Rating: 
Summary: Terrible
Review: "Prophecy" might have been a good monster movie-but they forgot to create a good monster. The mutated bear creature is hysterical.
Rating: 
Summary: Hilarious!
Review: A giant rubber bear with a melted face chases people around in the woods and hilarity ensues. The sleeping bag scene will make you laugh out loud. My favorite part of the movie occurs when the characters consult with "Grandfather," a sage and wise old Indian shaman who resembles "Ernie Douglas" from the TV show "My Three Sons." The fact that "Ernie" keeps staring and grinning at the camera makes it that much more funny. When the characters are chased into a cabin, they begin sealing up doors and windows with a multitude of hammers and nails that seemingly appear out of thin air. And when things get really dicey, they flee into an extensive underground tunnel system located conveniently under the floorboards. Hey, it could happen!Amazing to believe that this mess was directed by John Frankenheimer. Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: When giant, mutant sausage bears attack!
Review: A medical doctor is sent into the Maine woods to do a scientist's job. Study the environmental impact the local paper mill is having on the land and people. His findings will help settle a violent dispute between the lumberjacks and local native americans regarding ownership of the land. What he uncovers is a monster that chews up more scenery than he does. Director John (The Manchurian Candidate) Frankenheimer crashed and burned with this eco-horror film scripted by David (The Omen) Seltzer. The story is standard b-movie stuff, but the pacing is way too slow and the monsters are not the least bit frightening. Their attacks will cause screams of laughter, not of terror. The only good thing here is that the movie is restored to its widescreen image, which only shows just how poorly Frankenheimer staged the attacks and suspense sequences. Prophecy used to be one of my favorite guilty pleasures and I really wish I could give it a higher rating, but this movie is only for the most devout of monster movie fans.
Rating:
Summary: When giant, mutant sausage bears attack!
Review: A medical doctor is sent into the Maine woods to do a scientist's job. Study the environmental impact the local paper mill is having on the land and people. His findings will help settle a violent dispute between the lumberjacks and local native americans regarding ownership of the land. What he uncovers is a monster that chews up more scenery than he does. Director John (The Manchurian Candidate) Frankenheimer crashed and burned with this eco-horror film scripted by David (The Omen) Seltzer. The story is standard b-movie stuff, but the pacing is way too slow and the monsters are not the least bit frightening. Their attacks will cause screams of laughter, not of terror. The only good thing here is that the movie is restored to its widescreen image, which only shows just how poorly Frankenheimer staged the attacks and suspense sequences. Prophecy used to be one of my favorite guilty pleasures and I really wish I could give it a higher rating, but this movie is only for the most devout of monster movie fans.
Rating:
Summary: Just kill the confounded bear already!!
Review: Ahh, yet another B-rated monster movie. Just like many others of its kind, it sucks. While it had its scary moments, I looked to it more to be a movie where you sit down with some friends and poke fun at the funny parts (i.e. the bear throwing the old man around, the part where the bear hit the kid in the sleeping bad and he flew at about 500 mi/hr into a rock, etc.) and rewind to see them over again. This often prompts me to say in a Marv Albert type voice, "Let's see that again!" All in all, it had a good plot, but it was just boring. If this movie were remade today with the advancements we have with special effects, this movie could be saved from the burning pits of B-rated movie Hell and possibly grip my interest.
Rating:
Summary: Environmental Video Gone Wrong
Review: All right kiddies, it's time to learn about the environment! Today we're going to show you what not to do when traveling in the woods, whether you're camping or just having a family picnic.
Do not throw toxic waste into the river. It may cause our surplus of bears to mutate.
Do not piss off the native tree-huggers (including Armand Assante). They're already infuriated enough about being dipicted in a movie called 'Prophecy'.
Whatever you do, do not stay out late at night, or go on a hunt for something that sounds spooky, even if you have a horde of men with guard dogs with you, because our mutated bears that you contaminated will kill you, just before their really fake looking costumes--I mean--skins come off.
If you abide by these rules, everyone will have a safe and fun time. Remember, nature is our friend, until we destroy it. Take care!
Rating: 
Summary: 102 minutes better spent with a better movie.
Review: Anyone who thinks horror movies today are clichéd and boring ought to check out "Prophecy," John Frankenheimer's 1979 horror mishmash that takes moviemaking to an all-new low. While some may gain a few laughs from the movie, and young children may be scared witless, anyone familiar with the horror genre will be sorry they wasted their time. Attempting to pull a spin on the creature features of the 50's, the film centers around Dr. Robert Verne (Robert Foxworth), a medical practitioner who aids those who cannot afford assistance. He is soon called into action when he learns of a situation brewing in upstate Maine, where there are rumors of environmental pollution in the water. So, packing his belongings and his wife, Maggie (Talia Shire), he heads up to investigate. Just when we thought that the plot couldn't get any less interesting (how could anyone forget that ridiculously staged opening chase, and the dipstick characters?), things get worse, with the inclusion of a squabble between the local Indians who populate the woods, and those who wish to clear the land for God knows what reason. Robert and Maggie make nice with some of the natives, who lead them to some very interesting clues. Soon, they discover an abundance of mercury in the water from a paper mill upstream, which could be responsible for the slimy, inside-out grizzly bear that is wreaking havoc as it searches for it's lost child. I think the thing that plagues this film more than anything is its lack of energy, originality, or spark. The moralistic center of the plot, revolving around human tampering with Mother Nature, is well-worn and old news, and since we know this is what the story is trying to tell us, we can pretty much guess what's going to happen from there. Robert makes his discoveries long after we've already made our deductions, resulting in a predictability factor that ruins what little intensity the movie may have possessed (if any at all). As for the cast, there's not much to discuss. From Foxworth's character's constant scientific ramblings to Shire's excessive expressions of fatigue and listlessness, I got the impression that a lot of effort was not needed in bringing these bland characters to life. Their moments as a married couple are bland and unconvincing; when Maggie finds out her pregnancy may be in jeopardy as a result of the mercury-contaminated fish that was their dinner, it all goes downhill. Even Armand Assante is completely wasted in the role of a defiant Indian who will go to extremes to save his land from destruction. Those watching "Prophecy" may find themselves prone to extensive mutterings of such phrases like "Oh, come on..." "Please..." "What were they thinking?" Those who grew up with this sort of thing may find joy in its simple-mindedness, but those who like the slightest bit of verve in their horror films will find this to be a most bland dish of muddled fodder.
Rating:
Summary: Oh Those Pesky Mutant Bears!!
Review: Dear! Dear! The local mutant bear that lives out in the woods has lost it's mutant baby bear and boy is she mad about it. She's gonna go on a rampage and knock several people hither and thither all over the screen!! Boy that little boy in the sleeping bag sure got smashed hard on those rocks!! What a bad mutant momma bear she is!! Look at her go, rolling around on that dolly while the camera follows her!! She is taking no prisoners!! And just where is that baby mutant bear who has caused momma mutie bear to get so angry? Why baby mutie bear is chewing on Talia Shire's neck and making her yell and wail. Talia Shire is pregnant with her own mutie baby in this movie!! Maybe it will grow up to be a mutie human and maybe it will chew on her neck too!! How will we ever know? There is no sequel!!!
Rating:
Summary: Classic 80's Horror
Review: For those of you (like me) that grew up in the 1980's and experienced the horror "boom", this film will bring back pleasant memories of either viewing it at the local drive-in or the town "walk-in" (as we called it in Southern, Oregon). The worst one can do is compare some of these 80's gems to the films of today. The special effects in this film were "cutting edge" when it came out and the themes highly relevant. Post Love Canal, toxic waste was a hot button issue and the enviromentalist movement was hitting its stride. "The Prophecy" took those issues, combined it with a little extra political strife concerning forest clear cutting and the land rights of Native Americans, and made a pretty decent social, horror film.
Meter Ratings:
Suspense Meter: 6
Gross Out Meter: 5
Acting Meter: 6
Directing Meter: 7
Horror Meter: 6
Plus 10 Bonus Points for being a classic film that clearly represents the themes of its time. Great to watch with the kids on All Hallow's Eve.
Rating:
Summary: A film with good intentions that suffers from cliche's.
Review: Here we have a film that is trying to alert us to the dangers of abusing the enviorment. While there have never actually been any killer mutant animals that have resulted from pollution, there is still an important message here that bears listening to. Unfortunatly, the movie suffers from poor special effects and horror movie cliche's. The special effectes in some films are ageless. The creature in ALIEN is just as frightening today as it was in 1979. (Made the same year as this film.) Films like 2001: A SPACE ODDESSY, STAR WARS, (even the original version,) CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, BLADE RUNNER, TRON and E.T. THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL are still every bit as amazing as when they first came out. Sadly, that's not the case here. The Kataden (name given for the mutant grizzly) and her offspring might have looked scary and convincing when this film was first released, but now they just look really fake and even laughable. Worse still is the cliche' ridden script. Anyone who's seen more than a few horror (and particularly monster) films will imeadetly figure out who will live and who will die. The biggest downside, though, is when characters do something increadibly stupid. At the beginning, a rescue team is looking for some missing workers in the woods at night, accompainied by dogs. They come to a revine, where they cannot see the bottom due to the darkness. They tie a dog on a rope and send it down. There is some tugging on the rope and when they pull it back up the find the dog is gone. So what do they do? Send down one of the men! After getting the same result, the remainers of the team go down to look for him. Much later in the film, the heros have the mutant bear cubs with them and mother Kataden is after them, going on a rampage. Why don't they leave the cub behind, since that's what she obviously wants? They want to take it back as evidence to the effects of the limber plant that's been spilling mercury in the water, but still... Finally, there's at least one plot thread that's left hanging. I don't want to say what, though, for those of you who decide to watch this. It's a good flick if you can forgive the weak spots.
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