I love the look of films from this time period. This is another take on poisoning the environment that leads to nature fighting back (ex. Empire of the Ants, Squirm, Ants, Kingdom of the Spiders, Day of the Animals, etc.).The movie starts off good enough, but unlike Jaws when it was horrifying when you first saw the shark, this movie has the opposite effect when the grizzly bear is revealed. The bear is too fakish to scare. It looks like it has no skin and should have died of an infection a long time ago. But since the bear looks terrible, it makes the end of the movie disappointing and not terrifying like Jaws was.Other problems: For an Indian tribe ingesting mercury all this time, not one Indian showed any deformity of any kind in the village (effects dept. ran out of money?).Why did Foxworth need the 2 cubs to prove the poisoning? Couldn't he used the giant tadpole or catch one of the giant salmon to prove it? It sure would have been more safe than dealing with Mama bear.The movie showed other animals became aggressive like the raccoon (how did Foxworth know it wasn't rabid?) Why weren't there other attacks by other animals on people? Would've made the movie better.How was Talia Shire happy in the end when her cello got destroyed? And when she played the cello, why didn't one of the insane animals attack her? The paper mill owner never reached the tower to radio for help, so how did the plane know to come the next day to pick up the survivors? What talent agent believed Armand Assante would pass for an Indian? With mercury in the ground at the mill, how did none of the workers get sick or have deformed kids? If I saw a salmon the size of Jaws out in the lake, I would quickly get back to shore and report right away! Not keep fishing like the Dr.How did the bear know to destroy the car so no one could drive away? All those guns at the camp in the end and not one able to shoot the bear? But yet the Dr, the most unskilled shooter gets 2 shots off into the bear. Also, the bear dies from being stabbed numerous times in the face by an arrow? Really? That bear would've of crushed him in a second.With that bear mutilating its victims, how do the authorities believe its the Indians r doing the killing? Wasn't it plain, even back then, when someone gets killed by an animal? Funniest part: Dr going on and on and on and on and on about the effects of mercury to a fetus. Classic! In conclusion, with today's advancement in effects and with an R rating, this could easily be remade into a much better, scarier, and effective movie.

"Prophecy" was released at the same general time as the popular "Alien" back in 1979. "Alien" was a fair hit at the box office (with a far better monster) while "Prophecy" didn't do very well, causing director John Frankenheimer to plummet into a depression.I first saw the film as a kid because I was intrigued by the 15-foot grotesque monster. As it turned out, I thought the film was merely okay. I decided to see the picture again in the mid-90s and, I don't know if it was nostalgia, but I thoroughly enjoyed "Prophecy" as an adult. I've seen it a few times since then and enjoyed it every time. As far as comparing it to "Alien," I fully admit that "Alien" is technically a much better film and way more innovative & influential, but through the years I've seen "Prophecy" about twice as often as "Alien." This proves, if nothing else, that "Prophecy" has re-watchable merit.THE STORY: There are problems in Maine (although the film was actually filmed in the Great Northwest) between the paper mill and the local Indians. The Natives argue that they are somehow being contaminated by the industry. Robert Foxworth and his pregnant mate Talia Shire fly up to investigate and discover that mercury poisoning from the mill is the problem. They witness a handful of loony, overgrown or hideously mutated animals that verify their findings, most notably a mutated grizzly bear that looks like it's been turned inside out (speaking of which, I didn't realize they had grizzly bears in Maine; although I suppose it could be a mutated overgrown black bear).The tone of the story is completely serious so don't expect any camp like in the similar "Lake Placid." Robert Foxworth is excellent as the protagonist; I'm surprised he didn't have a more stellar career. Talia Shire ("Rocky"), the sister of Francis Ford Coppola, is meek and likable. Armand Assante ("Odyssey") is robust and determined as the Native protagonist and Victoria Racimo is fabulous as his wife (squaw?).There are quite a few memorable scenes, like when the Natives block a forest road culminating in an intense stand-off with the paper mill personnel, chain saw and all. Another potent sequence is when Foxworth investigates the paper mill and has an intense discussion/argument with the mill boss. The manager powerfully points out that the mill simply provides what the consumers demand and that Foxworth's actual report is going to use up thousands of sheets of paper; hence, he shares responsibility.BOTTOM LINE: For the first hour and 15 minutes or so "Prophecy" expertly unveils the mystery while capturing the viewers attention with mounting interest. It's the last 25 minutes where the film partially stumbles. The mutated creature is fully revealed and chases the group through the forests. There's a lot of running & screaming and many die. This should be a powerful pay-off but for some reason it's not. It's merely okay, and almost boring. Still, there are some memorable visuals, like the moonlit chase through the fog-laden lake."Prophecy" may not be great like "Jaws" or "Alien," but it's quite a bit better than flicks like "Grizzly."

Hard to believe that political thriller specialist John Frankenheimer ("The Manchurian Candidate", "Seven Days in May") is the man in the directors' seat of this sometimes silly, sometimes effective shocker. It's definitely a horror film with a message, an ecological one, although it's laid on with an awfully heavy hand.Written by David Seltzer of "The Omen" fame, it spins a yarn about classical musician Maggie (Talia Shire), who accompanies her doctor husband Rob (Robert Foxworth) to upstate Maine where's he to do some investigating at the advice of a friend. What they and others discover is that methylmercury poisoning has turned the local wildlife into big mutant killers - one bear in particular."Prophecy" begins extremely well, with an intense chase sequence at night, and delivers some good moments as it plays out. It also has more than enough moments where it's possible that the audience is going to burst out laughing - that legendary sleeping bag sequence in particular. The creature effects by the Burman studio may well be a source of amusement for the viewer, even in attack scenes that should be exciting and scary. The location shooting is excellent, the scenery is wonderful, and Leonard Rosenmans' music score is majestic.Shire is likable, bringing some humanity to the proceedings as the young woman who's worried about the effect that eating contaminated fish will have on her developing fetus. Foxworth is good, but his character is pretty damn sanctimonious. In an interesting inversion, the paper company boss (Richard Dysart) - who usually would be undoubtedly the villain in this sort of thing - is actually more engaging an individual than the stubborn Indian activist (a ridiculously cast Armand Assante) fighting for his people. Trivia note: future director Tom McLoughlin ("Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI") and actor Kevin Peter Hall ("Predator", "Harry and the Hendersons") are among those taking turns playing the mutant bear (or, as Leonard Maltin puts it in his annual guide, the "giant salami")."Prophecy" is decently entertaining. Some viewers may appreciate it more as a so-bad-it's-good type of affair, but it still must be said that at least it's not boring. Monster movie lovers might enjoy it.Six out of 10.

Now this is what a monster movie should be like: an interesting story that doesn't rely on the creature to keep things moving along; realism wherever possible; a decent cast of B-movie types who you can play "who's gonna die next?" with.Much of the success of PROPHECY lies in the presence of director John Frankenheimer, who brings a sheen of professionalism to the proceedings that many other minor monster flick directors can't hope to equal. This is a film which inhabits the same ecological disaster type territory as LONG WEEKEND and FROGS, and proves to be just as entertaining: the story of a mutated bear-creature rampaging in the woods as a result of industrial pollution is a good one, and PROPHECY never disappoints.Along with the interesting story, this film benefits from a strong leading cast who bring life to what could be otherwise rote characters. Robert Foxworth is the bearded, wild-haired leading man, but Talia Shire (riding high from the success of ROCKY) is of the most interest, facing a dilemma that is irritatingly never resolved. Armand Assante plays perhaps the world's most unlikely Native American and Richard Dysart bags the great role of the company man responsible for the pollution.The monster effects are great – I'll forever take prosthetic and model effects work over CGI – and the horror scenes ultra effective, with the bit with the boy in the sleeping bag an example of 'one seen, never forgotten'. The most chilling thing, though, is is the implication of the environmental pollution, as evinced by the film's coda, with far more disturbing implications than an in-your-face out of control rampaging bear mutant.