Monday 28 October 2013

The Prophecy (1995)

As told (in universe) in a missing portion of the bible, a second war is raging in heaven. Many of the Angels have grown tired of the "talking apes", and long for the days when God favoured them above all others, the only way to end the war is to gain control of a black soul, the blackest soul that ever walked, before it is claimed by Satan.
Angels, Simon (Eric Stoltz), and Gabriel (Christopher Walken) have each come to to find
A one-time trainee and current police officer, Thomas, finds himself stuck in the middle when he investigates the death of a very strange John Doe...




My friends (and I cant imagine anyone else is reading this) know me to be a staunch atheist, I was once asked (of the Alice Cooper album, Brutal Planet, of all things) how I can enjoy something about Angels and the Christian God, when I don't believe in them; This is of course, utterly preposterous; I don't believe in Zombies, Ghosts, Possessed plastic dolls, Werewolves, cave-dwelling monsters,  or any of the other mythical beasts that populate the movies I've recommended over the years...

I enjoyed this movie, but I think placing it under "horror" is a bit strong... it's more "supernatural drama", if that's a thing. They're some lovely ambiguity going on with the whole good/bad thing, sure, one side wants to wipe out humanity, but when it comes to keeping to God's plan... well, you'll see what I mean towards the end of the movie when another prominent angel shows up.

Christopher Walken, of course, steals the show, seemingly playing someone doing their best, most over the top, Christopher Walken impression. On top of that, he also has the best 'gimick' in the move - a sidekick in the form of a suicidal human he 'saved' and keeps on the very edge of death, constantly promising to let him die "after just this one last job" - brilliant.

Aside from that, there's not a great deal to say; its enjoyable enough (mostly thanks to Walken), but at the same time, not terribly engaging.


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