Prophecy (1979)

Director:

John Frankenheimer

Writer:

David Seltzer (writer)

Release Date:

22 August 1979 (France)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Horror

Tagline:

She Lives. Don't Move. Don't Breathe. She Will Find You.

Plot:

A log company's waste mutates the environment, creating a giant killer bear-monster.

Plot Keywords:

Toxic Waste | Poison | Axe | Wildlife | Forest

Cast

Talia Shire	...	Maggie Verne
Robert Foxworth	...	Dr. Robert Verne
Armand Assante	...	John Hawks
Richard Dysart	...	Isley
Victoria Racimo	...	Ramona Hawks
George Clutesi	...	M' Rai
Burke Byrnes	...	Father
Tom McFadden	...	Pilot
Evans Evans	...	Cellist
Mia Bendixsen	...	Girl
Johnny Timko	...	Boy
Everett Creach	...	Kelso (as Everett L.Creach)
Charles H. Gray	...	Sheriff
Lyvingston Holmes	...	Black Woman (as Lyvingston Holms)
Graham Jarvis	...	Vic Shusette
Jim Burk	...	Rescuer (as James H. Burk)
Bob Terhune	...	Rescuer
Lon Katzman	...	Rescuer
Steve Shemayne	...	Indian (as Steve Shemayme)
John A. Shemayme	...	Indian
Jaye Durkus	...	Sheriff's Deputy
Renato Moore	...	Tenement Boy
Mel Waters	...	Tenement Man
Roosevelt Smith	...	Tenement Man
Eric Mansker	...	Tenement Man
Cheri Bergen	...	Social Worker
Cliff Hutchison	...	Stage Manager
Tom May	...	Lumberjack (as Thomas P. May)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kevin Peter Hall	...	Mutant bear (uncredited)

Directed by
John Frankenheimer

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
David Seltzer		writer

Produced by
Robert L. Rosen	....	producer

Original Music by
Leonard Rosenman

Cinematography by
Harry Stradling Jr.

Film Editing by
Tom Rolf

Casting by
Lynn Stalmaster

Production Design by
William Craig Smith

Set Decoration by
George Gaines

Makeup Department
Allan A. Apone	....	special makeup effects: Burman Studios
Ellis Burman Jr.	....	special makeup maker
Thomas R. Burman	....	special makeup designer
Edouard F. Henriques	....	special makeup maker
Ron Snyder	....	makeup supervisor
Ann Wadlington	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Alan Levine	....	unit production manager
Lindsley Parsons Jr.	....	executive production manager: Paramount (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
L. Andrew Stone	....	assistant director (as Andy Stone)

Art Department
Sherman Labby	....	production illustrator
Gene Lauritzen	....	construction coordinator
Ray Mercer Jr.	....	property master
Arthur Shippee	....	assistant property master (uncredited)

Sound Department
Raul A. Bruce	....	boom operator
Gene S. Cantamessa	....	sound mixer
Cecelia Hall	....	sound effects editor (as Cecilia Hall)
William R. Kowalchuk Jr.	....	sound effects editor (as W.R. Kowalchuk)

Special Effects by
Bob Dawson	....	special effects (as Robert Dawson)
James Kagel	....	sculptor

Stunts
Michael Adams	....	stunts
Denny Arnold	....	stunts
Pamela Bebermeyer	....	stunts
Janet Brady	....	stunts
Ron Burke	....	stunts
William H. Burton	....	stunt coordinator (as Billy Burton)
William H. Burton	....	stunts (as Bill Burton)
Gary Combs	....	stunts
Gilbert B. Combs	....	stunts (as Gilbert Combs)
Everett Creach	....	stunt coordinator
Everett Creach	....	stunts
Jerry Gatlin	....	stunts
Alex Green	....	stunts
Don Fox Greene	....	stunts
Billy Hank Hooker	....	stunts (as Hank Hooker)
Buddy Joe Hooker	....	stunts

Editorial Department
Michael Ripps	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Ellis Burman Jr.	....	artifact maker
Thomas R. Burman	....	artifact designer
Edouard F. Henriques	....	artifact maker

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1979) (USA) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1983) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Cinema International Corporation (CIC) (1980) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Cinéma International Corporation (CIC) (1979) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Esselte Video (1988) (Finland) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Entertainment Finland (2007) (Finland) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Prophecy: The Monster Movie (USA) (video box title)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:15 (cut) | Canada:18A | Iceland:16 | Sweden:15 | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1988) | Finland:K-18 (uncut) (2007) | Australia:M | Finland:K-18 (cut) | France:-12 | Norway:18 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Crofton, North Cowichan, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Horror author Stephen King is particularly fond of this film.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Obvious dummy for M'Rai when he is killed and thrown by the bear.

Quotes:

M' Rai: There are underground tunnels beneath the frost line to store perishables.
[M'Rai talks at the old Indian village site with Dr. Verne and his wife Maggie ]
M' Rai: The forest provides more than a man could possibly need. Things grow big here... real big.
Dr. Robert Verne: Well, I saw a salmon that took my breath away.
M' Rai: It is the garden of Eden.
M' Rai: I've never let anyone here, you are the first to see.

Ah! Wilderness!

The Native Americans of Maine have been experiencing a rather high mortality rate with their children. Animals of all shapes and sizes are incredibly larger than they should be. A paper mill and these inhabitants have crossed swords to rid the area of the paper mill's influence and bring the land back to its original peoples. But fighting ensues, and the EPA gets involved by sending a doctor to help examine the problems of the area. What does he find? Some contaminants have caused the wildlife to mutate and create animal mutations that have become bloodthirsty, destructive, killing machines - in particular some huge bear-monster thing which we really never get a real close look at long enough to see just how bad the special effects really are. Prophecy is NOT a good movie but is entertaining to a degree. It has in the directorial helm one of the film's greats in John Frankenheimer. Frankenheimer usually is able to capture a very pervasive mood and create rich suspense and deep characters, but not in Prophecy. It looks like he has a real small budget - and it shows. The mutants are ridiculous(particularly the babies). The viewer that called them monster muppets is right on track with that observation. Muppets don't scare. Nor are they very credible. And that is just one of the major flaws of the film. If you cannot suspend disbelief enough to imagine what is going on the screen is even remotely plausible, then the film is going to have trouble working. That being said, some of the film is effective - particularly the scenes where the mutant is NOT shown like with the campers(almost not shown). Prophecy also suffers from some bad miscasting, not necessarily bad acting. Robert Foxworth is just downright annoying in the lead as some super liberal out to change the world according to his ideas. He is one-dimensional all the way. Talia Shire plays his wife and gives the film some much needed credibility both with her name and more importantly her performance. She was rather good. Richard Dysart also does a credible job in his role as the guy in charge of the paper mill's position. But the most laughable casting has Armand Assante playing a Native American in charge of the fight against the mill. Any of you buying Armand in this role? Not me! Prophecy is one of those horror films that wants you to believe that the message it has underscores all the lame special effects and other flaws. Sure, it has a message, but that does not excuse it from being bad. Let's not make it out to be more than what it really is: a cheaply-made, funny in ways it should not be, interesting horror film from that decade where films were made about anything - the 70's.