CMT - The Prophecy

There's nothing wrong with making a mistake. In fact, mistakes are an invaluable part of the creative process. In fiction there are way too many variables, to predict what products will succeed. Demographics are considered and genres are carefully chosen, but there's no exact science to depend on. I don't mean to devalue the power of marketing, but sales projections can be wildly off, and no method will always foretell human behavior.

Everything I say about the movies in this series, is said in hindsight with the benefit of history. I don't have any secret information, that explains why some films don't find large audiences. All I can do as a fan and creator, is praise something I see as an example of genius. Unfortunately, words have many different meanings, and as I write this I worry about how that 'praise' will be interpreted..

Religion is a horrible subject for rational dialogue. With an increasing amount of people joining the discussion, there's virtually no chance of maintaining calm. The instant someone becomes or pretends to be offended, is the exact moment when the train comes off the tracks. The churchgoing public couldn't appreciate "The Prophecy" and that fact wrecked the property before it began. It bet too big in my humble opinion, and in a manner of speaking, it failed too late.


Classic Movie Trailers - The Prophecy (1995)

When I first saw this movie in the theater, I was positively awestruck by the theme. I had seen plenty of movies by that point, but I'd never been so intrigued and I may never be again. Judeo-Christian beliefs permeate American culture, and their moral teachings are echoed by our fiction. Even if religion isn't acknowledged or recognized, the influence is apparent and ubiquitous.

I've lived my entire life under that umbrella. When you're born in it and grow with it, you accept it without question. Some can say the same about other cultures. When you're living with one orientation, you start to believe that's all there is.

Most of us know the differences between areas, but they have the relevance of a sleeping dream. Immediacy improves upon the idea of isolation, and men in other countries seem like men from Mars. After an immersion that is decades long, you expect your view of the world to be constantly reinforced. This film uses The Bible to create non-biblical narrative, that challenges that worldview in a smart and plausible way; it didn't go over well.

You have to remember this was 1995. It was eight years before "The Da Vinci Code" was on bookshelves. The movie based on that book debuted three years later; it was as bold as "The Prophecy" and a hundred times more profitable. I think the differing results are products of different timing, and the Code had the advantage of previous success.

The comparison of the two is very telling. On the one hand, Dan Brown's novel brought a significant audience, while "The Prophecy" opened to unprepared eyes. There was no proving ground for its challenging concepts, and it spent too much on the gamble with little proof of success. I'll admit I couldn't find the budget of the movie, but I highly doubt 16 million in sales was enough.

Fortunately the fantasy created in this film, is based on Jew and Christian text and not on Islam. If a similar story aired in a Muslim state, I have little doubt the creators would be dead. Blasphemy is dangerous to devout citizenry, and some authorities don't take creative licenses. You may have a matching opposition to this movie, but I love it very much and it doesn't bother me.

I won't spoil it here, but I will say it presents a compelling scenario. I was more religious when I saw it at first, but even then I viewed it as being totally removed. I'm more open-minded than some of my peers, and I was able to appreciate its artistic brilliance. Ultimately it uses what is taken for granted, to come up with answers to questions we didn't ask.

The closest experience I've had since, was the debut of "The Matrix", a few years later. The Wachowski brothers exited my imagination, but not to the extent that Gregory Widen did. He used the culture that cultured me, to create a universe I want to see explored. Like "The Matrix" films I've been terribly disappointed, that the series hasn't been serialized in books or TV. These concepts are too good to be left in the past, and each well is deep enough to refresh me for some time.

I recently discovered that this film had four sequels. They weren't released theatrically, but they're available on DVD. I can't help but feel that's where the series should have started. If it brought an audience to the theater, instead of searching for one there, it could have gained a following to support it indefinitely.



Trailer Here.


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See "The Prophecy" on Netflix!

Next week, Give Me Comics March continues with CMT - Escape from L.A.

Domestic ticket sales for "The Prophecy" provided by boxofficemojo.com.