The Series Project: The Prophecy (Part 2)

Series Overview:

As I said, I like that this series remained pretty consistent throughout. They don’t dip and weave through awful and not-so-awful. They settle into a mediocre groove and just stay there. Indeed, this was the pattern with the Highlander series as well. The first film featured such a strong mythology, that the sequels, however bad, were still a decent vehicle for an interesting premise. This is a great way to approach a potential franchise. Come up with a premise that is strong enough to stand outside of the film.

I usually come down on films that are more about their mythology than they are about telling a story, so let me clarify. The story and the characters ought to come first. The myth can be sussed out, but you need to have something interesting to do with characters. This is why a film like Hellraiser can warrant eight sequels, and a myth-heavy movie like, say Jumper, can feel limp and stupid.

Films that tell a cool story with a solid myth are going to be better than the ones that try to sell the myth, if you take my meaning. Iron Man tells a story. The Avengers sells a myth. I think we can all agree that Iron Man is the better of those films. Highlander tells a story. Push sells a myth. Highlander is the batter of those films.

The Prophecy is a good scary movie, and a minor classic well-remembered by those who have seen it. Much of the first film lives and dies, however, by the presence of Christopher Walken in the lead role. Walken is a fascinating performer, who approaches his dialogue and his characters kind of sideways, making for a deliciously unnerving screen presence. When asked to play an unearthly being like an angel, his performance really brings a lot of the entire world to life. His and Eric Stoltz’s. The sequels without him hardly even feel like they’re part of the series as a result. They are missing that oddball classiness that Walken naturally brings to the table.

The theology of the series is based largely in Catholicism and Judaism, which are the most commonly referenced religions in movies. I think, because they are so ornate and ancient, and their dogma so well-known to the world’s population, that their iconography is eager to be filmed. I made this complaint in my coverage of The Omen movies, but as a regular ol’ Protestant, I feel left out of the awesome demon-fighting movies. When an exorcist is needed, you can’t call a Methodist or a Baptist or a Lutheran. You need a priest on the case. Just once, it would be nice to see a demon defeated by a Methodist luncheon, and a nice plate of ambrosia salad.

If you’re going to marathon a series, you could do worse. But if you want to good parts, you don’t really need to stray any further than part one.  


Witney Seibold is a featured contributor on the CraveOnline Film Channel, co-host of The B-Movies Podcast and co-star of The Trailer Hitch. You can read his weekly articles Trolling, Free Film School and The Series Project, and follow him on “Twitter” at @WitneySeibold, where he is slowly losing his mind. If you want to buy him a gift (and I know you do), you can visit his Amazon Wish List

TRENDING


X