Prophecy

Title: Prophecy
Director: John Frankenheimer
Released: 1979
Starring:    Talia Shire, Robert Foxworth, Armand Assante, Victoria Racimo, Everett Creach, Richard Dysart, Kevin Peter Hall, Frank Welker

Plot: Dr. Robert Verne (Foxworth) is hired by the environmental agency to investigate a dispute between a logging company and the local native american tribe in Maine only to discover a monstrous threat which threatens to eliminate them all. 

Review: Coming off a failed pre-production for First Blood which would have seen Nick Nolte in the John Rambo role only for production to fall apart when distributor filmways was acquired by Orion Pictures. Here he takes on the eco horror genre with this unique entry in a horror sub genre typically plagued by disappointing plotting while the audience waits for the animal attack but bizarrely its the actual plot which proves to be the more engaging part of the film than the rampaging mutant bear which provides the film its selling point…well that and an incredible sleeping bag kill that has to be seen. 

Robert Foxworth here stars as Dr. Robert Verne who is hired to investigate the dispute between a logging company and the local native American tribe where tensions are currently high between the two especially with lumberjacks and a rescue team mysteriously vanishing which the logging company are keen to pin on the tribe. Tagging along on this trip to the woods is Dr. Verne’s wife Maggie (Shire) who has recently found out that she is pregnant but unable to tell her husband knowing that he doesn’t want children. The tribe referred to as Opies meanwhile are suffering various health issues including children being born with birth defects which they blame on the loggers. 

While Foxworth is certainly a great lead for the film Frankenheimer brings together an interesting group composed of elements from both side such as Armand Assante’s tribe member and his direct rival in Richard Dysart’s Paper Mill owner Bethel Isely who are forced to work together if they are to survive the night with a giant mutant bear on the rampage. 

Even with the simple eco-horror setup Frankenheimer throws in some interesting moral questions such as the fact that the Dr’s reporting on the destruction being caused by loggers while in turn adding to the problem by having to use 1000’s of sheets of paper to print off his report. Added to this is the stunning scenery of the Canadian woodlands of British Columbia with this film kick starting the beginning of “Hollywood North ” which saw hundreds of productions heading to Canada to shoot.

The giant mutant bear played by Kevin Peter Hall who of course is no stranger to playing giant monster having played both The Predator and the Bigfoot Harry in Harry and the Hendersons while the voice is provided by Frank Welker even though you can’t tell that it’s not just library bear sound effects. Still as expected the bear doesn’t show up till the last thirty mins outside of an attack on a family of campers which provides the film with that aforementioned sleeping bag kill in which a kid trying to escape in his sleeping bag gets swiped and flung through the air before exploding in a cloud of feathers. Frankenheimer had planned for the film to be more graphic than the film we get and while there are still some memorable moments you can’t help but wonder if it would have been more effective without the cuts. 

While the film certainly has its fans including Stephen King I wish I could include myself amongst their number as while it has its fans the wait for the bear to show up dragged on too long and could certainly have benefited from atleast one more attack to add to the tension before the film gets into the finale. Sadly while the film performed well at the box office it had the misfortune of being released within weeks of Alien which only the film look all the more schlocky and meaning that the promise of a sequel teased by the ending was never explored.