The Prophecy - Uprising (2005)

The next chapter in the wildly popular PROPHECY series, THE PROPHECY: UPRISING is a spine-tingling supernatural thriller starring Kari Wuhrer (EIGHT LEGGED FREAKS, HELLRAISER: DEADER), Sean Pertwee (EQUILIBRIUM, FORUMULA 51), and Doug Bradley (HELLRAISER Franchise)! Not all prophecies have already been written. The Lexicon is an ancient religious manuscript that continues to write itself and reveal the mysteries of the future. When it lands in the hands of an unsuspecting young woman, she is suddenly thrust to the center of an epic battle between ruthless fallen angels who will move heaven and hell to learn the secrets contained in the Lexicon! With its sexy young cast and hours of incredible bonus material, this must-have addition to your collection will thrill you to your soul!

The War Between Heaven and Hell Rages On...

During the mid-nineties, Dimension Films produced a small, yet entertaining franchise of films based on a supposed 23rd chapter in the book of Revelation, this series was known as `The Prophecy'. Focusing on a second war in Heaven, this one being waged by those angels that had once been loyal to God during Satan's revolt, but after seeing the evil humanity is capable of exacting on itself, and wondering why the Creator would bother to shower His love and grace on a creation that is completely ungrateful, some of the loyal angels have questioned their allegiances. With the battle lines clearly drawn the angels take sides against each other waging a war that closed off access to Heaven by all of humanity. In 2000, Dimension released "The Prophecy 3: The Ascent", which at the time of its release was to be the 3rd and final chapter in `The Prophecy' saga. With humanity being allowed access into Heaven after a final battle between the hero of the good angels and the leader of the evil angels, the good side won and the gates were once again opened. In 2005, Dimension chose to return to this franchise and see if they could expand upon the story that was started in the initial trilogy. This seemed a daunting task, especially since the original trilogy starring Christopher Walken was for starters, just so interesting and entertaining, and secondly the storyline was completed. However, the powers-that-be within Dimension Films felt strongly enough in their franchise and released "The Prophecy 4: Uprising".

Set some time after the opening of Heaven to humanity that occurred at the end of "The Prophecy 3: The Ascent", this latest installment in `The Prophecy' franchise, aptly titled "The Prophecy 4: Uprising", focuses not on humanity's plight of non-entrance into Heaven, but rather the angels that are no longer loyal to God are now trying to find a way to once again seal the `Pearly Gates'. To achieve their nefarious goal, the evil angels are in search of The Lexicon, an ancient religious manuscript that continues to write itself and reveals the mysteries to the future. With this book, the evil angels believe that by knowing what will happen next they will be able to thwart any resistance the good angels can muster. Caught in the middle of this search is a young woman (Kari Wuhrer) who happens to be in possession of The Lexicon, and has been commissioned by a good angel to protect the book at all costs from a body-jumping evil angel who is close on her heels. Now with evil angels nipping at her heels and Satan himself offering protection, this young woman is in a fight for her life, and humanity's fate hangs in the balance.

I have to admit when I heard about Dimension Films continuing this franchise I was very skeptical, especially since the new films would not have Christopher Walken's character Gabriel in them. To me any installment into this franchise without Christopher Walken would be an absolute waste of time. Well, I am pleased to announce that not only was this film not a waste of time, it continued the franchise in a very strong way. The cast is talented, though one does miss Christopher Walken, these actors do an excellent job of carrying on the torch in this series. The storyline is interesting by having the evil angels becoming more desperate and therefore more menacing because they have already lost the war over barring humanity from Heaven, also one of the characters assisting Kari's character is a very jaded cop who has made some terrible decisions in his life, and makes him difficult to root for which is different for this franchise, since all of the other lead characters have been basically good people that have lost their faith and must get it back in order to defeat the evil angels. This twist in the series' formula allows this newest film to stand up alongside the other entries, and easily hold it's own in the franchise.

If you are a fan of this franchise, but are somewhat skeptical regarding this latest entry without Christopher Walken, let me tell you, go rent this film, you won't be sorry.

"The Prophecy 4: Uprising" is rated R for violence and language. March 25, 2006

DEVIL OF A TIME

This is the fourth entry in THE PROPHECY saga, and although we miss Christopher Walken, it's a fairly decent spiritual thriller on its own. Belial has had a falling out with Satan and he wants to start a new hell. He also wants the Lexicon, the mystical book that is writing itself into the future of mankind. The book ends up in the hands of a young girl who worked for a priest and the angel Simon (voiced by Jason London) is guiding her step by step. Meanwhile, a burned out, guilt-ridden detective, Dani, is investigating the brutal ritualistic murders of several people who are having their hearts ripped out. He is aided by a shadowy Interpol agent, John Riegert, who has his own mysterious agenda.
Sean Pertwee is superb as the cop, a chain smoking cynic who has a shady past; John Light is remarkably effective as the handsome, rather acerbic John Riegert; and Kari Wuhrer has a strong sense of vulnerability as Allison.
It's all fairly entertaining and has some good suspenseful moments. Pinhead himself (Doug Bradley from HELLRAISER) is also in the talented cast. March 12, 2006

Surprisingly Good!

First of all, I didn't really have any high expectations when I started watching this movie. For one thing, it went straight to video, and that's the first sign that it's going to suck. We all know they try to make it sound so glamorous on the box, and when you take it home it's trash. I'm glad I was wrong about this one. Let me just say that the first 2 films were not only original, but great, however the 3rd installment of the franchise.."The Ascent" blew big time. With that being said, I wouldn't bother to compare it to the first 3 prophecies because this is an entirely different war this time around. This film is about The Lexicon, which is basicly a book that finishes the story of Revelation. This book is suppose to tell you about the real forthcoming of the anti-christ and the apocalypse. It's suppose to give you the real facts on how the world is suppose to end, but the book isn't finished because it's still awaiting dictation from God himself. I love movies with storylines or plots that have depth. I don't wanna waste an hour and a half of my life on something predictable. Anyway, Kari Wuhrer is a good actress, and she does a good job playing the "chosen one" handpicked by the angel Simon himself as the personal guardian of the Lexicon. Meanwhile, she's being pursued by the demon Belial who wants the book. Belial jumps from body to body in the quest for the book. Not only that, Satan himself is actually on Earth trying to track her down, but in this case, he wants to protect her and the book (for his own selfish reasons of course). Either way, I suggest that you watch the Prophecy:Forsaken immediately after this one in order to get the whole story. It's explained in that film why she was chosen, and why Satan aided in the protection of the guardian. February 23, 2006

Disappointing!!

Being a big fan of the Prophecy series, I was extremely disappointed with this movie and the one after (Prophecy:Forsaken). All the elements of the first two and even the third film were missing. Where was the creepiness or angelic awe in this film? Christopher Walken was great in the first three but I don't even think his presence in this film would have made much difference. November 6, 2005

surprisingly good!

I had mixed feelings about these further Prophecy sequels when I first heard about them. I was a big fan of the first three movies and of Walken's Gabriel. The original trilogy seemed like it would be a hard act to follow, but I'm very happy to say that Prophecy 4 & 5 are surprisingly good sequels. Prophecy fans should give 'em a shot. October 26, 2005

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