The SCARIEST Movie Monster We Will Never Get To See? - Prophecy (1979) Movie Review

[@gabrielboorom2683]

I read the book version; it's *very gory.* A lot of people got slashed in half, decapitated and, in one case, have their head squished by Katahdin. The animal goes increasingly berserk due to the mercury poisoning, until it literally bites it's offspring in half in rage. It's quite a read. The movie is a guilty pleasure; everybody goes all ragdoll when the monster attacks them. Also the "is it drowning?" scene goes on waaaay too long. Imagine a scene in Friday the 13th, where Jason sinks underwater and *everybody just sits there!*

[@jonservo]

Didn't know it was a book, is it worth the read?

[@gabrielboorom2683]

@@jonservo Yes, if you're into thinking about the details of the story long after you put the book down. It's a bit tragic in regards to humans & their relationship to nature, also how brutal nature is: there's a great opening in the book that introduces the monster stalking and killing a full grown bear that was about to kill a deer it was in turn hunting. As it eats back in its lair, it throws severed claws into a pile it has amassed over the course of winter. "Before long, hands & feet would lie rotting there, too."

[@mikes5637]

@@jonservo Yes. Especially for a vacation in the woods!

[@RetroWrathX13B]

Ordered a copy of the book online for 7-8 bucks in pretty good condition. It's long been out of print as far as I can tell, with only a couple copies on amazon going for 40 bucks plus shipping

[@kaijuar2003]

Wait, there's a book of Prophecy? Who's the author? Dangnammits, I missed out..

[@thecanadiandane7262]

Judging by the design, I wonder if this thing inspired the bear from Annihilation. Mutated, pained, and utterly violent- and that singular, haunting eye. It almost feels like a remedy for what Prophecy couldn’t deliver on.

[@brendanlogue5665]

It's a mutated bear but delivered properly

[@Spooky_Spookerson]

Thought of Annihilation bear immediately after seeing this review, now that was a terrifying scene and the design was horrific.

[@kai_plays_khomus]

Unfortunatly I don't remember whether the bear showed up in the original material of the Annihilation book trilogy which is quite different to the movie in some regards. If it got depicted there like it was in the movie adaptation then I doubt a connection. If it wasn't there very well might be.

[@dcsf1]

Too bad the Annihilation bear didn't appeared as much as Katahdin.

[@kirovnoir2256]

@@kai_plays_khomusIt's absent from the book, like at all.

[@jonservo]

Any film where a mutant bear pimp slaps an archer 30 ft is an automatic 10/10

[@jamescaliendo1030]

Lmaoooo greatest line ever!!!! Lolol

[@retiredsnowbunnyhunterx5106]

@@jamescaliendo1030 😂 no doubt

[@ДмитрийГусарев-ж8ъ]

I prefer Carnosaur 2 raptor pimp slapping a black guy in the control room I know that this would've destroyed any and all attempt at horror but.....it would've been a great running gag. Just imagine that guy just sitting there and trying to stand up only for raptor to pimp slap him back for the whole movie until someone finally comes back and kills it.

[@systemshocker2875]

I think that was a bitch slap

[@natee7683]

🤣🤣

[@BurstRevolver]

Okay so, while I absolutely love this movie for what it is, but there is a specific part of this film that I cannot stop laughing at. That family camping scene just absolutely gold. Like oh my god, that kid exploded into a flurry of FEATHERS and no blood. It was amazing.

[@Predalien195]

Indeed lol. One of my favorite standout scenes from the film.

[@YouBredRaptorsMusic]

People get SMACKED in this movie

[@bryanphillips6088]

I love describing the scene to people before showing it to them. When you tell people he explodes, they think "into gore." and I'm like "No, he explodes. The bear hits him so hard he explodes with fire and smoke."

[@stuartbagley2586]

I saw this one in theaters. My sixth grade self was terrified!

[@demonoid7469]

Yep...that scene...is so amazing! even when I saw it the first time when I was 5-6 , that part had me laughing my ass off! Even in the book Danse Macabre by Stephen King...where he goes into Horror Films , Books and Shows...he mentions watching that part stoned and almost chocking to death laughing so hard!

[@kingvulturo]

I remember being creeped out by the design as a little kid, but now it does look like a hilarious bear suit chasing people. Plus the bear changes size throughout the film too. They claim it's fifteen feet tall but then it's hardly bigger than our lead actor!

[@peasantsarerevolting9343]

As a kid this movie made it hard to walk the 15 feet to the bathroom in the middle of the night. It's on Hulu now and after watching it since the time I watch it in the theater, a simple groin kick would probably bring the beast down.

[@dcsf1]

Well, you have to be informed to understand. There were 3 different suits being used by 3 different actors, Tom McLoughlin, Charles Flemmer and Kevin Peter Hall. Each suit was of a different size, Tom's was 6 feet tall, Charles' was 8 feet tall, and Kevin's was 10,5 feet tall, being the one that represents the creature's actual size (not to mention that a head and arms puppet was being used for close-ups). That's the reason why it changes of size from scene to scene.

[@ScreamingScallop]

@@dcsf1 Also factoring in is the dependence on forced perspective. Poor Victoria Racimo can give it everything she's got, "running" on her knees while the actor in the rubber suit waddles along just behind her, but it still looks exactly like what it is. The widescreen shots of Katahdin shaking or smacking around ragdolls look exactly like what THEY are--a guy in a rubber suit flopping around in a very cool miniature set, filmed at the wrong speed for the scale. (The choppy editing of those shots just lets the viewer know that everyone behind the scenes knew how awful they looked.) The Burman Studio has done some great award-winning work, but their not-so-great works (including the Klingon "dog" in _Star Trek III: The Search for Spock_ and the transformation in _Cat People)_ all display the same uniform greasiness, rubber texture and lack of mobility. Katahdin is the worst of them all. Her snarl is fixed in place, and if anything actually moved on any of the various heads, it went unnoticed under all the Vaseline. And let's not forget the laughable cardboard cutout that casts Katahdin's profile shadow leaning down to munch on Richard Dysart's character! (I would have loved to have seen the unnatural lighting arrangement to accomplish _that_ effect.) This was a big-budget big-studio movie helmed by Academy Award winners, and it was _still_ filmed like something Crown International would crap out for a few thousand dollars.

[@dcsf1]

@@ScreamingScallop Well, let's just remember, director John Frankenheimer had alcohol drinking problems during the filming of this movie, which explains why the scenes don't work as much as we would like to, because he didn't directed them in a normal state. He even blames the movie of not being good because of his alcoholism. Anyway, nice review on that. Also, what cardboard cutout going to Richard Dysart's character? If you think that Katahdin's shadow comes from a cardboard cutout in that shot, you're probably blindfolded, because I clearly see it's the suit of Kevin Peter Hall, even moving it's jaw.

[@ScreamingScallop]

@@dcsf1 Fair enough; the almost-mechanical way Katy bends over tricked me, just not in the way Frankenheimer intended. I've just been looking through the _Prophecy_ Kill Count video and the suits are even worse than I remembered. During the finale, the way the suit actor is swiping at nothing resembles Godzilla punching air to intimidate Megalon.

[@melvinshine9841]

I have a soft spot for this movie. That sleeping bag kill tickles me every time I see it.

[@DMDvideo10]

Yes. You have to realize when it was made and what was available for effects back then.

[@Clemppu]

It was so laughably bad that it turns out actually brilliant. Ragdoll in yellow sleeping bag spins through air and then there are feathers everywhere... Pure gold!

[@demonoid7469]

The two scenes in Horror Movies that have always made me laugh since seeing them as a kid...and still do... The Sleeping Bag kill scene...and that crucifix scene in The Exorcist ALWAYS make me laugh...

[@godwavenexus]

Same. I remember watching back when I was in grade school. That scene is something special.

[@vxy357]

That scene is why I will NEVER buy a mummy sleeping bag like the one in the movie.

[@superzilla784]

I remember seeing this on the shelves at BlockBuster. the fetus of the creature alone creeped me out. it hadn't been born yet and already was ready to kill, plus it looked freaky af. I thought it would be like the Peter Benchley's shark movie, Creature, where it would mutate getting bigger and more horrific over time. similar to the Resident Evil monsters.

[@NathanielTavington]

Katahdin scared the absolute shit out of me when I was a kid but yeah, watching it again as an adult... I can only imagine the classic this movie would be now if Stan Winston had made the bear. This is one of the few old horror movies that I would love to see get a remake

[@jeffmoore2476]

Two words... King Kong.

[@raeshaunhiggins4893]

Me too. How can we make this happen. It would be an awesome remake with the right production.

[@matthalaboo6694]

The mutant bear in Annihilation looks like what Katahdin looked like to me when I was a kid.

[@NathanielTavington]

@Blue A) That is your opinion, and B) I seriously doubt there is a need for oscar-worthy performances in a B horror flick.

[@NathanielTavington]

@Blue There are PLENTY of quality actors, but no one goes to a horror movie expecting Citizen Kane. Horror movies are supposed to be fun, and there are plenty of actors today who could give a good performance without making it stuffy and boring

[@JBrotsis1]

First time I saw this movie I was 11 and had nightmares for a year. At 32 years old, I still am haunted by this movie just by looking at it. Looking at the thumbnail. It’s a cool idea overall but the bear is so horrific in its design and sound,

[@lisabagdonjones1950]

Same, for a long time I couldn't even think about this thing at night and be outside. It just freaked me out on some primordial level

[@JBrotsis1]

@Gerald Damaus yep you nailed all my reasons for being freaked out by this movie. It doesn’t help that I already don’t watch horror movies in general because I’m a big wuss.

[@dcsf1]

Same happened to me.

[@UnFrSaKn]

I’ll repeat what other people said. I had the same feeling seeing the thumbnail for this and being reminded of it.

[@austintrousdale2397]

I generally love monster movies but at a young age, when I saw Prophecy just a few years after it’d come out, I found the creatures too grotesque to get behind this flick. I remember having seen the poster when very young and thinking that Prophecy must be terrifying, here they are showing us the monster even before anyone’s seen the movie! (The super-serious narration in the trailer also helped with the spine-tingling.) But nah, the movie made you chuckle when you weren’t feeling sick, just like some kind of gross-out comedy.

[@jaymanuel3396]

Compared to the creature described in the book and seen on the poster, this monster was laughable, when seen in full. The animatronic head was pretty good though. Also, they cut a lot of gory shots in the deaths. I still like the movie. It’s a guilty pleasure and Talia Shire and Victoria Racimo (who doesn’t get enough love) were both great.

[@Aluhcav]

I didn't know there was a book.

[@jeffmoore2476]

From what I understand, even Stan Winston and Rick Baker, when approached, thought the original concept was ridiculous. Burman Studios went with the mutated bear. I think they made the right choice considering on how people bag on the monster as is.

[@LowellLucasJr.]

Question: Do you think this film could've used a remake? Save the film concept by fixing the 'bear'?

[@alanray8038]

Absolutely.

[@Here_is_Waldo]

I'd say a remaster rather than a remake. Just edit the monster to look better and keep the rest as is. Remaking it would probably change the script too much and lose what made the first half of this film good.

[@swaghauler8334]

@@Here_is_Waldo This. A digital remaster could make it a lot better. The story is solid enough.

[@toomanyaccounts]

yes pedowood needs to stop rebooting stuff that is good and instead remake what is bad but then asking them to make something good and not be evil is next to impossible

[@troin3925]

Have a remake be based on the novelization which I've heard a ton of good things about. It's gorier, scarier and the design of Katahdin, the sounds she makes and her sheer brutality are all terrifying. Though the remake would probably have to be named after her to avoid confusion with The Prophecy franchise.

[@edwardtoyebo9690]

I read the book by David Seltzer. The first attack describes Katahdin killing a surprised bear by snatching off its hide which sends a bloodied, skinless carcass into the air. The hapless beast lands in the snow, scrambling about before it dies. The details in this are abrupt and graphic, setting the tone for the blood bath to follow. The book scared me. The movie has one great scene. The kid in the sleeping bag getting slammed into the out crop of rocks is worth the price of admission.

[@JoeSyxpack]

The kid hopping in the sleeping bag and then getting exploded into a puff of feathers is probably the funniest thing I'll see all day.

[@heroicjourney2508]

🤣

[@renna4216]

SAME!

[@eamonmcdermott4032]

I saw this at the flix near my home town when it was released. Made it my business to buy the bugger when it came out on DVD. Marvellous film. Some of the special effects are a bit, 'of their time', but that in no way detracts from my overall enjoyment of the movie. Great stuff. This channel is hitting the gold every time. Thanks very much.

[@roddmatsui3554]

There’s lots of reasons why *“Prophecy” is excellent eco-horror.*

[@voronOsphere]

I thought the suspense was pretty effective. The director of "Friday the 13th 6: Jason Lives" is inside the creature suit.

[@loganmurray8810]

The special effects weren't bad for 79

[@gabrielboorom2683]

@@loganmurray8810 Some close-up shots of the monster's deformed face aren't bad. Ironically, if they'd shown a little less, it would've looked a lot better. They just showed too much of the monster suit; the more the imagination has to fill in, the better for effect.

[@toomanyaccounts]

@@gabrielboorom2683 something cgi needs to learn. sometimes less is indeed more. heck horror directors/creators need to learn it isn't what you see that is scary it is what you fill in due to what you hear.

[@NathanTarantlawriter]

I agree. It was a perfect midnight movie back in the day.

[@CamFraser25]

I can't remember the last time I laughed as hard as when I saw the scene where the creature whacks the person in the sleeping bag into a tree or whatever for the first time.

[@EDGEscience]

IDK it doesn't really look that bad to me.

[@ebxj1418]

I've never forgotten it. One of my "most favorite of guilty pleasures!" Used to watch it during those Saturday afternoons when my mom and dad were busy. Love the actors as well. The monster is "Awesome!" To me anyway. 😆

[@voronOsphere]

I think the beast is pretty damn cool!

[@MrGrimlocksmash]

Finally some fucking people of class. This movie slapped. It looks no worse than the Thing Dog monster and that was my favorite movie so praise doesn't come lightly.

[@IanFindly-iv1nl]

To be fair and honest, that monster ACTUALLY looks pretty awesome in CLOSE UP shots (4:07, 4:23, 4:26, 4:35, 4:49, 4:51, 9:42, 10:15, 10:19) but pretty ridiculous when shown in FULL FIGURE (4:14, 4:38, 10:16).

[@roxanneweichinger9318]

I remember this film and it DID scare me! The mutated monster that was on the original paperback book cover didn’t realistically look like an animal that would be created from a polluted environment, so I personally thought that the movie producer’s final decision to make Kahtahdin look like a regular bear that was severely deformed from Mercury poisoning would’ve been a more plausible story. Maybe if the movie director and his crew had made more of an effort to make Kahtahdin look like a real animal rather than a guy in a rubber suit then “Prophecy” would have been much more frightening. I still think the concept of this movie was fantastic, and it will always be one of my favorite horror films.

[@stringyleeds9161]

I caught this movie on (I think) Sci-Fi when I was a teenager, and I LOVED the first half. The buildup was actually good enough that I watched the whole thing, and even though the monster looked SUPER gimped that first half stuck with me. Imagine if they hadn't gimped their own creation!

[@gr8handsftl]

When this movie came out, I was about 12 or 13, it scared the hell out of me. Even though the bear wasn't that great, it still had my heart racing when I walked through the woods. Yes, I grew up in the country lol

[@bluemouse5039]

I saw it at the movie theater when I was 17 years old and thought this movie was pretty scary, granted the mutant bear wasn't that great but back in the 1970's special effects in movies were crude by todays standards with computer and animatronics so I didn't judge it too harshly while watching it, but the movie did have a lot of suspense and terror build up and scenes that were scary like when everybody is hiding in the tunnel and we can hear the monster breathing heavy and roaring looking for them right above their heads as they cower in the underground tunnel and in the beginning where the hunters are lowered over the cliff into the dark by rope to look for their dog and we hear the screams of terror below as the monster gets them, The shark in Jaws of that era looks incredibly fake when you watch it now, but the movie was still a block buster back then.

[@stuartbagley2586]

I was around the same age as you John. And like you, I was terrified. In retrospect, it seems a little silly, which is why I don’t always assume that practical effects are better than CGI effects.

[@Clemppu]

Well with all the dogmen running around the American wilderness... you were right to be on alert. 😉

[@kennethsatria6607]

I love that era for monster movies like Razorback, though yeah they had a hard time with solid creature effects I feel that could be done better today but the style of story would not be the same

[@FlyingFocs]

Yeah, but also Razorback had the right idea to hide the minster as much as possible (which the boar had a better design than Katahdin, when you see it). I think I read the director for Prophecy was drunk during filming, and later regretted the decision to use the design they did.

[@IanFindly-iv1nl]

To be fair and honest, that monster ACTUALLY looks pretty awesome in CLOSE UP shots (4:07, 4:23, 4:26, 4:35, 4:49, 4:51, 9:42, 10:15, 10:19) but pretty ridiculous when shown in FULL FIGURE (4:14, 4:38, 10:16). And it ALWAYS looks gruesome!

[@adamjones-ps]

I was 12 yrs old when this came out. My mother dropped me off at the theater and with no knowledge of the movie I went in by myself and watched it. It messed me up for years on end. Even though I was young, I understood the ramifications of contaminating wildlife and what results could happen to any offspring. Needless to say, I got pretty engrossed in the movie. Today, I can say the monster is prettys stupid. However, as a kid back in the 70's, that thing terrified me. I refused to go camping for fear something like that was in the woods waiting to smash me against a tree or rip my head off.

[@Cousin_Uli]

I always walked past the VHS tape at the movie store as a kid, and didn't want to look at it because it scared the hell out of me. Wound up renting it when I was a teen and feeling really silly. Glad that Kahtadin get's to live on as ManBearPig though.

[@lauriejonesgiampietro7246]

I watched this movie as teen. I always thought the actual prophecy was the child she was carrying. They talked about how mercury interrupts fetal development and how we, as humans, go through a fish stage, amphibian stage, reptile stage, then mammal. That would have been an interesting movie.

[@bobdillashaw4360]

I was 8 years old when this came out and if I remember correctly it was played on Halloween night, this was the only horror movie to give me nightmares but also started my love for horror movies.

[@REIGNBLOOD]

My parents took me to see this movie in the theaters when I was 8 years old. Scared me because of the jump scares involving the bloody mutated bear.

[@Commander76]

The VHS cover for this cassette was awesome! That's the one major advantage VHS has had over every format thats come out since it...those box covers were everything!

[@seanmckelvey6618]

I have a soft spot for this movie. I remember finding out about it through a book about monster movies as a kid and being really creeped out by the monster design. I still like the movie overall, but yeah there are certainly a fair few scenes that are really just laughable and poorly executed. I think the themes of pollution and the trickle down effects on the environment are still very relevant, perhaps even more so all these years later. It's a guilty pleasure kind of movie for sure, but if you can find a way to watch it and can go in with the right mindset I recommend checking it out. The book is pretty damn good as well if you can find it. Nice to see someone giving it some attention, great video man. I'm loving this channel and seeing you branch out into other creature features other than just Jurassic.

[@JasonSheerin]

I actually do remember seeing this on TV a few times, a very terrifying movie! It probably would've made a better movie if we got the design we were promised for Katahdin. This movie actually had a lot of potential to be one of the scariest monster movies ever! However, the payoff was poorly executed. Nonetheless, Prophecy is still a fun movie to watch.

[@viceversar-do1cn]

Duno what your talkin about bub. THAT deformed bear in THIS flick looks EXCELLENT. Hideous, gruesome, realistic, repulsive, frightening, disturbing, and certainly better than your stupid computer simulation in Anhilation. Poor Tom Burman (to have his fine work in this movie get trashed by cgi heads)!

[@jeffmoore2476]

I was 13 when my friends and I saw this movie at the town theatre circa 1979. It was dark when the show ended and we were walking home through a local park, cutting up as young punks do. When this neighborhood dog comes BARRELING up to us growling! Black fur, couldn't make out the shape... We. Ran. Like. HELL!!! Visions of Katahdin snapping for my head! We got to my friend's house, all adolescent machismo left in the dust and laughed like maniacs! The film aimed to scare and it delivered. ...the dog helped. 😁

[@jeffmoore2476]

Thank you. I miss...

[@arabella3637]

This gave me nightmares when I was a kid and it still bothers me to this day.

[@judowrestlerka]

Saw this film when I was 8 years old. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING FILM!!!!

[@juliemcdonald1245]

I was also 8 when I saw this, and it really stayed with me. Did you also see The Manitou? Another movie I will never forget

[@choptop81]

The scene where they're stuck in the tunnel while the monster is above them scared the hell out of me lol. Really effective imo despite the general cheese surrounding the whole last act.

[@voronOsphere]

That scene was so effective! Even on the second watch, decades later!

[@claressalucas8922]

I loved this movie SOOO much when I was 7! However, as an adult, I now question the parenting skills of my mother who dropped me and my younger cousin off to see it in the theater.

[@thedragonlee76]

I was a kid in the 80s and saw this film when it was on cable and that's when us kids could sneak and watch rated R movies.GOD bless the 80s! On a side note,my parents let me watch THE EXORCIST and that took me years to get over.

[@claressalucas8922]

@@thedragonlee76 My parents didn't believe in babysitters. Before the age of 10 I saw this, The Godfather, and Richard Pryor in concert. They even took me to a couple Klan rallies, and we're Black! Now that I think about it, can I call DFACS on negligence from 40 years ago? Truly the 70s and 80s were a different time.

[@retiredsnowbunnyhunterx5106]

You got to see it at the movie theater is good enough in itself.

[@theophany1770]

@@claressalucas8922 you gotta be kidding about the Klan rallies! That's some funny shit there🤣

[@mitrooper]

"The SCARIEST Movie Monster We Will Never Get To See?" Saw it last week and saw it the first time on TV back during the early 80's.

[@prehistoricplayer1132]

Great video Klayton! This movie scared me as a child but now I get a good laugh from it.

[@56postoffice]

Should've taken a leaf out of Steven Speilberg's "less is more" school, which worked brilliantly in *"Jaws."* And that was made in the 70s, also (1975).

[@discojelly]

I remember seeing it on TV in like 83 when I was a kid and it gave me the creeps. lol Seeing the clip of the kids getting attacked in the dow feather sleeping bags made me NEVER wanna go camping ever. Of course that didn't hold true cause now its 2002 and I've been a Bigfoot researcher camping in scary places for 15 years now.

[@jcollell]

Prophecy kicks ass. The kid exploding into a cloud of feathers is worth the price of admission.

[@marlonm3805]

I saw this movie when it came out and I was 12 years old. I went to see it on a Thursday night and Friday we were supposed to go camping with the Boy Scouts. That Friday I refused to go camping because i kept screaming there going to feed me to the mutant bear!!!! This movie terrified me as a kid!!!!

[@rosenrot234]

Kinda funny to see the bear do one of its swipes and I'm just "Yup that's def Kevin Peter Hall" since he does similar swipes with some Predator attacks. Like when Arnold tries to hit the Predator with a log. The Predator blocks it then does that big backhand swipe

[@Kainlarsen]

I would like to see a modernisation of this, to see if they could convey/communicate the true terror of the monster this time around.

[@jamie1212ab]

Saw this as a kid not knowing the name and spent 10 years trying to remember what it was. Just found it a few months ago, still great!

[@jojofarley4511]

When i saw it the premise was that the monster was a mutated baby, keeping every stage of development as it grew. Caused by the mercury poisoning from said logging company. Personally found it pretty scary, tho special effects were not best. Saw at like 13, am 61 now, so made an impression, remember the name and still tell friends about it.

[@goodheartmedia]

The effects may be crude (even somewhat for the time) but as a 12 year who saw this in the theater it left an impression on me. As you said the story and acting is good, so whenever I re-watch it I give the effects a pass (although the effects of the baby Katahdin - especially the sound - are still pretty disturbing). And yes Star Wars came out in 70s, and I LOVE practical effects, but some of the original stop-motion animation doesn't really hold up either over time - it becomes more of a novelty. Bottom line - because of this movie, when I walk alone in the woods, and I occasionally think about this movie, and I get chills wondering if something "unnatural" is stalking me.

[@fraoct1065]

This movie was so horrifying when I was younger, especially the part with the bear 🐻 cubs.

[@nasalpolecat091]

The opening, hearing the hikers killed off then showing them dead was chilling.

[@zacharyjoy8724]

Personally, the scene that sticks with me the most is when John has the running chainsaw held to his neck. I honestly thought he was about to be brutally executed.

[@roxanneweichinger9318]

The chainsaw movie clip was insane!

[@daniel-oo5jl]

If you have seen South Park over the years, you may remember Al Gore and 'ManBearPig". When the Get Cereal episodes are played the 'ManBearPig" is the Kahtadin from Prophecy. When you say 'Prophecy' you automatically think Christopher Walken Angel movies.

[@buddhasmurfy]

I saw this as a child. It scared the shit out of me. Demons, ghosts, etc never really scared me because I knew they don't exist. BUT a chemically mutated animal? Seemed kinda believable to me.

[@barbaralee7385]

You weren’t alone. I went to see this because it had a PG rating and my parents thought it would be okay. Wrong! This movie was pretty violent and that freaky bear was too. I have always wondered how it got a PG rating.

[@meaghanburch9918]

Exactly. Natural horror will always be the best in my opinion. Just animals doing what they do best.

[@standepain]

Still has one of the greatest deaths with no gore ever when that kid in the sleeping bag get literally pulverized against the tree.

[@lancemarek3572]

I love this movie. I saw it in the theaters as a kid, it scared me plenty. The movie poster is creepy as hell.

[@hegstad9]

Hmm ... I'm 60 now, so I saw this in the cinema in my Norwegian hometown in 1979. Later on VHS. Then I heard your review and started wondering ~ was it t h a t bad ? I can't remember. Saw that it was on KZbin, but then discovered that I have a DVD of it. I have to re- watch it for myself to see if it was relly that bad ... Get back to you. Robert Foxworth with the same beard and face expressions as he sported the year before in "Damien: Omen II" (1978) though ... And lovely Connie ... uh ... Adrian .... uh ... Talia Shire !

[@kaijuar2003]

Yay, you did a video about Prophecy(1979). This movie scared me as a kid, the roars of the bear terrified me even when I didn't watch the film. I just saw the cover of the film when my mother bought it from a Family Dollar and I was scared to high heaven. But after watching it, I enjoyed it, yeah it ain't the best movie but I still enjoyed watching it.

[@mikebrockway6130]

I saw this movie as a kid in a hotel room, and I was terrified. As I have gotten older, I watch it occasionally and I think it stands the test of time. I will always remember the mutated bears in my nightmares.

[@awesomeatronik]

I remember renting this as a kid! I love old creature features. If you haven't seen The runestone I would suggest checking it out. I think it's perfect for your channel.

[@maipful]

Well, if that creature suddenly attack screaming and swinging in a dark forest on a camping trip, the shock would be so great that my body would shut down and I would just die instantly..😵

[@theangrypeter]

The design is scary. No doubt. It's just the movement that makes it look silly, plus bears don't typically walk on two legs

[@scottwiers9296]

I'm 50, and this movie scared the hell out of me when it first came out, regardless of how cheesy the special effects are. It also brought awareness of how greedy companies are screwing up the planet for profit.

[@toomanyaccounts]

give you a hint a lot of those are green companies. burning wood for electricity not only releases more pollution then burning coal but harvesting the wood is also worse for the environment then strip mining for the coal.

[@d.s.archer5903]

4:10 I was 12 when Prophecy was released. I didn’t see it in the theatres; I only saw the trailer on TV. When Katahdin (the monster) smacks the kid in the sleeping bag into a boulder, causing an explosion of feathers, I didn’t know if it was mean to be funny or not.

[@germanicthunder3533]

Goddamn, I remember when I first saw this movie on AMC as a kid, that shit stuck with me like few monster movies had at that time when we first actually saw the creature. I don't care, this is pure guilty pleasure material.

[@redtsunami326]

I saw this at the theater when I was a kid . I still remember the trailer with the kids sleeping bag exploding when the thing tears him apart, as he tries to hop away. I had a pretty solid fear of being zipped up in a mummy bag after that. Incase anyone else noticed the monster is where South Park got the idea for Man-bear-pig. I think it had something to do with a lumber mill releasing mercury into the river and there was a giant trout at the end.

[@iangarrett3308]

WOW!!! Definitely a forgotten gem!!! The movie was so-so, definitely a B-movie flick for sure. I heard that the paperback novel of Prophecy was absolutely terrifying!!! The camping scene in the movie was a joke, but the camping scene in the book was horribly brutal!!! What I was told that the monster ripped apart the children and ate them!!! Now I have been hearing rumors about a remake on this movie and it will go by the book, and the monster will look like the concept art in the movie theatre poster. As I said, it's only a rumor. But I will say this, the 1979 movie poster art of that monster is absolutely SCARY looking!!!! 100% nightmare fuel!!!!!

[@blueworldcomics7908]

That was one of, if not the first child deaths I ever saw in a movie as a kid. No trauma hits like childhood trauma...

[@cocodojo]

not going to lie, the kid in a sleeping bag death... gets me every time. It just seemed so comedic how he exploded into a cloud of feathers upon impact.

[@johntracy72]

That actor was also in an episode of Battlestar Galactica as Puppis.

[@lugialover2496]

I like to think that the poster design was the mythological appearance of Katahdin whilst in reality it’s just a typical grizzly bear mutated by the metal mercury from the logging factory.

[@tyrantgregcagkaiju71]

This one’s a guilty pleasure of mine for various reasons: The first half of the movie was freaking awesome, as you stated (the human drama was the kind of stuff John Frankenheiner specialized in, after all), the locations are beautiful and scary when they need to be depicted as such, the concept of the flora and fauna of the environment being slowly mutated by an invasive agent from a greedy company is dark and interestingly written, and the monster (though somewhat cheesy in appearance) holds a special place in my heart for most likely inspiring the design for Manbearpig 😜. There are reasons why other celebrities like Tarantino and Stephen King like this movie as much as myself 😎. But I do agree that the 2nd half goes downhill very fast, which is a great shame given the strong first half (the director was suffering a problem with alcoholism, reportedly). What a shame! 😞 A couple of minor corrections, though: Most of the bear’s screentime was performed with Tom McLoughlin (future director of Friday the 13th Part 6) inside the monster suit, including the parts where the monster is running around and/or attacking people. According to McLoughlin, 7’4” Kevin Peter Hall only played Katahdin in shots where they wanted the monster to look extremely large (such as the scene where Katahdin knocks over the big jeep). Charles Flemmer played Katahdin when it walked on all fours at the end of the attack scene at Hector M’Rai’s campsite. And as for whether or not they should’ve gone with the original design… Well, as interesting as that may sound, McLoughlin said he saw the conceptual art for the monster’s proposed design, which resembled the beast on the poster and the “it bares a mark of each of God’s creatures” idea (it had fish scales on parts of its body, among other various animal elements here and there). His opinion was that it looked kind of *silly* and didn’t think it would’ve looked all that great on film, anyway. That’s just his opinion, of course. Other than that, this video was great, as always 👏.

[@RD-lt3ht]

I partly agree, meaning the overall baggy standing bear looks...well, y'know how it looks...but I still think the "hero" animatronic head used in closeups is pretty good. Incidentally, in the novel this was based on, katahdin runs on all fours AND can stand on hind quarters heavily implying that it is a mutant BEAR even though this is never verified, and despite that it has two big saucer-sized eyes rather than the small eyes of a bear. The mercury poisoning was supposed to have stopped some of it's fetal characteristics from developing further while it was still in it's mother's womb (hence the big eyes like a fetus) and so is a true mutant, while movie-katahdin has more of a radiation-sickness look. Prophecy's director - John Frankenheimer - was an otherwise excellent journeyman director who did wonders when inspired (The Manchurian Candidate, Seconds to name two) but seemed to botch his creature features - another botch-up was The Island Of Dr Moreau (1996).

[@jamesmichael5]

I literally just watched this recently having never heard of it...and it was fucking hilarious 😂😂😂 awesome movie..I mean it's one of the few movies where children aren't of limits...when that kid explodes on the rock I was like "Wtf..rewind..watch again..yep that happened"😂😂😂

[@stuartbagley2586]

Welcome to the 1970’s when kids were taking “L’s” left and right.

[@MrGrimlocksmash]

Too funny

[@4thtroika]

I have seen this. I was freaked out by the mutant bear cubs. I thought they were mutant human babies.

[@MyFireandice]

This is a great movie, I have it on DVD. I understand that you think some parts are bad, but that was the way some horror flicks were done back in those days. As the years went by special effects were getting better and better and up to the present where special effects are just incredibly awesome.

[@RudiW1510]

The screams of the cub will always give me goosebumps.

[@JEEPDadXJ]

I saw this in the theater too, my older brother bought tickets, and it scared me. I remember the sleeping bag kill to the point I've never drawn a sleeping bag over my head because of it. And the guy's head being bitten off, epic B rated Saturday gore stuff.

[@Senbonzakura776]

I remember seeing this as a kid, and then recently saw it again a couple of months back. Totally forgot it was a freaky bear thingy.

[@ObiClon]

First time I ever saw this was on AMC during the month of October as part of their month-long Halloween movie lineups. In spite of the creature effects it still has a some great story

[@MercuryAlphaInc]

The thing about the Indoraptor is that the actual reason for the Indoraptor not being affected by the darts was cut from the movie. It takes 3 darts to sedate the Indoraptor, with 2 doing pretty much nothing apparently. They discovered this when one of his carers sedated him to clean out his pen and the Indoraptor basically did what it did to Ken Wheatley's character. The Indoraptor acted as if it was sedated, knew how to fake getting sedated and lured his prey in that way, which... Makes the Indoraptor a bit more like a "monster" than an actual animal, which I don't know how to feel about.

[@Dragoncurve]

I still really wish they left that in because the deleted scene had the skull in the cage and revealed it had killed before

[@juliancaraveo5700]

@@Dragoncurve The Indoraptor also could have killed or injured someone who stood to close to cage , which is why there is a red line as a precaution.

[@MercuryAlphaInc]

@@Dragoncurve Definitely, it would have given us more information about the Indoraptor and its intelligence. Now it kinda felt... off. The whole smirk, the Indoraptor playing sedated, it came out of left field. But had they given us that scene and maybe give Wu a comment of "The last person who underestimated my creation... Well..." and just nod at the skull it would have made us actually realise what the Indoraptor was capable of.

[@Dragoncurve]

@@MercuryAlphaInc yeah absolutely agree! The movie definitely needed more “lore” to help it sell that animal.

[@DavidMiller-dt8mx]

I saw this in a theater as a double feature. I'm glad I managed to get through it - it was terrible - but the second film was Alien.

[@Scudboy17]

I'm surprised you didn't mention the Famous Monsters magazine contest. One lucky 12 year old kid got to be the guy in the suit for a couple of the shots that did make it into the movie. I only remember it because it was the lead article in the very first issue of the magazine that I ever bought.

[@MrRugbyloosehead]

I loved this movie since when I first seen it at a dusk to dawn drive in theater showing, but cause of the grainy awful quality, I had to see it again in a proper theatre, and it confirmed what I already knew, was that even though some of the special effects were not up to par? The story was great and took it to a place that other movies of this genre never have and today its still worth watching for that alone!

[@GothicThylacine]

I recommend that everyone read the book by David Seltzer. The plot and characters are still great and the monster, of course, is way better. The plot of the film actually sticks really close to the book. But I agree, the choice to make the creature "more like a bear" with the effects they used just ruined it visually. I actually would LOVE to see this re-made today with better effects and care. It would be awesome!

[@VeryForgetable]

I love this movie, when I was a kid and that scene when the bear hits that kid into a tree stuck with me all my life, it was so great

[@bladeduffer]

I remember being creeped out with the poster as a 12 year old. And when the preview came out, forget it. I was NOT going to watch that movie. It's funny because I was in the Boy Scouts at the time and we took a lot of camping trips and could never shake that scene I saw in the preview when the creature was wiping out those campers. Especially the one who got thrown against the rock so hard that down burst out of the bag. Fast forward 20 years later and I decided to watch it. It was clear that this production was definitely a cut above your average monster movie from the '70's but you are right, the weakest part was easily the way they shot the monster. It's like the deleted "crab walk"scene from ALIEN. That whole man-in-a-suit look of the alien ruined the it.

[@scottthomas8136]

Interestingly enough, the movie is based on a book by David Seltzer. He’s the same author who wrote “The Omen”. I read it when it came out and was very excited for the movie. What a disappointing experience that turned out to be.

[@candyrapper]

Great video, as always. One minor recommendation, could you use a different segue than static? It kinda hurts my ears when watching with headphones

[@minicle426]

I'm wondering. Have they ever pulled the whole 'this person is about to die' flag-wave in a movie, then have said person actually avoid it? I always liked those rare kind of subversions.

[@melvinshine9841]

Avengers: Age of Ultron is an example, actually. The movie spends a good bit on that "one last job" trope with showing Hawkeye's family, him talking about how he's going to retire after this mission, all the things he's going to do afterward, I thought Hawkeye was all kinds of dead.

[@TheBestAround131]

@@melvinshine9841 "Bet you didn't see that coming."

[@FlyingFocs]

I had this one idea where a merc takes a job because he's dying of cancer, has six months to live, and wants his family well off once he's gone, but then is one of the three survivors if that's what you're talking about.

[@FlyingFocs]

@@melvinshine9841 eh, i feel like they leaned SO HARD into "Oh he gon' die" that him surviving isn't really surprising. It's a balancibg act, you know.

[@1headphoneguy]

Richard Dysart who plays the older looking fellow in this film was also Dr. Copper in John Carpenters The Thing released three years after this in 1982.

[@alanray8038]

I really can't argue with anything you say about this film, except... well, I like it anyway. The characters, themes and suspense carry it through to the end as far as I'm concerned, but that bear suit is undeniably an issue...

[@Dragoncurve]

I love this movie!

[@leoncollins5932]

A lot of people refuse to admit this "silly" movie actually scares them, just a little 😄

[@cpfs936]

There was a movie called, I think, "Grizzly" that came out not long before this with a similar plot. I remember when my friends and I first saw this, we laughed our asses off because the monster looked just like the bear in "Grizzly", but with the fur peeled off!

[@blue_newt]

God, I love this film. It's so close to being good but fails so miserably. The book adaptation is definitely worth a read if you enjoy eco-horror.

[@wickamo]

I normally think your reviews are pretty spot on. But this time you are full of it. I remember watching this movie as a kid and I loved it. I also thought the creature was pretty creepy at the time. Yes there are much higher grade movies from the same era, but as we know not all movies can be created by George Lucas or Ridley Scott. I do remember watching this in the theater and though I was confused why the creature didn't look more like the poster...I was actually really creeped out by it's appearance...especially since it seemed more like it could be something that actually exists...a chemically mutated animal. There were several of the death scenes that, although may not have had the greatest special effects to our liking today, the idea of how the death occured was very unsettling. I remember the death of the climbers in the first scene freaking me out...the man having his head mauled when looking out of the tunnel...and the man tied to the car roof having his head bitten off...creepy back then. It is as many others have said...one of my guilty pleasures and if done with the capabilities of today, I bet it would be very cool. Sorry, but I still love this movie.

[@richardmcleod2791]

Suspension of disbelief helps to enjoy a lot of movies, this is a great flick! I'm glad I don't need everything to be absolutely perfect to enjoy watching movies!

[@voronOsphere]

I'm a fan of the film, too.

[@tonyobrannigan9784]

Saw this on HBO in the 80s when I was a kid I’ve loved this movie my whole life. Highly underrated. Highly recommended.

[@Hotgarbage100]

I watched this when I was really young. Of course it scared the shit out of me and I loved it. Just watched it again about 2 months ago. It's not as good obviously now that I'm older, but it's still a descent monster/horror movie.

[@Methadone4Life]

I loved the film and I personally prefer bad practical effects over good CGI, lol I just love the old practical effects, while some were laughable, the fact that in some cases you want the monsters to have an "unreal" look because they are monsters after all. I love practical effects, for the most part, then again I love the old B films and such. I felt the creature effects served the purpose, don't think it was near as bad as some seem to think, then again, to each his/her own as we all have different likes and dislikes and it would be nice if we could all disagree without becoming mortal enemies lol. I don't think the practical effect "ruined the movie" at all, quite the contrary...now the feathers yeah lol. Anyway, good video and I hope everyone has a good weekend.

[@elmono6299]

I actually saw this movie back in 2020 and in spite of it's cheese, I liked it. The first half is good and while the practical effects especially on the mutant zombie grizzly bear did age pretty terrible. But at least it was still entertaining if you're into some movie cheese. Also I liked the bear's design despite being a guy in a Halloween costume. Looking at it, it reminds me of ManBearPig from South Park. Still though, for a forgotten movie, it definitely deserves a remake. Just keep the story and characters the same but of course heavily improve the special effects. 🧟‍♂️🐻

[@2snipe1]

South Park was riffing off this movie, Manbearpig was Kahdatlin!

[@jackalope2302]

I remember my dad watching this one. The gooey, cancerous look of the monster (I didn't realize it was a bear) freaked my 8 year old self out

[@kuitaranheatmorus9932]

Honestly if I was kid this definitely would've been a very scary me to,but yeah I do agree the special effect looks absolutely hilarious,but bth this video was really good

[@J.S.3259]

Frankenheimer’s brilliance is undeniable. Amazing how well he straddled between exploitation and high-brow. 99 AND 44/100% DEAD is a hidden gem. It feels like a Suzuki Seijun-directed film