The Prophet's Game (1999)

Even the Prophet can be wrong

A fairly good suspense film, even a thriller, with a serial killer who comes back after having died on the scene of his last or latest crime. And he gets into a new series. We know from the very start who the killer or killers is or are. But we will only understand that very beginning at the end. It is a game among anonymous people with enigmas and riddles that prophesies the next victim. If you want the next victim to be saved you have to give the solution to the latest riddle you received. Of course the game is rigged. The killer gets some guarantee by menacing the players with some reprisal on some close relatives or friends. Of course the object of the game is to bring the cop who put an end to the first series of serial killings into the game to get some kind of vengeance. It's well done and it shoots in all directions with a few elements that will not get explained here and there. The riddles are obscure and the explanations are too quick for us to wonder what it really means and how they manage to get the solutions. We can also wonder how this killer can single-handedly kidnap or abduct an adult. But I guess everything has to remain slightly mysterious. The happy ending is of course very optimistic. The killer could have done a lot more damage if the end had not been too vain and had only considered vengeance. That killer being insane, definitely schizophrenic, does not explain why in the last moments of the adventure criminal reason departs and vanity takes over. But that's good entertainment.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine & University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne
July 20, 2007

Dennis Hopper suspense/action thriller with an original plot

The Prophet's Game has a unique plot with lots of action. The ending however could have been better. The game itself involves a game master (the killer) giving out obscure clues to all of the players. The players attempt to find out what dead celebrity the clues are referring so they can stay in the game. Eventually it is discovered by one of the players that some of the dead celebrities were not dead when the clue was given to them.

The method of operation turns out be a copycat of a serial killer in Seattle, who now-retired police detective Swan (Dennis Hopper) supposedly solved by killing the culprit. The killer lures Swan back into the mix with postacards and phone calls. Swan decides to help the LA police who definately do not want his help.

The movie spirals into a personal conflict between Swan and the Killer and several celebrities die along the way. The confrontation scene in the end is OK. The identity of the killer will suprise you, but the killer's final masterpiece has been done is several movies.

Overall I gave the movie 3 stars for originality and good performances by Dennis Hopper and Joe Penny (yes, from Jake and the Fatman) as Walter Motter (the person in charge of the police investigation). The other performances are pretty bland and cinematography is obviously low-budget. I would suggest renting the movie first unless you're a big Hopper fan. May 29, 2001

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