"The Prophecy: Uprising" is a decent if unremarkable entry in the series.
**SPOILERS**
After a slew of murders in a Romanian town, Interpol Agent John Reigert, (John Light) and local inspector Dani Simionescu, (Sean Pertwee) are teamed up together to investigate the crimes. After searching through the clues, they come to a deserted house where he realizes that his long-lost sister, Allison, (Kari Wuhrer) is still alive. As they try to get to her, she is being chased by a group of demons for a book in her possession that spells the end of humanity. As they race to find her and get the book in control, they fend off constant attacks from a shape shifting demon who wants the book for their own purposes.
The Good News: This was a fairly nice addition to the series. The gore here isn't that bad. The majority are the traditional hearts ripped out, leaving the empty chest behind, while we do get a couple of other deaths in here. A person is mauled by dogs, leaving cuts and bloody scratches over the body, some gunshots and falling over balconies, landing with a bloody splat on impact. The film's best scene is the flashback to the torture chamber, as the walk-through of the house prior, darkened only with the use of flashlights to provide light, full of twisted staircases, corners and more, all in an eerie mood and ambiance, and then to swing around full-tilt and show a series of gruesome tortures being inflicted is quite a sight. The tortures aren't that sickening, but they are painful, and it helps it out with making it a really memorable scene. From the escape at the police station to the ending, we get a non-stop series of great moments that really have a nice flow to them as the fight continues on and makes for some decent action sequences. A really sinister showdown in the decrepit manor is an undoubted highlight, as is the car chase through the narrow streets of the city. The opening foot chase through the back-alleys of the city, through the yards and out into the open, culminating in a real surprise in the church is a great opener, and the little scenes, such as the POV shot of the pursuer running up stairs or the moment where they look down into a puddle and see the barely visible shadow of the pursuer above make for a great all-around scene. It's pretty decent at times.
The Bad News: This film is a pretty standard affair with several big problems. The first one is the incredibly confusing story. The entire thing goes on for a while without offering anything in the guise of an explanation for anything in the film. There's nothing given for why this whole war between the sides is going on, and it's just assumed that since it's about a religious text that the demonic forces would be after it, but since that's all based on an assumption, that's never a reason enough for it and the entire film is like that. Hardly anything in here is given and considering the amount of dialog in here, that's quite surprising. That brings up the second main problem, as the film is way too talky without anything happening. There are some action sequences, but these are all towards the end of the film, leaving the first two-thirds to be filled with endless talking and the occasional murder that isn't that frightening. It really needed a more cohesive flow to it to break up all the talking. The murders here are pretty graphic, but all tend to be done the same way. Every person killed is done by having their heart ripped out or gunshot, and it leads to a suspense-less viewing when it's all the same. Otherwise, this wasn't that bad.
The Final Verdict: Had it fixed a few problems, this wouldn't have been all that bad, and it's still a decent and watchable entry in the series. It's got enough for fans to get into without them being left behind, but those that like a little more coherence and action in their films might want to proceed with caution.
Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and Brief Nudity
**SPOILERS**
After a slew of murders in a Romanian town, Interpol Agent John Reigert, (John Light) and local inspector Dani Simionescu, (Sean Pertwee) are teamed up together to investigate the crimes. After searching through the clues, they come to a deserted house where he realizes that his long-lost sister, Allison, (Kari Wuhrer) is still alive. As they try to get to her, she is being chased by a group of demons for a book in her possession that spells the end of humanity. As they race to find her and get the book in control, they fend off constant attacks from a shape shifting demon who wants the book for their own purposes.
The Good News: This was a fairly nice addition to the series. The gore here isn't that bad. The majority are the traditional hearts ripped out, leaving the empty chest behind, while we do get a couple of other deaths in here. A person is mauled by dogs, leaving cuts and bloody scratches over the body, some gunshots and falling over balconies, landing with a bloody splat on impact. The film's best scene is the flashback to the torture chamber, as the walk-through of the house prior, darkened only with the use of flashlights to provide light, full of twisted staircases, corners and more, all in an eerie mood and ambiance, and then to swing around full-tilt and show a series of gruesome tortures being inflicted is quite a sight. The tortures aren't that sickening, but they are painful, and it helps it out with making it a really memorable scene. From the escape at the police station to the ending, we get a non-stop series of great moments that really have a nice flow to them as the fight continues on and makes for some decent action sequences. A really sinister showdown in the decrepit manor is an undoubted highlight, as is the car chase through the narrow streets of the city. The opening foot chase through the back-alleys of the city, through the yards and out into the open, culminating in a real surprise in the church is a great opener, and the little scenes, such as the POV shot of the pursuer running up stairs or the moment where they look down into a puddle and see the barely visible shadow of the pursuer above make for a great all-around scene. It's pretty decent at times.
The Bad News: This film is a pretty standard affair with several big problems. The first one is the incredibly confusing story. The entire thing goes on for a while without offering anything in the guise of an explanation for anything in the film. There's nothing given for why this whole war between the sides is going on, and it's just assumed that since it's about a religious text that the demonic forces would be after it, but since that's all based on an assumption, that's never a reason enough for it and the entire film is like that. Hardly anything in here is given and considering the amount of dialog in here, that's quite surprising. That brings up the second main problem, as the film is way too talky without anything happening. There are some action sequences, but these are all towards the end of the film, leaving the first two-thirds to be filled with endless talking and the occasional murder that isn't that frightening. It really needed a more cohesive flow to it to break up all the talking. The murders here are pretty graphic, but all tend to be done the same way. Every person killed is done by having their heart ripped out or gunshot, and it leads to a suspense-less viewing when it's all the same. Otherwise, this wasn't that bad.
The Final Verdict: Had it fixed a few problems, this wouldn't have been all that bad, and it's still a decent and watchable entry in the series. It's got enough for fans to get into without them being left behind, but those that like a little more coherence and action in their films might want to proceed with caution.
Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and Brief Nudity