Prophecy (4K UHD Review)
- Review Date: Jul 30, 2025
- Format: 4K Ultra HD
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Director
John FrankenheimerRelease Date(s)
1979 (May 20, 2025)Studio(s)
Paramount Pictures (Kino Lorber Studio Classics)- Film/Program Grade: C-
- Video Grade: B
- Audio Grade: B
- Extras Grade: B-
Review
After the runaway success of Jaws in 1975, a slew of films involving animals and insects of all sorts followed in its wake, imitating its formula but never equaling it in terms of quality. Eco-horror, a successor to the genre, spawned out of it but never realized its full potential. Based on a script by David Seltzer (The Omen) and directed by John Frankenheimer (The Manchurian Candidate), Prophecy—or as it was originally released, Prophecy: The Monster Movie—attempted to make a serious go at the genre, but with less than stellar results.
The story involves a tribe of Native Americans who are stalling to protect their land from loggers working for a nearby paper mill. Brought in by the Environmental Protection Agency to report on the matter is Dr. Verne (Robert Foxworth), a driven and dedicated man who aims to the right the wrongs of the world. Coming with him is his wife Maggie (Talia Shire), recently pregnant but reluctant to tell her husband. The pair travel to Maine where they meet Bethel Isley (Richard Dysart) who gives them a tour of the mill where Verne secretly discovers vast amounts of mercury spilling into the nearby river, affecting all of the wildlife downstream, as well as the Native American tribe headed by the steadfast John Hawks (Armand Assante). In the wood close by, a monstrously deformed bear, the direct result of this pollution, is rampaging its way toward them, intent on slaughtering everything in its path, including loggers, tribesmen, and campers.
The biggest issue that Prophecy has is that it never harmoniously mixes its messages about important real world issues with the genre it’s meant to be a part of. It’s completely lopsided, focusing mostly on all of the human drama outside of the murderous mutated bear. On the other hand, how many horror films exploring issues of racism, abortion, class structure, and environmental impact are there? Well, quite a number of them actually, but few as dutiful in exploring them. John Frankenheimer blamed his dependence on alcohol for the film’s shortcomings, while others blamed the film for having too many things cut out of it, including additional horror elements. Whatever the case may be, it doesn’t fully satisfy on its premise.
Yet despite its undercooked nature (or overcooked, depending on how you look at it), Prophecy has sparks of life to it. It’s not a good movie in the strictest sense, but there’s something compelling about it that makes it more of a cut above A.I.P. quickies of the day. All of the actors appear to be giving it their full attention, even if the performances aren’t totally up to snuff, including those from Talia Shire, Robert Foxworth, Armand Assante, and Richard Dysart. There’s even a suspense sequence involving an underground tunnel and a subsequent bear attack that’s fairly effective. The most memorable moments include an unintentionally hilarious assault on a family of campers, as well as the inclusion of a pair of horrifyingly deformed mutant bear cubs.
In other words, while most dismiss Prophecy as a failure—an attempt to get audiences into the theater with the promise of a more traditional monster movie only to be disappointed by an hour or more of sociopolitical issues—there’s more to it than its reputation would lead one to believe. It’s by no means perfect, but it’s an interesting failure in spite of itself, warts and all.
Prophecy was shot by cinematographer Harry Stradling Jr. on 35mm film using Panavision cameras and Panavision anamorphic lenses, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 2.35:1. Kino Lorber Studio Classics debuts the film on Ultra HD with a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, which has been graded for High Dynamic Range in HDR10 and Dolby Vision, and presented on a triple-layered BD-100 disc. It’s a presentation that has some obvious pluses and minuses compared to the previous Blu-ray releases. There’s a definite boost in detail, especially in the darkest areas of the frame, and bitrates tend to sit mostly between 70 and 80Mbps, and being that a good third of the frame is black bars at the top and bottom of the screen, the slimmer encode makes sense. The real caveat is the saturation and contrast, both of which are uneven, especially compared to the Scream Factory Blu-ray. At times, the HDR grades really boost the detail in the color and deepen the blacks, but at other times, there’s a flatness to the contrast and less saturation to be had. The opening couple of minutes in the darkness of the woods lit only by headlamps amplify this. Prior to the reveal of the dog jumping out of the bushes post-credits (more specifically the first minute and forty-four seconds), the picture appears black and white, which is not present on any of the previous releases. Flesh tones run hotter with a pinkish hue at times and white levels are a little cooler. However, this is still a very clean and stable presentation. It lacks the consistency of previous high definition presentations, but it’s certainly not unwatchable by any stretch. It’s also pointing out that the chapter stops are identical to the previous Blu-ray release, whatever that’s worth.
Audio is included in English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio with optional subtitles in English SDH. The film was released in Dolby Stereo, which the 2.0 track appears to stem from. The 5.1 track is an upmix of the same track, widening out the original elements without adding anything. The original stereo is fairly potent. The quality of the dialogue is mixed at times due to a smattering of obvious overdubbing, but it’s usually discernible. The score has a lot of push to it, perhaps too much since it occasionally drowns out some particularly busy moments. The track is also much cleaner, lacking the distortion of what was included on the Scream Factory release. The brief dropout at the 61:20 mark on the previous Blu-ray release has been patched up here, although a very minor click can still be heard.
The Kino Lorber Studio Classics 2-Disc 4K Ultra HD release of Prophecy sits in a black Amaray case alongside a 1080p Blu-ray with an insert featuring the main US theatrical poster artwork on the front (as well as the slipcover), and a color version of an alternative artwork used for one of the UK theatrical release posters. The following extras are included on each disc:
DISC ONE: FILM (UHD)
- Audio Commentary with Bryan Reesman and Max Evry
DISC TWO: BD (EXTRAS)
- All of Our Sins: Talia Shire on Prophecy (HD – 18:59)
- Bearing Up: Robert Foxworth on Prophecy (HD – 10:02)
- Bear and Grin It: Screenwriter David Seltzer on Prophecy (HD – 13:14)
- Hard to Bear: Special Make-Up Effects Designer Tom Burman on Prophecy (HD – 19:34)
- Prophecy Prodigy: Make-Up Artist Alan Apone on Prophecy (HD – 21:14)
- The Man Behind the Mask: Mime Artist Tom McLoughlin on Prophecy (HD – 21:51)
- Radio Spots (HD – 5 in all – 2:28)
- Theatrical Trailer (HD – 1:06)
New to this release is an audio commentary with entertainment journalists and authors Bryan Reesman and Max Evry. The two, both fans of the film, happily engage in a discussion about the it, offering an array of production history facts, and diving into the careers of the cast and crew. However, the interviews on the second disc, previously included on Scream Factory’s Blu-ray release, are the cream of the crop, speaking to a variety of people who worked on the film, who share their memories of it. Talia Shire in particular feels a certain connection to the film because it addresses so many real world issues, while Tom McLoughlin—who was one of three people to portray the monster—gives a humorous look at what it was like to be an inexperienced actor on the set of a John Frankenheimer project. As such, all of the interviews are well-worth diving into. In addition, there’s a set of five radio spots and the theatrical trailer.
There’s also a few things missing from previous releases. Not carried over from the Scream Factory Blu-ray is a Still Gallery that features 75 images of on-set photos, behind-the-scenes stills, posters, lobby cards, and newspaper clippings. Not included from the Region B-locked Blu-ray release by Eureka! Entertainment are two audio commentaries, one with film historian Richard Harland Smith, and the other with film writers Lee Gambin and Emma Westwood; the interviews Truth in Fiction with David Seltzer and Katahdin Speaks with Tom McLoughlin; a TV spot; additional Still Galleries; and an insert booklet containing essays by Craig Ian Mann and John Campopiano.
Prophecy managed to make its money back upon release, but it certainly didn’t light up the box office. In the years since, it has gained a reputation for being a guilty pleasure, famously by Stephen King in his book Danse Macabre. Even after the film’s conclusion, it does stick with you a bit more than your garden variety nature gone amok story, which is saying something. Kino’s 4K upgrade lacks some polish and some valuable extras, but it’s still a fine release overall.
- Tim Salmons
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