Rating: 
Summary: Awful 70's Eco Tripe
Review: I can't belive that I was actually scared by the so-called "monster" in this film almost 20 years ago. A man in a rubber boogeyman suit - wooh!
Rating: 
Summary: Surprisingly Good!
Review: I didn't think I'd like this movie. And at the beginning, I was sure it would be dull until maybe the last five minutes, like a lot of movies are. Well, I was pleasantly surprised with this one.Talia Shire and her doctor husband head up to Maine, where the husband investigates pollution from a papermill. Meanwhile, something is out in the woods, killing people. After a family of campers is killed (you have to see the exploding sleeping bag scene--the best! ) Shire, her husband, and an American Indian couple travel to the place of the murder with a helicopter pilot. Among their searching, they find two deformed baby creatures and bring it to an Indian camp inhabited by the American Indian woman's grandfather. Some people from the papermill show up looking for the Indian man, but so does the creature, looking for its babies and for a kill. And thus begins some real action! This movie is great. Only a tad dull in the beginning, and catches up and gets to be one of the best! The scenes of action are relentless and suspenseful, and the ending is very cool! I love how this creature can hurl people twenty feet away with one swipe. This is a definite recommendation. I don't know what everyone hates about this so much.
Rating: 
Summary: What?s that Huffing Sound in the Woods?
Review: I first saw Prophecy as a 10 year old in 1979 and it scared the ** out of me and caused nightmares for a few months. Looking back after seeing it again today, the shambling mutant bear doesn't pack quite the same punch effects wise; but this is still a decent horror flick. The Mambo King plays an Indian and Adrian is the weak pregnant wife along for the ride as a inner-city class conscious doctor attempts to study the environment in Maine and gets wrapped up in a tribal dispute with the local paper mill who has been logging near the village and yes, dumping mercury into the water supply for the last 20 years. This of course has an adverse affect on the flora and fauna, not the least of which is the 12 foot bear that is now chomping down on would be hikers. The exploding sleeping bag w/ feathers floating down is still an image that stays with you, as is the bear slowly sinking across the foggy water trudging towards its victims. The woodland setting is beautiful and Dysart makes a nice company man villain. A nice afternoon time killer.
Rating:
Summary: What¿s that Huffing Sound in the Woods?
Review: I first saw Prophecy as a 10 year old in 1979 and it scared the ** out of me and caused nightmares for a few months. Looking back after seeing it again today, the shambling mutant bear doesn't pack quite the same punch effects wise; but this is still a decent horror flick. The Mambo King plays an Indian and Adrian is the weak pregnant wife along for the ride as a inner-city class conscious doctor attempts to study the environment in Maine and gets wrapped up in a tribal dispute with the local paper mill who has been logging near the village and yes, dumping mercury into the water supply for the last 20 years. This of course has an adverse affect on the flora and fauna, not the least of which is the 12 foot bear that is now chomping down on would be hikers. The exploding sleeping bag w/ feathers floating down is still an image that stays with you, as is the bear slowly sinking across the foggy water trudging towards its victims. The woodland setting is beautiful and Dysart makes a nice company man villain. A nice afternoon time killer.
Rating:
Summary: Its about damn time!!!! :)
Review: I remeber seeing this movie when I was about 5-6 yrs old and I wonder when it was ever going to come out. My father had it on VHS while we were stationed in Germany and ever since we came back from overseas we most of lost it because I tried looking for it. Not to mention to every one I asked about this movie to,,, nobody had any idea what it was about. So now I see its for release on 1-8-02 and I am greatly excited about it!! This is by far one of my best horror flicks on the late 70's! I think it even qualitfies for 80's horror competition!! I am not going to tell you what its about,, but from the other reviews here already posted I am sure you get the idea. I will tell you that in this movie there is one pissssed off de-formed bear that goes on a rage on campers and hikers and even miners!! Your in for a surprise... there is allot of action and horror in this flick!! All have a good night and get this DVD when it comes out.... also if you are an older 70's or 80's DVD horror movie collector,, make sure you add this one to ya list!! You won't be dissapointed!!! :)
Rating:
Summary: Excellent picture transfer!
Review: I was very leary about adding this to my collection because it is a dated movie and from other older somewhat B-rate movies the studios tend to not care about picture transfer and picture quality.When I bought this DVD I was VERY HAPPY with the overall picture quality. Excellent transfer in anamorphic 2:35:1. Colors were nice, and all tones were ud to date just as good as seeing it for the first time again or as good as quality as any new movies out there.I am a big fan of the old 70's monster/Jaws/Grizzly movies. "Grizzly" was one the most absolute worst dvd quality picture transfers I have ever seen. "Jaws" was top-notch just as this one is done as excellent also.If you liked this movie and want to see it in all it's colorful widescreen mountain scenery glory, then you won't be disapointed. As far as the story goes, I enjoyed this good ole' fashioned monster movie, the plot, the pace, and actors were also good. The fun & scare go along good with the great scenery in this one.5 stars for an excellent picture transfer to dvd!!
Rating:
Summary: Maybe this bear was supposed to be Plan 10 from Outer Space?
Review: I've been watching this horror film epic a lot more lately, and I have accordingly removed it from the 'bad crap' list onto the 'good crap' list, because it has begun to grow on me. This movie has the virtue of presenting the fakest monster I have ever seen. It's a miracle. What we have here is a bear that has become a 25 foot monster because of the mutagen (the suff that made the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles who they are today) found in mercury after the ingestion of tainted fish.
An EPA guy (I guess sorta like Peck from Ghostbusters) gets called into a local forest region to help calm a skirmish between the Indian populace and a draconian lumber mill outfit. So, the EPA guy and his life are flown into the little slice of heaven, where they are forced to endure the reckless tactics of the Indians firsthand. One of these tactics involves stringing a chain across the road to the lumber mill. Much more effective in the long run is the gigantic Teenage Mutant Ninja Bear, who the locals call Kataden. The bear runs around mauling and maiming, nailing entire groups of the lumber mill guys one swath at a time. It should be noted that this cardboard-stiff gigantic latex rubber bear puppet, despite the fact that it always walks erect, is 80% faster than even the most desperate human victim, and can evidently cover eighty miles in less than twenty minutes. Like a rocket, baby! Additionally, despite the monster's size, ponderous locomotion and gargling howls of fury, it is able to sneak up on anyone.
So, The EPA guy, his wife, and some Indian pals, end up running like the devil all night to escape the bear, finally crossing a lake in the process. The bear hovers at the lakeshore, and then wades in, makes it about two hundred yards into the lake and submerges for like 32 seconds. The EPA dork, now at the opposite end of the lake, is like "Whooooh, yeah, baby, whoooh, yeah. The bear drowned! Choke on that, baby!!!" Even the other cast members are staring at him like he's an idiot, and then, five seconds later the bear simply reemerges with its original course intact. EPA and the others run inside a cabin, and start buttoning the place up Night of the Living Dead style. The bear knocks the roof off the cabin, and the EPA guy ends up killing this gigantic mountain of terror with an arrow, stabbing it like two oir three times. Man, that was a close one!
It is my theory that Kataden was actually an ill-advised attempt at Plan 10 from Outer Space by those scheming Ed Wood aliens. They just blamed the whole thing on the lumber mill guys. That's what I think. Either way, don't worry, because at the end, when EPA and wife are getting out of Dodge in their helicopter, another snapperhead monster lurches into frame. I'm holding out for the sequel, oh yeah, baby, oh yeah.
Rating: 
Summary: Attack of the killer 70s!
Review: It's Gentle Ben as imagined by Clive Barker in this cautionary tale about what can happen when pollutants get into the forest animals' water supply. One big bear, in particular, is very angry about the whole thing and tries to eat Armand Assante, Talia Shire, and Robert Foxworth in one bite. A notable scene includes a vicious attack by some cute little raccoons.
Cheesy fun that drags a little too much, but is saved by a bang-up finale.
Staci Layne Wilson
Author of Staci's Guide to Animal Movies
Rating:
Summary: Prophecy: The PSEUDO-SOCIALLY CONSCIOUS Monster Movie
Review: John Frankenheimer has primarily made movies in the Drama, Espionage, Political Paranoia, Historical Study, and Action genres. "Prophecy" is Frankenheimer's one bona fide horror movie and is sadly among the director's most forgettable films. Accompanied by his pregnant musician wife(Talia Shire), a dedicated inner-city doctor(Robert Foxworth) travels to the American Indian-populated forests of Maine in order to study environmental conditions. Foxworth and Shire discover a giant killer bear-creature that was spawned by the waste from a nearby paper factory. "Prophecy" is one of John Frankenheimer's more inferior pictures. The film came out a few years after the release of "Black Sunday," Frankenheimer's last great movie. Frankenheimer and screenwriter David Selzter apparently wanted "Prophecy" to be a socially conscious thriller. Seltzer interweaves intense political issues such as abortion, Native American rights, urban poverty, and, in particular, environmental pollution, into the story. In the end, the picture simply becomes another forgettable horror film that harks back to the low-budget monster movies of the 1950s. Some of the dialogue between the characters sounds unrealistic. A number of the death scenes are more hilarious than frightening. The music is completely out-of-place in some parts of the film. "Prophecy" is not entirely without merit. Some parts of the movie are very suspenseful. The acting is fairly good for a film of this genre. Shire does her best with the inferior script. Armand Assante also gives a fine performance as an American Indian who is fighting the business corporations that are moving into the Maine forests. "Prophecy" is nothing more than a forgettable time killer.
Rating:
Summary: Prophecy: The PSEUDO-SOCIALLY CONSCIOUS Monster Movie
Review: John Frankenheimer has primarily made movies in the Drama, Espionage, Political Paranoia, Historical Study, and Action genres. "Prophecy" is Frankenheimer's one bona fide horror movie and is sadly among the director's most forgettable films. Accompanied by his pregnant musician wife(Talia Shire), a dedicated inner-city doctor(Robert Foxworth) travels to the American Indian-populated forests of Maine in order to study environmental conditions. Foxworth and Shire discover a giant killer bear-creature that was spawned by the waste from a nearby paper factory. "Prophecy" is one of John Frankenheimer's more inferior pictures. The film came out a few years after the release of "Black Sunday," Frankenheimer's last great movie. Frankenheimer and screenwriter David Selzter apparently wanted "Prophecy" to be a socially conscious thriller. Seltzer interweaves intense political issues such as abortion, Native American rights, urban poverty, and, in particular, environmental pollution, into the story. In the end, the picture simply becomes another forgettable horror film that harks back to the low-budget monster movies of the 1950s. Some of the dialogue between the characters sounds unrealistic. A number of the death scenes are more hilarious than frightening. The music is completely out-of-place in some parts of the film. "Prophecy" is not entirely without merit. Some parts of the movie are very suspenseful. The acting is fairly good for a film of this genre. Shire does her best with the inferior script. Armand Assante also gives a fine performance as an American Indian who is fighting the business corporations that are moving into the Maine forests. "Prophecy" is nothing more than a forgettable time killer.
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