Review: The Prophecy (1995)

Sure, Gregory Widen came up with a really cool idea: angels aren't all that likeable, in fact, they usually do heaven's dirty work, laying waste to cities and kings and peasants and all. Widen pits two factions of angels against each other, both trying to gain souls for admittance into heaven. He invents some religious mumbo-jumbo about a second angelic war, and blammo, we've got a neat plot.

What sets The Prophecy apart from stuff like the Seventh Sign, is Christopher Walken. He stars as the "bad" angel Gabriel. "Bad" meaning his mission does not bode well for humanity. Armed with a script that had to have been written for him, Walken proceeds to chew up the scenery and spit it back out in hilarious one-liners, delivered in that inimitable style of his. His portrayal turns a serious little drama with horrific elements, into a seriously hilarious little horror movie.

Everything about this flick works: the sets are good, the other actors (Elias Koteas, Virginia Madsen, and Eric Stoltz as the "good" angel Simon) work well, and the backdrops of Montana are really expansive and well-filmed. The little girl, possessed by a cannibalistic war vet does a great job. She makes us overlook the most unbelievable aspect of the film (if you can believe angels fighting and stuff), so that we can immerse ourselves in the story and wait for Walken to show up.

The best scenes of the flick involve Walken and his recently deceased sidekick, Adam Goldberg (yeah, it's Clint's archnemesis from Dazed and Confused). The worst scenes involve the whole Native American thing. They seem to detract from the rest of the film.

All in all, this is a keeper. It's too bad the DVD release is completely free of any special features.