NINETOES VS. PROPHECY (1979)

Ninetoes has been chasing the movie Prophecy and finally caught up to it on Paramount+. He always said 70s horror was better. Is he right?

A government health inspector is dispatched to assess the damage a logging company is causing to a patch of forest claimed by Native Americans, and comes face to face with true terror wreaking havoc in the woods.

Directed by John Frankenheimer

Written by David Seltzer

Starring Robert Foxworth, Talia Shire, Richard Dysart, Armand Assante

Rated PG

Run Time: 1 hour 42 minutes

Hey there, movie lovers! It is your old pal, Ninetoes, coming to you from Ninetoes HQ. Today I am taking a look at the 1979 horror classic, Prophecy. I have popcorn in my system, and my thinking cap on, so let’s get to it!

I will be the first to say that I am NOT a horror aficionado. I like it, but it is not my main stay. When I watch horror, I like the story to make a point of some sort. If you are going to give me buckets of blood and mad killers chasing kids having sex in the woods, then I am like, “Eh, okay”.

One of the movies on my to-be-watched list was Prophecy. I remember the movie poster from the 70s, and if there is one thing to take away from this review, it is this: do not make assumptions based on a movie poster.

Here’s the gist of the movie: Rob Verne (Foxworth) works for the Environmental Protection Agency and is tasked with going to Maine to check out what is going on between a paper mill and the local indigenous people. He takes his wife, Maggie (Shire), along with him. There, they meet the owner of the paper mill, Isley (Richard Dysart), and the leader of the indigenous rebellion, John Hawks (Assante). The Vernes are caught in the middle, but there is something else going on. For starters, Rob sees a five-foot-long salmon while fishing and later on sees a tadpole as big as a bullfrog. But there is something else in the woods. Something big. Something angry. Something very hungry. Can the Vernes figure out what is going on before it is too late?

The acting in the movie was pretty good. Since it is a horror movie, you do not have to worry about the pesky academy sniffing around, but the acting was better than anyone just mailing it in. One of the problems I had was that there was very little chemistry between Foxworth and Shire. This is a married couple, and yet when they profess their love for each other, it falls flat.

The story is a good one and makes a powerful statement about the dangers of dumping chemicals into the population’s water. We have the owner of the paper mill with his head in the sand over what is actually being dumped into the water, against the people who are suffering from it. The story takes a dark turn in the sense that we know Maggie Verne is already pregnant, and she eats the fish her husband caught, THEN finds out about the possibility of mutations from the methylmercury-affected fish.

The effects are traditional. This movie was made before computer generated effect were even a thing. That being said, in today’s day and age, they come off a little hokey, but back then they would have terrified audiences. The creature effect definitely gave me some pause for thought. Is this what prolonged exposure can do? No wonder Maggie was terrified! It was not for facing the creature; it was for the possibility of the child she was carrying, and that was one hell of a gut punch!

There is one thing that would have made this movie better, and that would be to cut to nine months from now and see what Maggie gives birth to: a happy, healthy baby, or one that is horribly mutated.

If you are into classic horror that makes an impact, then this is the movie for you!

I give this movie 4 popcorn buckets out of 5!

Darren “Ninetoes” Perdue is a book and media reviewer. When he is not reading, he is watching true crime shows, cooking for his family, or working on a plan for universal domination. If you see him on his porch, say hi. He does not bite…much.

PLEASE NOTE: The views and opinions of the staff of Memento Mori Ink do not necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or Crystal Lake Publishing, nor do the views or opinions of Crystal Lake necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or its staff. Thank you for understanding.