By Geno McGahee
The 1970s was a great time for horror films and there was the evil boogie man that still exists today becoming a factor in the storylines. The factor that drops chemicals into the water creates some huge problem that needs to be dealt with and that is the case with the 1979 movie “PROPHECY,” starring Taila Shire of ROCKY fame.
Rob (Robert Foxworth) is a great guy that is working for the government. He wants to help humanity. He initially goes into an impoverished inner-city area and finds a child that has been attacked by rats. He notes that he wants to get his hands on the landlord. Sadly, this does not happen. I would have loved to see it. Foxworth would have been a great action star, I think, even with the curly hair and beard. Well, that was the style in the seventies. Women liked that shit.
Rob gets dispatched to the woods in Maine to investigate some strange happenings. He meets up with a Native American tribe and here we go again. I know I have mentioned this ten dozen or so times, but they always use Native Americans in these movies about killer animals or natural disasters. “The mutant grizzly bear god is angry,” or whatever it is that the Native American elder said. At least they get more respect than they did in that Adam Sandler movie.
The movie moves along at a snail’s pace and there were times when I considered shutting it off, but when it picks up, it really picks up. A great showdown between the plant manager of the evil logging company and Rob was very entertaining. The heated argument was the big step forward in the pacing of the film. When some campers feel the wrath of the monster that’s been causing trouble, things really kick into high gear and it doesn’t relent.
One of the campers sees this ten foot (or more) tall, mutated grizzly bear storming in. They are stuck in a sleeping bag and start hopping away. The bear swipes them and they launch thirty feet into a rock. Feathers go everywhere. It was amazing. The bear continues to show her power as she throws people, knocks down houses and rips off the heads of whomever she comes across. It is up to Rob and his girlfriend, Maggie (Shire) to stop this thing once and for all. Sadly, the Native American elder got his. He tried to reason with the great beast and paid the price. It was pretty amusing.
PROPHECY is a slow burn without question. You have to be patient with it. In this case, the slow simmer turns into a furious boil and the fun factor goes through the roof. I love GRIZZLY, a great bear movie, and this is just as rewarding in the end. The writer of this, David Seltzer, is also responsible for the OMEN movies…and MY GIANT with Billy Crystal…hey, you can’t knock them all out of the park. Maybe if the giant was a mutated grizzly we would have had a winner.
I highly recommend this film. The last 30 minutes are sensational and the ending is very amusing.
Rating: 7/10
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