The Prophecy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the professional wrestling stable, see The Prophecy (professional wrestling).
| The Prophecy | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Directed by | Gregory Widen |
| Produced by | Joel Soisson |
| Written by | Gregory Widen |
| Starring | Elias Koteas Virginia Madsen Christopher Walken Eric Stoltz Viggo Mortensen |
| Music by | David C. Williams |
| Cinematography | Richard Clabaugh Bruce Douglas Johnson |
| Editing by | Sonny Baskin |
| Distributed by | First Look Pictures |
| Release date(s) | September 1, 1995 |
| Running time | 98 min |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $8,000,000 (estimated) |
| IMDb profile | |
The Prophecy is a 1995 film starring Elias Koteas, Virginia Madsen, Christopher Walken, Eric Stoltz, and Viggo Mortensen (as Lucifer). It was written and directed by Gregory Widen and was followed by four sequels. It tells the story of the Archangel Gabriel and his search for an evil soul on Earth, and Thomas Daggett, a police detective who unknowingly becomes caught in the middle of an angelic war.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The film opens with a brief prologue in an unnamed desert where Simon (Eric Stoltz), an angel, stands over the skeleton of another angel. Through voiceover, he reveals that an angelic war has broken out in heaven and the angelic host is divided, much like in the first angelic war in which Satan was cast out of heaven. The introduction of Thomas Daggett (Elias Koteas) follows, as he is about to be ordained as a priest of the Catholic Church but is stricken by horrific visions of angels engaging in war against each other. The film then jumps forward an unspecified number of years. Having lost his faith, Thomas has abandoned the church and has become a detective with the LAPD.
Arriving at his apartment he is startled to see Simon perched atop a chair like a bird, reading a bible. After Thomas demands to know his identity, Simon tells him that he was with him the day he lost his faith and he knows what he was shown through the visions. Following a brief conversation about faith, Simon leaves Thomas, who does not know what to make of Simon's presence or claims.
That evening, another angel falls to Earth somewhere within the city. Assuming human form, he locates a scent (presumably Simon's) and waits all night beneath an apartment window. When Simon arrives at the apartment the next day, the angel attacks, leaping up several stories through the window. A bloody battle ensues, with Simon sustaining a serious stab wound and almost having his heart ripped out. After disabling the attacking angel and removing his sunglasses to reveal empty, pitch black eye sockets, Simon tosses the angel back into the alley below. After crashing onto a parked car, the angel is smashed into a nearby wall by a moving car. After seeing his foe slain, Simon leaves the apartment.
Hours later, Thomas arrives at the crime scene. After examining the angel's body he ventures up to the apartment where he finds a local paper from Chimney Rock, Arizona, with an obituary for a Colonel Arnold Hawthorne circled. He also finds a copy of A Thesis On Angels In Religious Scripture, a book he wrote while studying for the seminary. Thomas is unable to explain why a copy of his book is at the crime scene, although Simon commented on a copy of the book while in Thomas' apartment.
Simon, near death from his stab wound, makes his way to Chimney Rock where he believes the dark soul he has been looking for resides in the recently deceased Col. Hawthorne, a decorated Korean War veteran. While the local schoolchildren give a performance of Ave Maria, he removes Hawthorne's soul from his corpse and takes refuge in an abandoned area of the local schoolhouse.
The next morning Thomas visits the coroner's office to get the autopsy results on the mysterious corpse found in the alley. Joseph, the coroner, relates to Thomas his bizarre findings - a complete absence of optical fibers in his eye sockets, a lack of bone growth rings, both male and female sexual organs, and a blood chemistry matching that of an aborted fetus. Among the personal effects found on the body is an ancient, hand-written bible. A symbol engraved on the inside cover matches a scar on the corpse's neck. Within the book is a velvet bookmark marking the twenty-third chapter of Revelations, a chapter which according to Thomas does not exist.
Thomas begins translating the twenty-third chapter and learns of a second war in heaven over the lifting of man over all other creatures, including angels, some of whom could not accept this. He also translates the symbol on the inside cover, finding it stands for "Usiel", lieutenant to the Archangel Gabriel (Christopher Walken) who, unknown to Thomas, has arrived on Earth. Inspecting the taped-off crime scene, Gabriel learns that Simon was there.
Simon is soon discovered by Mary, a local schoolgirl, who promises not to tell anyone about him. Meanwhile Gabriel sends Jerry, a man whom Gabriel, in his position as angel of death, prevented from dying when he committed suicide, to retrieve the personal effects of Simon from the police property room. At the same time, Thomas learns the bible he's been translating dates back to the 2nd century, making it the oldest bible in existence. He relates to Joseph the translation of the twenty-third chapter, including a prophecy that a dark soul will be found on earth, one who eats other souls thus increasing its power. Before any more information can be found out about the dead angel, Gabriel destroys the body, immolating it with a gesture.
Back in Chimney Rock, Simon is discovered sitting and talking with Mary by Catherine (Virginia Madsen), the school teacher. She sends Mary back to class and tells Simon she'll be calling the police. After she leaves, Mary returns and Simon, out of desperation, deposits into her the soul of Col. Hawthorne. Mary immediately falls ill and is taken home by Catherine.
After finding the immolated body of Usiel, Thomas decides to go to Chimney Rock, as does Gabriel after finding the obituary of Col. Hawthorne among Simon's possessions. Just outside of Chimney Rock, Gabriel smells a graveyard and commands Jerry to pull the car over. They locate Col. Hawthorne's body but to Gabriel's dismay, his soul isn't there. He then locates Simon by scent and confronts him at the school but Simon refuses to tell him where he hid the soul. Gabriel reveals his disgust for humans and that the soul of Col. Hawthorne will end the stalemate, tipping the balance to whichever side possesses it. Simon chastises Gabriel for going against the word of god. Gabriel attempts to force Simon to reveal the location of Hawthorne's soul by torturing him, then finally kills Simon by ripping his heart from his chest.
Mary begins showing signs of being possessed by the soul of Col. Hawthorne, drawing gruesome depictions of war. Meanwhile Thomas arrives in Chimney Rock, examines Simon's remains and questions Catherine. He then investigates Col. Hawthorne's home and finds evidence of a court martial in which Hawthorne was accused of a number of war crimes including cannibalism. Afterwards he goes to a church to reflect and is shaken by a confrontation with Gabriel.
Catherine arrives at school the next day to find Gabriel questioning the children. He leaves, and she rushes to Mary's home to find Thomas there. It is clear that Mary's condition is worsening. Catherine then takes Thomas to an abandoned mine where she saw Gabriel's car parked. Inside they find angelic script written on the walls and they experience a vision of a battlefield strewn with dead angels impaled on stakes. They rush back to Mary's home to find Gabriel there with her, attempting to extract the soul. A struggle ensues and Jerry is killed by Thomas. Gabriel is rendered unconcious by an explosion and is taken into custody but easily escapes. Catherine takes Thomas and Mary to an Indian site where a ritual is to be performed to expel the dark soul from Mary. Gabriel finds another assistant as she dies in a hospital and heads towards the site.
That night, Catherine is confronted by Lucifer (Viggo Mortensen). He tells her that since the creation of man, no soul has been allowed to enter heaven due to the war waged by Gabriel. He knows that if Gabriel wins, heaven will simply become another hell and that is "one hell too many". Lucifer then appears to Thomas, taunting him by saying that every time Thomas(as a young boy) thought that the devil was under his bed, he actually was. Lucifer talks to Thomas about the nature of hell and then advises him to use Gabriel's own lack of faith as a weapon against him. Thomas takes this advice when Gabriel arrives and questions Gabriel about his true motives for starting the war. Gabriel reveals that God no longer speaks to him. Gabriel then attempts to disrupt the Indian ritual but is stopped by Thomas who beats him with a tire iron. As the ritual continues, Lucifer approaches Gabriel and tells him the war is based on arrogance, which is evil, making it Lucifer's territory, not Gabriel's. He then rips Gabriel's heart out while at the same time the soul of Col. Hawthorne is expelled from Mary and destroyed, seemingly by God. Lucifer then consumes the heart, seemingly becoming intoxicated by it. He asks Thomas and Catherine to "come home" with him but they refuse. Lucifer confronts Thomas(who has by now regained his faith) again, but Thomas challenges Lucifer in turn, calling him "angel". Lucifer then says "Leave the light on, Thomas." and leaves. The film closes with Thomas commenting on the nature of faith and what it means to be human.
[edit] Sequels
[edit] The Prophecy II
The Prophecy II was released in 1998. Christopher Walken stars again as Gabriel, who returns to Earth to prevent the birth of a child born of an angel (Russell Wong) and a woman (Jennifer Beals), prophecised by the monk Thomas Daggett, the police detective from the first film. The film climaxes with a battle in Eden. It also stars Eric Roberts and Brittany Murphy.
[edit] The Prophecy 3: The Ascent
In 2000 The Prophecy 3: The Ascent was released . Gabriel (played once more by Christopher Walken) has finally seen the error of his ways and attempts to guide Danyael, the child from the previous film who has now become a young man, to his destiny in preventing Pyriel, the Angel Of Genocide, from overthrowing god and destroying all of mankind. Also starring are Brad Dourif and Vincent Spano.
[edit] The Prophecy: Uprising
Released in 2005, The Prophecy: Uprising is the first film of the series to not star Christopher Walken and the first to be released directly to DVD without a theatrical release. In it, a woman named Allison (Kari Wuhrer) has come into possession of The Lexicon, a mysterious book of prophecies that writes itself. Satan (John Light), intent on knowing the secrets of the book, sends a group of angels to retrieve it.
[edit] The Prophecy: Forsaken
Also released in 2005 straight to DVD, The Prophecy: Forsaken continues the story the The Prophecy: Uprising. Allison (Kari Wuhrer) has been charged with protecting the Lexicon which is sought after by a group of angels who seek the identity of the Anti-Christ, which the Lexicon will eventually reveal. John Light returns as Satan. Also starring Tony Todd and Jason Scott Lee.
It has also spawned a nonprofit crossover fan film with the Hellraiser film series, entitled Hellraiser: Prophecy, completed and released in March, 2006, available online through YouTube in two parts: part 1 and part 2 + bonus. More information is also available at its entry at the Internet Movie Database.
