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.
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.