The Prophecy: Forsaken - 2005

Castel Film Romania, Dimension Films

Directed by Joel Soisson

Cast:

• Allison – Kari Wuhrer
• John Reigert / Satan – John Light
• Dylan – Jason Scott Lee
• Stark – Tony Todd
• Simon – Jason London

Story: Allison is living in Romania, protecting the book, when the angels come again to recover it so they can know the name of the antichrist and kill him before he begins Armageddon. This time an angel named Stark is using a hit man named Dylan to do his “wetwork”, but Dylan is one of the resurrected and slowly dying who is acting out of duress. When he meets Allison, he does everything he can to foil the angel's plan. Allison heads toward the only ally she has, Satan. But Satan has his own agenda and is not in the mood to protect her. The battle between the forces of good and evil continues, and soon Allison is revealed as the only weapon needed to foil the angel's quest.

Review: In this second and final episode of the Prophecy “homage”, all the confusion and blanks spots from “Uprising” are filled in. When you realize that both films were released in 2005, and went straight to video, you have to wonder if Soisson was doing all this to fluff up his resume. The first ten minutes are the same footage from the first film, so our next actions are “in media reas”, and Satan is once again walking to and fro about the earth, causing trouble. The cast now includes the excellent Jason Scott Lee as Dylan, the reluctant hit man trying to protect Kari Wuhrer, and the exceptional Tony Todd, an often underestimated character actor who shines in this performance. Overall, the film moves well, and the action is much smoother in this second installment. But one question comes to mind. If Allison is a Nephalim, why would she still have a scar on her cheek? In the third Prophecy film, the Nephalim was said to have spontaneous tissue regeneration, so the scar should have healed years ago. Okay, okay, I'm nit picking, but let's face it, if you can't point out the obvious errors, where is the fun in that? Rated R for violence, language and a semi amusing scene of nudity with a young lady whose film credits include ONE film...this one. Collectible? Hardly, unless you are a fanatic Prophecy fan.

The Prophecy: Uprising

Dimension Films, Neo Art & Logic

Directed by Joel Soisson

Cast:

• John Reigert / Satan – John Light
• Dani Simionescu – Sean Pertwee
• Allison – Kari Wuhrer
• Simon – Jason London

Story: In Eastern Europe, a priest has hidden an angelic bible deep in the mysterious room where only he can find it. This bible is not finished, but as the priest leafs open the pages, new words begin to form on the final pages. This is the completion of the book of Revelations, the book that will reveal the name of the Antichrist, the man who brings the earth to Armageddon. The priest dies a horrible death, and the book is given to Allison, who is the long lost half sister of Dani Simionescu, a policeman who steals from drug dealers to give the money to the church. John Reigert leads Dani on a quest to find Allison and reveal to her the truth of her nature. As always, the forces of heaven and hell are at odds with man over the outcome.

Review: While based on the original “Prophecy” movies, this fourth installment features new characters and an interesting plot twist. Unfortunately, the film opens slowly and does not give us the same introductions as the first three. You have to stay with the film through some pretty uninteresting footage for about 20 minutes before the story takes hold. Missing is the comic element of the original, as well as the appeal of Christopher Walken, who has personally saved more than 20 films simply by being in them. I offer as evidence Suicide Kings and The Rundown, to name just two. John Light does a very passable job as Satan, although that isn't revealed until late in the film, and Sean Pertwee presents well as the man attempting to atone for his sin of informing on his parents to the communists when he was a child. Kari Wuhrer is the character who will join us in the fifth film, and she does a fine job of preparing us for the character to come. Jason London as Simon is interesting, but lacks passion in his performance. Overall, this film is less than adequate to follow in the footsteps of the original trilogy, which is why it lacks the numeral sequence to identify it. Rated R for violence, disturbing images, and language, I don't see this as becoming collectible, even to fans of the original series. But if you liked the first three, you'll probably enjoy this new venture into the battles between angels.