The Prophecy: Forsaken

Following the events of The Prophecy: Uprising, Allison (Kari Wuhrer) continues his mission of protecting the book that writes itself, the Lexicon, as it predicts the war in Heaven and the name of the Antichrist. Now, Stark (Tony Todd) is leading renegade angels called Thrones to get the book while Allison is assisted by Dylan (Jason Scott Lee, who played Bruce Lee in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story), a killer who decides to not kill her and keep her safe. Filmed at the same time as the last movie in Bucharest, Romania by director and writer Joel Soisson who would soon make a trilogy of Dracula movies for Dimension - also with Lee - the fifth Prophecy film is better than you'd think and if you miss Christopher Walken, at least you can appreciate the world-building and mythology that gets carried across five movies. Compare that to how Hellraiser got treated and come back to these movies and let me know what you think.

FORSAKEN is the follow-up to UPRISING, two straight-to-video PROPHECY sequels shot back to back in Eastern Europe. It's as dismal and dull as the previous movie, with the female survivor returning with her holy textbook once more to be pursued by various demons and angels. Tony Todd steps in to take over from Doug Bradley as the big bad and he's a more than welcome presence (as always), but even the big man can breathe no life into what is a plodding and uninteresting movie. Jason Scott Lee shows up too but is given very little to do other than be menaced, and the others might as well have stayed at home.

source: The Prophecy: Forsaken

"The Prophecy: Forsaken" is a decent and entirely unspectacular conclusion to the series. **SPOILERS** Sent out on a job, Dylan, (Jason Scott Lee) can't bear to murder Allison, (Kari Wuhrer) who still holds the fabled book, and decides to shield her from his employer, Stark, (Tony Todd) a jealous angel, and his minions. While on the run, she again meets up with John Reigart, (John Light) to figure out who's after her, but offers no help. Hiding out until he can rejoin her, she is soon captured by Stark's minions and told of his job to eliminate Allison. Thinking this will allow Stark, who wants to stop the Antichrist from arriving, to find the Lexicon without her getting in the way, and that she may herself have a more prominent role in both parties than she realized, she fights off both to protect herself and the fate of humanity. The Good News: This was a mildly decent entry in the series. As a continuation of the one before it, there's a sense of continuity that is nice to see. With the same themes being brought up and several of the same people and places, it doesn't offer much and being a straight sequel, that's a really pleasing factor to have. It's one really impressive sequence is a short scene where one character is chased into a small church, and as night falls, the spirit of a deceased victim appears to them, only hidden by the shadows of the dark. While delivering a really creepy message, they light shines only briefly on the figure, making it apparent for several quick flashes that it's an otherworldly force and turns out to be quite creepy. This alone makes the film watchable. The last main positive point is that terrifically gloomy Romanian locale in the film. It adds a Gothic flavor that just can't be matched anywhere else, with it's Medieval-style houses, dark atmosphere and just it's wasteland feel to it. Most of the atmosphere and feel in the film comes from this. Otherwise, this was a really lackluster film. The Bad News: This was a really weak and uneven entry. Most of the problem is primarily due to the repetitive nature of what's going on. Far too much time is spent explaining everything that happened in the last movie, and this can really make it seem like there's really not much we haven't already seen. The almost airy and aimless half-bag of religious psycho-babble delivered here also feels like the exact same "mystical book" mumbo-jumbo that populated the last entry. Some of the rules get explained a little further, but it takes it's cues from the one before it, and really doesn't feel like it's own sequel. Rather, there's an air about it being the exact same as before, and this is a really irritating and tiring concept, since it was a boring and excruciating point in that one as well. These non-stop talking scenes go on forever, don't really end on anything useful rather than confusing the viewer, and no attempt is made to work them into the film naturally beyond the explanations. The last major problem is the short running time. With most of the time taken up with the dialog and explanations, there isn't any time for any action or anything else. It's still watchable, but there's a sense that it feels like this could've had some more action and chasing thrown in to make it more exciting. Beyond the one church scene and a half-way decent roof-top encounter near the end, that's it in terms of exciting action in the film. This can seem boring in some ways, and really could've been fixed quite easily. With a few small, simple problems, this could've been a slightly better entry. The Final Verdict: While still keeping the entertainment factor high, this is a just about fully-talkative film that offers a few action sequences to lighten the mood. It's fine and watchable, but the only real reason to see this one is to either finish off the series or because you've seen part four. Otherwise, you can skip it without missing anything at all. Rated R: Graphic Violence, Full Nudity and Language

In this second and final episode of the Prophecy "homage", all the confusion and blanks spots from "Uprising" are filled in. When you realize that both films were released in 2005, and went straight to video, you have to wonder if Soisson was doing all this to fluff up his resume. The first ten minutes are the same footage from the first film, so our next actions are in the middle of things, and Satan is once again walking to and fro about the earth, causing trouble. The cast now includes the excellent Jason Scott Lee as Dylan, the reluctant hit man trying to protect Kari Wuhrer, and the exceptional Tony Todd, an often underestimated character actor who shines in this performance. Overall, the film moves well, and the action is much smoother in this second installment. But one question comes to mind. If Allison is a Nephalim, why would she still have a scar on her cheek? In the third Prophecy film, the Nephalim was said to have spontaneous tissue regeneration, so the scar should have healed years ago. Okay, okay, I'm nit picking, but let's face it, if you can't point out the obvious errors, where is the fun in that? Rated R for violence, language and a semi amusing scene of nudity with a young lady whose film credits include ONE film...this one. Collectible? Hardly, unless you are a fanatic Prophecy fan.

In this series, the less of Christopher Walken you get on screen, the worse the movie gets. It's just maybe a coincidence, but Christopher Walken knew when to withdraw from the series. Also adding naked chicks doesn't do the franchise any favors - when you see sex or nudity in a metaphysical movie, most of the time it just desperately tries to get the viewer's attention. This is a great example.

This fifth movie in "The Prophecy" saga wasn't actually as bad as I had expected it to be, given the generic outcome of the fourth movie. Sure, the Gabriel character is still missing from the franchise as is actor Christopher Walken, and the franchise just isn't fully the same without him in the Gabriel role. "The Prophecy: Forsaken" was actually a good continuation of the storyline presented in the fourth movie, and it made more coherent sense and had a more thoroughly planned plot to it. Again, as it has been throughout all the movies in "The Prophecy" franchise, then they have a good ensemble of actors and actresses on the cast list. It was nice to see Kari Wuhrer return to the role of Allison. The movie also boasts the likes of horror icon Tony Todd and I was genuinely surprised to see Jason Scott Lee in a movie such as this. This movie doesn't stand well on its own in terms of being a stand-alone movie, because you definitely need some prior knowledge of the storyline and characters to fully grasp and appreciate what is happening throughout the course of "The Prophecy: Forsaken". All in all, "The Prophecy: Forsaken" turned out better than I had initially anticipated. However, it is hardly a movie that warrants more than a single viewing.

Well, this 5th film continues from the 4th - and parts 4 and 5 has very little to do with the original trilogy. This film is a time waster - watch it on TV if it comes on but don't bother renting or buying this one. 2/10.

This movie begins with a brief flashback to the previous film in which "Father Constantin" (Boris Petroff) finds a long lost Biblical book which is called "The Lexicon". While he reads the book the prophecy of the end times begins to mysteriously appear and reveals the exact name of the anti-Christ before he assumes world domination. Realizing the importance of this book the angels loyal to God have placed a unique woman named "Allison" (Kari Wuhrer) in charge of protecting it from the rebellious angels led by "Stark" (Tony Todd) who want to prevent Armageddon because it would destroy the humans they hate so much. If that doesn't quite make sense I should also add that "Satan" (John Light) also wants to keep the book out of Stark's hands because he wants Armageddon to happen even though according to Revelation it means his end is at hand and he will soon be thrown into a lake of fire. Throw in an assassin named "Dylan" (Jason Scott Lee) who shoots himself in the head rather than kill Allison--and then goes about trying to kill Allison--and you can pretty much understand that this movie is a jumbled mess which makes no sense at all. That said, I recommend this film only to those who have seen and enjoyed the previous 4 movies in the series. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother with it. Below average.

So the crew were already in Eastern Europe, so why not bust out another unnecessary sequel? Prophecy 5: Still flogging a dead horse! This one flips the bad Angel, now Tony Todd as Stark who is tall, skinny and more imposing, though he allows (orders) his undead human lackey Dylan (Jason Lee) to do most of the leg work. Allison remains on the run in a disguise that makes her look like a 40 years older Kim Cattrall - that would have her at around 40 - Stark and the naughty angels are still after the book, Allison still hears voices and they still end up at the same mysterious house where they can all share visions and flashbacks, the same ones that padded out 4. Same as the first 4 films now, Armageddon is looming. Some want it. Some don't. And some poor humans are stuck in the middle of it to be unwilling pawns in the action because of whatever tenuous reason the writers can conjure. It must be said that it is not the acting that does in these two films, Jason Lee, Sean Pertwee, Tony Todd and Kari Wuhrer do the best they can to not just throw up their hands and exclaim "Didn't I just say that exact same thing in the last scene? And the one before that? And the..." The filmmaker obviously didn't have the budget, hence the location, dodgy CGI, the doubling up of meaningless dialogue and the flashbacks upon flashbacks. They didn't even use the Angel's abilities much, no superhero stuff at all here. Which all brings me back to my original rhetorical question: WHY TWO FILMS? The two films could easily have been condensed into one 100 minute flick that still wouldn't have been awe-inspiring, but would have been far less disappointing than the dull replica that picks from all of the first three films without retaining any of the truly cool - not always expensive - parts. Final rating - 5 / 10. Not terrible, but definitely not good, merely a product that justified the release of a couple DVDs and perhaps put some actors' kids through another year of school.