Having written The Omen, writer David Seltzer took inspiration from a real life environmental disaster for this 1979 horror drama, filmed in British Columbia and directed by John Frankenheimer. Robert Foxworth plays Rob, who discovers that the activities of an unscrupulous logging company are causing something bad to be put into the local water. Since this isn’t particularly dramatic as a storyline, the pollution takes the form of a gigantic skinner bear which mashes-up and mutilates the locals; the sleeping bag death is particularly gruesome. Prophecy doesn’t really work, but its heart is in the right place, and it’s a watchable trip down memory lane for horror aficionados.
You had me at Robert Foxworth…
And that’s just for starters!
Good review. One of my guilty pleasures. I love monster movies from the 70’s. I actually saw this in the theaters as a kid. Nice work!
Wow, I had to be content with the novelisation, but finally got yo see it a few years back. A guilty pleasure is right!
I love that picture you found, too! I recall the book by Seltzer. I may have owned the paperback at some point.
I had never seen that picture either, was quite happy when I found it.
Yeah, I was surprised by how bright it was. I recall that sequence actually taking place at night unless it is a deleted or alternate scene or something like that.
I wondered if it was shot day for night, because I agree it doesn’t quite match my memory of the film. I can’t imagine where it it might have sprung from!
Ah, yes! Day for night. That is most likely what it was.
Have you seen Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell? That kind of gives you an idea of what amuses us.
That one has passed me by; I will investigate!
We saw it at the Nevermore Film Festival in Durham, NC a couple of years ago. I have a Nevermore tag. You may find some entertaining stuff there. Nevermore is a an independent horror film festival.
My son and I watched this together when he was in high school. We still use it as a standard of how bad a movie is because it really has nothing to redeem it. The script is bad, the acting is stilted, the premise doesn’t work and the critters are very poorly made.
“How bad was it?” “Well, it wasn’t Prophecy bad.”
It didn’t even have the redemption of being so bad it was funny.
I’ll have to take that on the chin…I did enjoy this is a silly way. But I agree, it’s a good yardstick to judge a bad movie by!