The Prophet's Game

Following in the footsteps of 'Seven', yet another copycat psycho thriller, this time with famous folk being bumped off as part of a game played over the Internet. Without the two leads this really would deserve the bargain bin, Hopper and Zimbalist at least keep their characters interesting. Which is more than can be said for everyone else. Would've been nice to have had some real celeb cameos to be killed off, but maybe they thought that was tempting fate!

At the start of the movie, a farmer wonders if his lack of success is due to God punishing him. He catches his son and daughter playing The Prophet's Game, which he considers evil. Since he believes his son killed a dog (the boy denies it) and the son doesn't want to stop playing the evil game, the father believes he must beat his son (this is implied, not shown) to keep him from going to Hell. The mother, despite pleas from her daughter to stop the beating, can only comfort her daughter; she appears afraid to confront her husband.

In present-day Seattle, retired detective Vincent Swan receives a phone call from the Los Angeles Police. The LAPD needs help with another serial killer whose pattern appears the same as that of a killer in Seattle; not only did Swan catch the man, but his daughter was one of the victims. Either Swan caught the wrong man or there is a copycat.

Alan is a teaching assistant at a Los Angeles college. His beautiful blonde fiancée Barb is a medical intern working for the morgue, and his roommate is happy-go-lucky Lewis. Their first scene together suggests this will be a comedy-mystery, but there is little to laugh about after the one scene. Barb knows yet another celebrity has been murdered; we saw it happen but couldn't see the face of the killer, who dressed in black. The killer dismembers the bodies, and while we don't see it, there is plenty of blood on the screen and it's still quite disgusting to watch.

Lewis and Alan both play The Prophet's Game, as do several students at the college. They look a little old to be students, but some students are older. The killer is offering clues about his victims through the game, and the police figure this out too late for one of the celebrities. Furthermore, they cover up the fact that this celebrity is dead, but Barb knows. And Alan, contacted by phone, is told to correctly answer the questions of the killer, whose voice is disguised, or else. He gets several answers wrong before he is told it is his last chance. Will the cops figure out what is going on in time to stop another murder?

The mystery is not anything groundbreaking, but it is chilling to hear the killer harass Alan, knowing this person seems to have no conscience. And the riddles must be solved, or else, which can be interesting. And there's a pretty good chase scene where the detectives run after a suspect.

The biggest reason to watch this movie is for two great performances--Dennis Hopper as the Seattle detective who tries hard to catch the killer, and Sondra Locke as Adele (yes, she's capable of much more than those silly orangutan movies with Clint Eastwood, which I enjoyed).

At the same time, toward the movie's end, I saw one of the must graphic and disturbing dead bodies I have ever seen on a TV screen. Perhaps the great horror classics have this and worse, but I don't watch those.

Stephanie Zimbalist does a good job as one of the Los Angeles detectives, and while she is a Christian (apparently Catholic because she prays to Mary at one point), she demonstrates her faith more positively than that farmer.

I never heard of the actress who played Barb, but she was pretty good, especially when she walked around Alan's apartment in just a shirt and made every effort to call attention to her legs. Actually, if you look closely, she is wearing a bra, but still ...

Is it worth seeing? I guess it depends on what type mysteries you like. I prefer less blood and more laughs.

I started rooting for one character to be the next to die just because the actor's performance was so God-awful. Thankfully, my wish was granted. Dennis Hopper was likeable and gives a good performance. Stephanie Zimbalist's performance was marred by a now-you- hear-it, now-you-don't Noo Yawk accent. Other than that, a silly plot with a one-trick pony of a twist, cheap psychological background, stupid police tricks (don't they go to some police school that teaches them to disarm suspects and carry their cell phones with them rather than leave them deep in the woods, in their hidden cars?), and ponderous music make this a movie to miss.

The storyline of this movie had the potential to be good and intriguing, however the writer massacred it. The characters' motivations where sketchy and overacted, even by the usually charismatic Dennis Hopper. Some of the lines had me laughing when it was obviously meant to be suspensful, serious, or cathartic.

Overall, it is worth a watch for a Dennis Hopper fan. He saves this otherwise sinking ship.

Disappointing police drama concerning the challenge between an old detective (Hooper) and a weird and uncanny serial killer. Tired formula with a plot that goes along in a peasant pace with no real catch or interesting situations and characters. I give this a 3 (three).