PROPHECY (1979)
Article 2749 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 11-15-2008
Posting Date: 2-21-2009
Directed by John Frankenheimer
Featuring Robert Foxworth, Talia Shire, Armand Assante
Country: USA

Pollution has resulted in a giant mutant killer bear terrorizing the forests of Maine.

Had I been old enough to see and appreciate the sixties works of John Frankenheimer at the time they were made, I would have considered him one of the finest directors at work and anticipated an illustrious career. And how I would have been disappointed at how forgettable much of his later work would turn out to be. For me, the biggest disappointment of this movie was in seeing how ordinary it was in comparison with THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE; here, it seems like he is doing little more than pulling in a paycheck. It’s far from his worst movie (remember THE EXTRAORDINARY SEAMAN?), but he does little to redeem the weak script, the obvious story (which overreaches by trying to cram too much social conscience into a story that doesn’t support it) and the cliched dialogue. The movie is almost entirely lacking in surprises, and when it should be kicking into high gear, it gets listless and tired. This is the second time I’ve seen the movie, and the only scene I remembered from the first time was when one character sticks his head out a tunnel to see if the monster is still there.