Just in case you were confused, this isn't Gregory Widen's intriguing-but-dull angels vs. devils parable, but John Frankenheimer's 1979 career stumble, rebranded "Prophecy - The Monster Movie," that was scripted by "The Omen's" David Seltzer, and starred a mutant, pus-dribbling mama bear.

Paramount's $12 million thriller is yet another seventies guilty pleasure, boasting a good cast, verdant British Columbia locations, and Harry Stradling, Jr.'s fine widescreen cinematography. The anamorphic transfer is very clean, with minor grain and greenish hues visible only during the film's night sequences. The daylight sequences - by lakes, massive forests, and a huge paper mill - show off the film's green-blue-earthy brown tones, and Stradling's compositions are beautifully preserved.

Like Universal's "The Car," "The Prophecy" benefits from a large orchestral score from chromatically-inclined composer Leonard Rosenman. The Dolby stereo mix is surprisingly luminous, and Frankenheimer's manipulative waves of dead silence and audio shocks are very effective (particularly during the mutant bear attacks in the final reel).

As killer bear movies go, this one's a primo keeper!

© 2002 Mark R. Hasan