeping bag, exploding against a boulder like a down-filled H-bomb! Foxworth, unaware of this, presses on. Talia finds a mutated bearcub in a net and they simply must keep it as evidence. Then, one night while investigating, Foxworth and company are attacked themselves! We finally see the giant, winnie-the-goo, and man is it frightening! Fifteen feet of hairy, drippy, bone-crushing terror! Run away Rob Foxworth! Run away! Too late! The creature is snorting and sniffing it's way through the campsite, looking for it's cub! Oh my! Can our heroes possibly defeat this ecological horror? Watch in wide-eyed wonder! Recommended for fans of fifties mutant movies and the legions of Robert Foxworth followers out there ...

A medical doctor is sent into the Maine woods to do a scientist's job. Study the environmental impact the local paper mill is having on the land and people. His findings will help settle a violent dispute between the lumberjacks and local native americans regarding ownership of the land. What he uncovers is a monster that chews up more scenery than he does. Director John (The Manchurian Candidate) Frankenheimer crashed and burned with this eco-horror film scripted by David (The Omen) Seltzer. The story is standard b-movie stuff, but the pacing is way too slow and the monsters are not the least bit frightening. Their attacks will cause screams of laughter, not of terror. The only good thing here is that the movie is restored to its widescreen image, which only shows just how poorly Frankenheimer staged the attacks and suspense sequences. Prophecy used to be one of my favorite guilty pleasures and I really wish I could give it a higher rating, but this movie is only for the most devout of monster movie fans.

I first saw Prophecy as a 10 year old in 1979 and it scared the ** out of me and caused nightmares for a few months. Looking back after seeing it again today, the shambling mutant bear doesn't pack quite the same punch effects wise; but this is still a decent horror flick. The Mambo King plays an Indian and Adrian is the weak pregnant wife along for the ride as a inner-city class conscious doctor attempts to study the environment in Maine and gets wrapped up in a tribal dispute with the local paper mill who has been logging near the village and yes, dumping mercury into the water supply for the last 20 years. This of course has an adverse affect on the flora and fauna, not the least of which is the 12 foot bear that is now chomping down on would be hikers. The exploding sleeping bag w/ feathers floating down is still an image that stays with you, as is the bear slowly sinking across the foggy water trudging towards its victims. The woodland setting is beautiful and Dysart makes a nice company man villain. A nice afternoon time killer.

This has to be one of the most unintentionally funny movies ever made! The fact that this film takes itself so seriously only adds fuel to the laughter. The "nature takes revenge on mankind" premise is nothing new, but seldom has it been done with such absurd dialogue, extreme over-acting and hysterical special effects. (the exploding sleeping bag scene is worth the price of admission!) It's claim to fame is inclusion in one of the Medved Brother's "Golden Turkey Awards" books from the '80's. The DVD itself is amazing. It's rare to see a forgotten film of this vintage in such pristine condition...the wide-screen transfer is simply beautiful! A must-see for fans of "so bad it's good" horror flicks.

Okay so it's early Saturday morning, say about 3am. Your flipping through the channels and all that is on are those darn infomercials. Then you strike gold, a good old seventies horror flick. Yup, that about sums my life up, for excitement. In all seriousness, this movie is very good. Scary as hell and pretty grotesque for a PG rated movie. Yes the plot is kinda bleh, but who watches it for it's "save the environent" attempted message. Once you get by all that crap then your down to the "bear" necessities. This is your basic creature feature. Acting comes at a premium, and the characters pull some really idiotic stunts. One such stunt has our few remaining survivors stand, dumb-founded, watching rhe mutant teddy-bear cross the lake. Thinking that it may drowned. Duh??? I think that I would be running like hell. Oh well. The mutant teddy-bear is very cool, kinda cheezy at times, but overall does a good job at making ya jump. Hey, for the seventies the special effects are good. I can understand why the critics would pulverize this movie with negative remarks. Some may say it's cheap and it isn't worth the powder to blow it to hell with. I say otherwise, good for a scare and worth a rent or a latenight looky-see. I would probably stop short from buying it, however.

Here we have a film that is trying to alert us to the dangers of abusing the enviorment. While there have never actually been any killer mutant animals that have resulted from pollution, there is still an important message here that bears listening to. Unfortunatly, the movie suffers from poor special effects and horror movie cliche's.

The special effectes in some films are ageless. The creature in ALIEN is just as frightening today as it was in 1979. (Made the same year as this film.) Films like 2001: A SPACE ODDESSY, STAR WARS, (even the original version,) CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, BLADE RUNNER, TRON and E.T. THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL are still every bit as amazing as when they first came out.

Sadly, that's not the case here. The Kataden (name given for the mutant grizzly) and her offspring might have looked scary and convincing when this film was first released, but now they just look really fake and even laughable.

Worse still is the cliche' ridden script. Anyone who's seen more than a few horror (and particularly monster) films will imeadetly figure out who will live and who will die. The biggest downside, though, is when characters do something increadibly stupid. At the beginning, a rescue team is looking for some missing workers in the woods at night, accompainied by dogs. They come to a revine, where they cannot see the bottom due to the darkness. They tie a dog on a rope and send it down. There is some tugging on the rope and when they pull it back up the find the dog is gone. So what do they do? Send down one of the men! After getting the same result, the remainers of the team go down to look for him. Much later in the film, the heros have the mutant bear cubs with them and mother Kataden is after them, going on a rampage. Why don't they leave the cub behind, since that's what she obviously wants? They want to take it back as evidence to the effects of the limber plant that's been spilling mercury in the water, but still...

Finally, there's at least one plot thread that's left hanging. I don't want to say what, though, for those of you who decide to watch this. It's a good flick if you can forgive the weak spots.

I was very leary about adding this to my collection because it is a dated movie and from other older somewhat B-rate movies the studios tend to not care about picture transfer and picture quality.When I bought this DVD I was VERY HAPPY with the overall picture quality. Excellent transfer in anamorphic 2:35:1. Colors were nice, and all tones were ud to date just as good as seeing it for the first time again or as good as quality as any new movies out there.I am a big fan of the old 70's monster/Jaws/Grizzly movies. "Grizzly" was one the most absolute worst dvd quality picture transfers I have ever seen. "Jaws" was top-notch just as this one is done as excellent also.If you liked this movie and want to see it in all it's colorful widescreen mountain scenery glory, then you won't be disapointed. As far as the story goes, I enjoyed this good ole' fashioned monster movie, the plot, the pace, and actors were also good. The fun & scare go along good with the great scenery in this one.5 stars for an excellent picture transfer to dvd!!