THE PROPHECY (1995)
Gregory Widen writes and directs this clever and often very creepy horror flick concerning a second war in Heaven spilling out onto the Earth. Jealous over the attention God has given humankind, the Archangel Gabriel (Christopher Walken) has waged a war that has lasted centuries. But if he can acquire the soul of a heinously evil human general who has recently died, it could turn the tide. Loyal angel Samuel (Eric Stoltz) has hidden the soul in a little girl, Mary (Moriah Snyder) and now it’s up to ex-priest turned cop, Thomas (Elias Koteas) and school teacher, Katherine (Virginia Madsen) to stop Gabriel from getting the soul from Mary. Complicating matters is a third party, Lucifer (Viggo Mortensen), who has an invested interest in how this situation plays out.
Widen gives this film a nice atmosphere and creatively weaves Bible scripture into this very original and effective horror, as well as, gives some very good dialog for star Walken and Mortensen’s Lucifer to chew on. He also has a nice visual style and makes good use of a small budget. He gets good performances from all the cast with Koteas really convincing as a man who has lost his faith now faced with defending the God he turned away from and Madsen making a strong willed heroine forced to stand against the unthinkable. Obviously, thought, it is Walken who takes his role and runs with it with his sinister and quirky performance as the vengeful Gabriel. But not to be overlooked, is Viggo Mortensen giving one of the creepiest representations of Satan on film. His fallen angel is dripping with evil and malice and delivers Widen’s dialog with an unsettling restraint that is a perfect contrast to Walken’s more over the top Gabriel. A witty, original, unnerving and very entertaining horror.
-MonsterZero NJ
3 and 1/2 Walkens
THE PROPHECY 2 (1998)
Direct to DVD sequel actually isn’t bad. Can’t compare to the original, but it is entertaining. Story has Gabriel (Christopher Walken) released from Hell and continuing his war to take control of Heaven. A loyal angel, Danyael (Russell Wong) impregnates a human woman, Valerie (Jennifer Beals) to create a nephilim, a human/angel hybrid who is prophesied to unite the angels and end the second war. Gabriel now must hunt down Valerie and destroy her unborn child before it can ruin his plans to take over Heaven.
Greg Spence writes and directs this time and doesn’t quite have the cleverness or style that Gregory Widen had, but he directs competently and gives the sequel a brisk pace and Walken is once again worth watching for his quirky and sinister Gabriel. The rest of the cast is fine with Beals giving a strong and sympathetic performance as a woman fighting supernatural odds to save her child and Russel Wong bringing a strong nobility to Danyael. Also starring Brittany Murphy as a suicidal girl Gabriel uses as his human familiar and Eric Roberts as the angel, Michael. Not bad as direct to DVD sequels go. Fans of the original will probably be entertained.
-MonsterZero NJ
3 Walkens
There is a Prophecy 3 (2000) that you may want to add to complete the trilogy, but it is far inferior to the first two and Walken’s Gabriel is more of a spectator this time around. It does sort of complete the story, but doesn’t have the same quality or entertainment value as it predecessors. Only if you have the time and are a completest or a fan of this series.
The trailer is no longer available so, this scene will have to do…
MonsterZero NJ's Movie Madhouse 
