User Reviews

While based on the original "Prophecy" movies, this fourth installment features new characters and an interesting plot twist. Unfortunately, the film opens slowly and does not give us the same introductions as the first three. You have to stay with the film through some pretty uninteresting footage for about 20 minutes before the story takes hold. Missing is the comic element of the original, as well as the appeal of Christopher Walken, who has personally saved more than 20 films simply by being in them. I offer as evidence Suicide Kings and The Rundown, to name just two. John Light does a very passable job as Satan, although that isn't revealed until late in the film, and Sean Pertwee presents well as the man attempting to atone for his sin of informing on his parents to the communists when he was a child. Kari Wuhrer is the character who will join us in the fifth film, and she does a fine job of preparing us for the character to come. Jason London as Simon is interesting, but lacks passion in his performance. Overall, this film is less than adequate to follow in the footsteps of the original trilogy, which is why it lacks the numeral sequence to identify it. Rated R for violence, disturbing images, and language, I don't see this as becoming collectible, even to fans of the original series. But if you liked the first three, you'll probably enjoy this new venture into the battles between angels.

First of all I really enjoyed the first 3 movies, yea it was drug out a long time and all but they were still pretty good. I see why it says that this movie can stand alone because it doesn't even follow the same direction the other movies had. For instance whats this crap that the "angels" have to live in human bodies thats a really big jump from the beginning of the series. It's like a body snatchers movie for crying out loud. But anyway the plot line itself didn't make much sense if you follow the first three. The first three dealt with the war between heaven and fallen "angels" this movie was about a war for a new hell. As a movie by itself it would be alright but it shouldn't be given the privilege of being in the original Prophecy movie series. It should've been given it's own name. Yes I'll probably buy the next one that comes out just to see where it goes and how it ends.

While the production teams behind the latest Hellraiser, Dracula, and Prophecy films certainly deserve credit for trying to take said franchises into new territories, most of their efforts to breath new life into the series never quite come through as successful. Fans will forever dispute over which elements of the original should stay the same in the sequel, which elements should evolve, and which elements should change entirely.

Prophecy: Uprising gets it right.

Christopher Walken's character, the fallen angel Gabriel, has rightly left the franchise as his story has come full circle in Prophecy 3: Ascent (although, admittingly, a cameo would've been nice -- minor gripe.) Uprising continues the spirit of the Prophecy films with angels warring on earth over the fate of Heaven, Hell, and God's favor. This time around, the war continues with the fallen angel, Belial, seeking an ancient text which shall foretell the coming apocalypse in detail.

This text, the Prophet's Lexicon, has fallen into the hands of a young woman named Allison. And while the angel, Simon, guides her away from the demon, the film mainly follows the detective Dani who has gained a new partner, John Riegert. Dani and John investigate a series of bizarre murders where the victims have had their hearts violently removed, which ties back to Belial and sooner or later all the characters shall come face to face.

The curious thing about Prophecy Uprising, and the factor that I admire most, is how the plot feels almost inconsequential in the sense that fans already have a clear idea where the film is heading (and non-fans won't be very far behind, either.) Barring superficial changes, the storyline doesn't differ too terribly from the original Prophecy, yet Uprising manages find its own voice via its new Romanian locations, its new cast and creative team that pay proper respects to Walken and Widen, but still manage to make the performances and the film their own. This slight distinction gives Uprising a surprisingly refreshing flavor and raises it above what I expected to find in a third sequel (direct-to-video, no less.) The film opens with a slightly heavy-handed chase sequence (did we really have to hide the pursuer?) that contains an interesting, somewhat jarring, moment where the nameless man scales a wall, leaving the rain-soaked streets of Bucharest to enter a white wintery domain for seemingly no reason. It offers an interesting other-worldly moment to the chase, which I welcome in this age of overused chase sequences. The man looks around at the changed surroundings in shock, then flings Romanian currency behind him in a nice slow motion shot as he continues his flight from the unseen pursuer. When caught, which tends to happen to characters chased in movie openings, the pursuer turns out to be a crooked detective (the aforementioned Dani, played by Sean Pertwee) who proceeds to rob this wasted junky of whatever cash he has left.

But from there John Light takes the spotlight, not making much of an effort to hide the angelic enigma behind his character's alter-ego (thank you, John Light.) In a film franchise about angels, the mystery behind detective Riegert would not stay a mystery for long, so John Light rightly makes it plain to the viewer from the get-go. And there's a certain charm to his interpretation of an angel incognito -- a playful nudge and a wink, if you will, for those who would figure out the, ahem, "surprise" early. Looking over a crime scene, with barely any observation he notes with a distinct lack of interest, "I think you'll find the heart was removed before your friend fell." The film focuses primarily on the partnership between John and Dani and their investigation of the murder string. Kind of a buddy-cop film, if you will. Right up until John unveils his true nature to Dani in a mansion that houses the spirit of atrocities from Dani's past. A kind of "hell on earth" Riegert muses while the ghosts haunt Dani's conscience in a series of slick, well cut, flashbacks. I particularly liked this exploration of Dani's treacherous history that builds on the truth we've already seen -- that this detective does not represent spiritual purity, and yet we follow this character.

Meanwhile the film cuts away just enough to drive the story of Belial's pursuit of the more pure protagonist, Allison (Kari Wurher), until the inevitable confrontation where angels and humankind have their final showdown in a wonderfully atmospheric location, laced with blue light, and deep shadows. I loved the restraint and simplicity of the ending, I loved the shot composition that shows John Light as little more than a silhouette in the background as an implied protective force -- keeping Allison and Dani under his wing, so to speak -- so they have a chance against Belial.

Flawed? Indeed. Leaving quirky questions like "Why did Dani empty his gun except for two bullets going into the final confrontation?" and "How come the heart-rip theme seems inconsistent at the end of the film?" But never mind. I was impressed that Uprising managed to find its own voice while pulling a few unique tricks out of its hat, ending the film on the note that they did. I watched with satisfaction as the victorious angel walked into the sunset to burst into a flock of birds. Cue the end credits and the end of this review.

The first three movies were about the angels who stood beside God during the first war in Heaven and then divided; creating a second angel war. This movie seems like the beginning of a new story concerning a division between those who had fallen in that first war.

While, sadly, there is no Christopher Walken, there really is no part or place for Gabriel in this story. This is about God's as yet, written prophecy and how Hell's minions want to use it for their own purposes.

The central character of this movie is Dani (Sean Pertwee), a Romanian cop with a past, but the central character of the story (this movie and the next) is Allison (Kari Wuhrer) who, for lack of a better term, "inherits" the One bible, in which God is writing the last chapter of Revelations. Whoever gets God's final Revelation first will have the upper hand, not only in Hell, but Heaven as well. Unfortunately, too soon after we figure this out, the credits are rolling. This leaves the character-build of Allison incomplete and one can only hope we get a clearer understanding in September's follow-up, The Prophecy: Forsaken.

To sum up, if you're a Christopher Walken fan looking for Gabe to toot his horn one more time, don't bother with this film. If you're a Kari Wuhrer fan, you'll probably be disappointed with the lack of her character building. If you're a Sean Pertwee or John Light (as Satan) fan, or a fan of the series in general, this movie is a must!

Side Note: One possibly implied reference to a character in the original series: During the internet chat session where Dani's trying to gather information about corpses missing their hearts, he gets a reply from "joseph_1995". Reference to Thomas Dagget's autopsy doctor friend, Joseph (played by Steve Hytner) and the year the original film was released???

This was a decent installment in the series, and was actually much better than #2 (even without Walken) as a whole.

**SPOILER** Some schools of thought believe that Satan and Lucifer are 2 different entities. This, of course, works quite well as there are 2 different actors portraying these characters, with 2 completely different takes of the characters. Maybe this is just because Viggo has more star-power now, but I'd like to think the writer is making the delineation between the two quite clear.

At any rate, rent it or buy it. It's better than a lot of dreck that's out there. This one should have gotten a theatrical release...

What a rarity this is, a 3rd sequel in a movie franchise, and no turkey yet - and this is especially remarkable for a horror movie series. P4 is as fun as the predecessors, surprisingly enough. The premise of a missing chapter in the Bible that comes right after Revelations is a good one, but even more interesting is the idea of having a fight of the evil vs. evil kind, or in this case Satan vs. a rebel demon who wants to create a "new Hell". It's all a bunch of malarkey, of course, as anything to do with religion is, but it's fun malarkey as is often the case with religious horror. (See "The Exorcist", "Stigmata", "Seventh Sign" etc.) The way Satan is portrayed here could very well be insulting to Christians. But it's also a bit illogical; he is portrayed far too favourably. Also, there is a logic problem in that there is an absence of God in all this. Why didn't God send an angel? "The Prophecy" series was always a bit ambiguous about strict definitions of who is evil/good in the heavens and hell, so the evil vs. evil premise didn't really surprise that much.

Upon the death of a priest, a church worker named Allison (Wuhrer) discovers an old bible known as the Lexicon. An angel named Simon (London) tells her that she is the keeper of it now and the final book Revelations is writing itself. With the very fate of humanity hanging in the balance she teams up with a rough detective (Pertwee) and an Interpol agent (Light) who may be hiding something. Someone is killing angles all over town by ripping their hearts out and the Bucharest location helps with some atmosphere. Directed by Joel Soisson, this Christopher Walken-less fourth film in the franchise is a long way from the original. The cast is good and a few gory moments are sprinkled throughout, but 'Uprising' is just missing something in the entertainment department. The story line and actors should have given this a spark of energy that it just doesn't have. It moves from scene to scene without much life and the move feels dull even though the production values and cast is very good. Maybe it comes from the fact that this series really didn't need to continue.

This installment is just bad. Skip watching it. 2 stars for Sean Pertwee (though nothing close to his best performances). Nudity in movies about the metaphysical practically always signal the movies is bad. Ninth Gate may be an exception here.

Because of how weak this movie is, I consider mentioning nudity as a spoiler. Ha ha.

To the reviewer who mentioned "I've never seen an English man speak romanian like a real one" - you should probably watch Dracula with Gary Oldman. He's the only Dracula actor who learned to speak Romanian in the movie.

"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

Although Gabriel-Cristopher Walken- is not in this one again the whole story is pretty good, and the whole Romania location brings an extra feeling of Good vs Evil, perhaps it'll make much more sense once Forsaken is out as well. Nevertheless anyone who watched the first 3 parts of the Prophecy should watch this one and the one coming out later this year. Hopefully in Forsaken we'll get Walken back!! I give this a 6 out of 10. Special effects are good, story line can be dull at times but intriguing and you don't get bored.The only thing that lacks is a character like Gabriel.Is fantastic to see they have chosen a location like Romania, a fairly unknown country filled with mystery and superstitions.

Truth be told The Prophecy was lucky to get one sequel let alone 4 of them. The original was an excellent little unexpected B film that thanks to Christopher Walken and a catchy theological themed plot got a little buzz, but every release since has progressively deteriorated in quality, leading to two unnecessary films that are basically cashing in on the name.

While I'm feeling especially honest these two films were only ever going to be ordinary fare it was the name that got me to rent them in the first place – a different title would have seen me walk past these two low rent cheapies for eternity.

Both Prophecy Uprising and Forsaken (4 and 5 respectively) feature the same new characters, are only 2 and a bit hours in length combined – with credits and flashbacks padding that – and were released in the same year.

They may as well have gone ahead and merged the two… but that wouldn't have had completists like me shilling for two rentals would it? The film(s) take place in Eastern Europe in an area particularly run down and stricken with poverty, Dani (Sean Pertwee) is a cop who is not altogether on the straight and narrow. When investigating the death of his snitch he is joined by a man who claims to be from Interpol named "John".

It shouldn't be a spoiler to anyone who was around for any of the first three films that John is a little more than he makes out, enter another Angel named Belial from the "other team", a woman named Allison who hears voices in her head and comes across a "magic book" that both teams must have and we have our ingredients in place.

Uprising takes all the major parties mentioned above to a place that holds dark secrets for Dani and Allison… ummm, and that's it really.

Please press eject and insert disc 2: Forsaken, which we hope you have rented because you kinda need to see it if you want to know how this ends.