If you bothered to read the Horrorfest list heh then you know that this was not feature on there. I decided to quit viewing the lackluster Beneath The Darkness because its neither scary nor thrilling, and check out a 1995 horror/fantasy film on Netflix Instant Viewing titled The Prophecy. Despite being somewhat dated and having that standard 90s horror look, I was actually engaged throughout and found the movie rather interesting. After all the plot is about a war in heaven waged by angels, with the archangel Gabriel coming to earth to claim a dark soul and tip the war in his favor. Yet the humans and a lonely, wary angel named Simon have other plans. I was reminded of an equally solid and entertaining 90s horror flick, the Clive Baker directed Lord of Illusions, which came out the same year and operated in the same horror/fantasy vein as The Prophecy did.
Simon, played with a tragic wariness by Eric Stoltz (whatever happened to him? I liked him as an actor) appears on Earth, telling a failed priest turned cop named Thomas (Elias Koteas, in another likable and well acted performance of his among many others) about upcoming events. A vague warning, but one that Thomas heeds, as he is forced to investigate after the death of another angel. What this leads him to is Gabriel, played with a wondrous mix of hammy overacting and menace by the legendary Christopher Walken. Walken completely takes over this movie by not only being creepy, but also spewing hilarious one liners and clearly enjoying playing the main villain of the film. One of my favorite moments is when Gabriel is just sitting at a school, hanging out with children while looking for Mary, who has been forced by Simon to keep the soul within her. Its just a random funny moment, with Gabriel’s hidden sense of evil contrasted against the innocence of the young students.
What I also like about this movie is the mythology: the idea of angels waging war against each other sounds cool (although there was only one war in the Bible, and it was when Lucifer was driven out). Virgina Madsen by the way is rather gorgous as Katherine, the school teacher caught up in all of this, and the scene between her and a leering, sinister and really freaky sounding Lucifer, played by a young Viggo Mortensen, is a great moment in the film. For some reason I find it weird that three Pulp Fiction actors were together in this (Walken, Stoltz, and Amanda Plummer) although I don’t think it really means anything. The Prophecy has its share of flaws, sure, but overall I liked it a lot, and I thought it was a good, fast moving horror movie with some decent thoughts on religion and faith. However I still cannot believe they made four or five sequels, especially with how the movie ended. Some wonders never cease.
Down The Rabbit Hole 
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