By Brandon Nolta
“Did you ever notice how in the Bible, whenever God needed to punish someone, or make an example, or whenever God needed a killing, he sent an angel? Did you ever wonder what a creature like that must be like? A whole existence spent praising your God, but always with one wing dipped in blood. Would you ever really want to see an angel?”
-- Thomas Dagget (Elias Koteas) in THE PROPHECY
Christopher Walken may have gotten his Oscar in the 1970s, but the 1990s were definitely his decade as far as establishing the Walken persona. Through movies like PULP FICTION, TRUE ROMANCE and KING OF NEW YORK, this song-and-dance man became one of the most dynamic performers to light up the screen. It’s almost shtick now, but the edges hadn’t worn off it yet when Greg Widen cast Fatboy Slim’s favorite dancer for the lead role in THE PROPHECY, Widen’s loopy yet involving religious thriller. Good thing, too, because Walken makes the flick.
The nominal hero of the film is Thomas Dagget (Elias Koteas), a homicide detective who once planned to enter the priesthood, until a bloody vision of angels warring derailed his ordainment. Haunted by his loss of faith, he gets drawn into an investigation where the body at the center of it all is missing certain things—such as eyes, or growth rings on its bones—and bearing others, like an extra set of sex organs. The mysterious ramblings of Simon (Eric Stoltz) don’t help Dagget much, but a couple of clues pull Dagget to Chimney Rock, Arizona, where he meets a little girl named Mary (Moriah Shining Dove Snyder) and her hot teacher Katherine (Virginia Madsen).
Dagget manages to put most of it together himself, but when Gabriel (Christopher Walken) shows up, he fills in the rest of the blanks: Angels are warring in Heaven, split over God’s decision to elevate humanity in Divinity’s sight, and Gabriel—yes, the Gabriel, harbinger of death and sounder of the Last Trump—has come to the mortal plane to seek a special weapon. Since humans are the admitted masters of war and treachery, Gabriel has come to snag the blackest soul on Earth to lead his side against their brethren loyal to God’s judgment. This soul, which formerly belonged to one sick Army colonel, has been stashed inside Mary. Against Gabriel, you wouldn’t think Thomas and Katherine stand much of a chance, but they get an ally late in the game when Lucifer (Viggo Mortensen) decides to get involved. Now, if you find the Devil is on your side, that’s a sign you need to rethink your position. However, Gabriel is no friend of humanity, and Thomas finds himself with a lot less time than he’d like to figure things out.
THE PROPHECY is a cult film without a doubt; most audiences probably didn’t dig the alternate take on angels, and most anything Widen put his hands on in the 1990s, except for BACKDRAFT, was out there. It’s well-done for what must have been a B-movie production; the optical effects, while dated, don’t look too bad, and while the dialogue is a little purple at times, Widen generally keeps things in check. A cast of reliable troupers gets put through their paces, including Canadian thespian vet Koteas and Mortensen, who makes for a slick and bestial Devil, but in the end, it’s all Walken. With his eyes and voice, you believe this guy is the end of all things; nobody does badass like Walken. Gabriel has an emotional range, but no humanity, and when he tells Thomas, “I'm an angel. I kill firstborns while their mamas watch. I turn cities into salt. I even, when I feel like it, rip the souls from little girls, and from now till kingdom come, the only thing you can count on in your existence is never understanding why,” you believe it.
