Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

The Prophecy 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown February 5, 2024

Dimension Films ruled the '90s. Maybe not in your town. Or in your corner of the cinematic universe. But in my tiny slice of Jesus Country, Western Maryland, where an underage church kid had to plot the equivalent of a bank heist to sneak into an R-rated flick, seeing the latest Dimension Films release meant 1) risking being accused of blasphemy by your youth pastor, 2) defying your mother's direct orders to not watch such things, and 3) destroying all evidence that you went anyway. And that was all before you got to the theater. A friend on the inside helped. Even better was knowing minimum wage wasn't enough to make your average employee do his job and card you, so long as you avoided eye contact (unless you had the misfortune of running into a manager). Better still was finding a similarly minded adult who loved Dimension's wicked blend of horror, ambitious pulp, and graphic-novel sensibilities. Was every Dimension Film a classic-in-the-making? Hardly. But when you saw that purple logo, you knew you were in for something different. And of all the uniqueness I encountered in those young, take-me-back years -- The Crow, From Dusk Til Dawn, Scream, The Faculty and Dimension's Jackie Chan and Jet Li marital arts imports -- it's been The Prophecy that I've returned to and rewatched the most.

The directorial debut from Highlander screenwriter Gregory Widen, The Prophecy (1995) stars Christopher Walken as the angel Gabriel, who, fed up with God giving all of his attention to humans, decides to stage a coup. With plans of sparking another war in heaven, Gabriel decides to enlist the help of a malevolent, recently deceased army general. In order to prevent Gabriel from obtaining the help of the vicious Korean War vet, a faithful angel by the name of Simon (Eric Stoltz) stashes the general's soul in an unsuspecting young Native American girl named Mary (Moriah Shining Dove Snyder). As Gabriel gets closer to finding Mary, an ex-seminary-student-turned-cop and a school teacher, played by Elias Koteas and Virginia Madsen, team together to protect her. But soon Lucifer (Viggo Mortensen) enters into the mix, concerned over the implications the heavenly war may have on his dominion.

There's a second war brewing in heaven, and only Christopher Walken can save us. Or kill us. Eh, doesn't really matter when he's chewing up so much scenery. Walken is far and away the big draw of The Prophecy series. And the big gun. And the big entertainment. And the big saving grace. And and and. Viggo Mortensen's Lucifer is a close second, and arguably the best screen Satan we've ever been granted, but even he only shows up for three memorable sequences. Walken has to hold up the sky for three films. Even as the sequels fall prey to increasingly direct-to-video diminishing returns, the foundation built by the 1995 original is intact and oh... so... Walken. (Can the man give a bad line reading? Not as far as I can tell. He has a knack for improving even the worst dialogue.) But let's be honest. More than honest. Blunt. After The Prophecy, God's Army and The Ascent, to say nothing of the Walken-less sequels that followed, there isn't much to outright love, other than a rapidly expanding mythos and lore that, while high on imagination and theological skewing-n-skewering, is pretty low on output. Performances take a hit, the writing slides, the budgets very much drop off of buildings, and even ol' Christopher seems to realize he's showing up for a paycheck rather than meatier stuff.

Even so, that first film, am I right? Every time I return to The Prophecy, cracking my knuckles and eager to experience it anew, I have a brief pang of fear. What if this is the time I finally walk away shaking my head, wondering what I had once seen in it? But thank the Creator, that viewing never comes. Sure, there are bits of the flick that haven't aged well -- some of the supporting performances, a few rough and redundant scenes of Thomas pouring out his heart, and the VFX (particularly the demon-soul that emerges from little Mary after a trifecta of multi-faith rituals detaches it from her lifeforce). But the snark? The bite? The unforgettable lines? ("Do you know how you got that dent, in your top lip? Way back, before you were born, I told you a secret, then I put my finger there and I said "Shhhhh!") The darker-than-dark zombie comedy courtesy of Adam Goldberg and Amanda Plummer? Or the legitimate horror of the angels? Their superhuman strength, animalistic posturing and movements, or the raw menace and disdain they show for humanity? Mmm. Never gets old. The Crow is often mentioned as the go-to Dimension Film of the '90s, but for my friend circle (all raised in conservative Christian homes), our source of rebellion and delight was The Prophecy, and we revisited it on late night after late night, reveling in Walken's Gabriel and his compelling performance as a predatory, opportunistic, brutal, decidedly un-Clarence like angel. I can't tell you how many times I've watched it. It still holds up. The sequels? Eh. There'll always be the original.

The Prophecy 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Brace yourselves. This is a tricky one. All three films included in Vinegar Syndrome's 4-disc 4K UltraHD release of The Prophecy collection feature two very different video presentations. The first transfer for each film is presented in 4K HDR and has been newly restored from the original 35mm interpositives. However, the 4K transfers are warm -- hot really -- and quite dark, to the point of boasting such overly contrasted black levels that it leads to some pretty heavy crush and a notable loss of shadow detail. (At times a significant amount.) From there, skin tones range from semi-natural to sunburnt, occasionally drifting so far toward flushed pinks and ripened oranges that they cease to be lifelike. It's especially hit or miss in The Prophecy II, which has a chillier blue-cast palette beneath it all, and in The Prophecy III, which lets the sunlight in, and then some. None of the three transfers look bad by any means -- visible fine detail is quite striking, with crisp textures and preserved grain; primaries punch and colors are strong; and there isn't anything in the way of errant banding, blocking or encoding anomalies -- nor would anyone be blamed for simply saying, "this is the way it's meant to be, anything else is lesser." A solid 70% of each transfer's qualities are, without a doubt, superior to their 1080p counterparts. Speaking of...

The second transfer for each film is presented on a separate disc in 1080p. Thankfully, none of these transfers are the ugly, god-forsaken presentations Echo Bridge released in the early 2010s, nor are they riddled with issues or unwatchable. In actuality, each one offers a pleasant, relatively crisp and refined presentation all their own. The trouble, or perhaps the trickiness, comes because contrast is more filmic and colors aren't as overpowering. Moreover, shadow detail is much more revealing, and comparisons show just how much detail has been blotted away in the inky black leveling of the 4K presentations. Which leads to a conundrum: is it better to watch versions of The Prophecy films in remastered 4K that may be more accurate to the original elements but aren't at all what you remember the movies looking like, or is it better to watch versions that align with your memories and allow you to see the films as they were once presented, but are in a lesser resolution at 1080p?

Hm. Let's make it more complicated, shall we? Each film's budget noticeably declines from its predecessor, meaning the series' cinematography, image quality, grain levels, visual effects, et al are in an inherent decline from the first film to the last. This isn't the fault of any remastering or encoding decisions, but does make it that much more difficult to determine the level of improvement each film has received in 4K, or how much the contrast and shadow delineation issues are contributing to any inconsistencies that crop up. Ultimately, the set remains a worthy upgrade for any fan of The Prophecy films. Even if you buy the set for a proper 1080p Blu-ray presentation of the series (which Echo Bridge definitely failed to give us a decade ago), there's something here for your preferences. If you don't mind the loss of shadow detail, or better still, feel the increase in darkness and inkiness benefits the series' tone, you'll be pleased with the 4K presentations. If you prefer the original color timing and the ability to see more of what lurks in the shadows, you'll be pleased with the 1080p versions. If you want the best of both worlds... well, you, my friend, are out of luck. Pick your poison. Either way, it's important to keep in mind that The Prophecy films have never been stunners, so it's probably best to ratchet down the intensity of any disappointment or complaints accordingly prior to venting on the forum.

The Prophecy 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Prophecy series' DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround tracks are far less complicated. These are the films as they were meant to be heard and the only real issues at hand are budget constraints, the tone and tenor of 1990s sound design (oh, ADR, how I love thee), and the law of diminishing sequel returns. From entry to entry, dialogue is intelligible and smartly prioritized throughout, with only The Prophecy III struggling to balance the loudness of chaos with the subtlety of finer plot revelations. Dynamics are quite good, even when effects are dated or a tad tinny, and LFE output adds some nice weight and impact to angelic attacks, rumbling thunder, roaring spirits or throaty engines. Likewise, the rear speakers offer plenty of engaging moments, despite a handful of sequences in the second and third films that are rather flat. Directionality is relatively precise (especially for a '90s Dimension Films supernatural series), channel pans are smooth, and each mix creates a string of immersive environments. Again, the first film is by far the best sounding of the bunch, but only because it has the polish of a theatrical release. The actual technical lossless tracks are solid representations of each movie's original sound design.

The Prophecy 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary - Writer/director Gregory Widen and producer Joel Soisson deliver a commentary that's been newly recorded for this 4K release. Both men seem happy to have the chance to revisit the film and its series, particularly when discussing the contributions of Walken and other cast members, and there are plenty of production stories and anecdotes that lend an air of nostalgia to the conversation.

• The War in Heaven: The Making of The Prophecy (HD, 38 minutes) - The first of three fairly comprehensive behind-the-scenes documentaries rightfully spends the most time with the original film. Each is newly produced and offers a parade of talking heads with limited archive footage of the cast and crew on set. Longer runtimes and more of the original cast returning to discuss the series would have made for a more entertaining and essential watch, but as they are, the production documentaries will prove worthwhile to fans of the films.

• Promotional & Behind-the-Scenes Still Gallery

The Prophecy 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I'd buy The Prophecy collection for the first film alone. I won't deny its hold on me. I've loved it since I first snuck into that little Western Maryland theater at the age of 14, all those years ago. Will it woo you? Its sequels probably won't. Walken remains on board for the first three Prophecy movies, and steals the show each time. But it's that first flick that continues to sing its siren song. It's pure '90s dark comedy/horror, but it works. Vinegar Syndrome's 4-disc release, though, is a bit harder to lock down. Its 4K video presentation is striking but problematic, its lossless audio is solid but not jaw-dropping, and its commentaries and production documentaries are newly produced and quite good, despite leaving you with the desire for more.