A Sétima Profecia

The picture concerns a pregnant woman (an actually pregnant Demi Moore) living with her husband (Michael Biehn). She realizes the strange boarder (Jurgen Prochnow) at home and the fantastic goings-on happening are united to the ¨Book of Revelation¨ and some prophecies connected to her unborn son . She gets drawn into a cobweb of mysterious events . Nowadays , she only can stop the destruction of the world like is said in ¨The commentaries of the Apocalypse of Saint John¨. All around the world various signs emerge from Biblic omens . A Vatican emissary priest (Peter Friedman) is dedicated to investigate the bizarre deeds . As the seals have been broken. The prophecies have begun. Now only one woman can halt the end of our world. An ancient evil has been awakened and there is nothing you can do to stop it... except pray.

It's a spiritual triller skillfully narrated with bit action but quite entertaining . Strikingly designed and well paced with little exterior scenarios , being exception for the frozen village and African outdoors . This polished film provides chills , supernatural events and thrills in lively mystery . It's rich and dark , though confusing , at times . The film belongs to supernatural prophecy sub-genre (along with : ¨The omen¨and its sequels , ¨The Body¨ , among others) . Good main and support cast , even Ellen DeGeneres played a bit role, but it was cut from the film before releasing . Esoteric musical score and excessive use of synthesizer by composer Jack Nitzsche (Starman , Jewel of Nile , Razor's edge) . Colorful cinematography full of shades and lights by excellent Spanish cameraman Juan Ruiz Anchia (Close range , House of game , River runs black) . The motion picture was well directed by Carl Schulz (a regular television picture director) . It's one of the most unusual supernatural movies from the 80s and certainly one of the most unsettling .

"The Seventh Sign" is an intelligent and atmospheric horror film, although "religious thriller" would probably be a more apt description. It is has many creepy moments, and what's interesting is that the fear caused by the film is God-inspired, unlike so many films in the genre. This is a movie that has a thoroughly disturbing tone, the same level of pervading dread that made "The Exorcist," "The Omen," and the underrated Roman Polanski film, "The Ninth Gate" so successful. The acting and writing are solid; there are good performances from Demi Moore and Michael Biehn. Peter Friedman is excellent as a tortured priest. If you're in the mood for a thought-provoking thriller, check out "The Seventh Sign."

Abby Quinn (Demi Moore) is a polite, caring, young woman. Which she's married to a hard-working lawyer (Michael Biehn) and Abby is also expecting her first child. But then an mysterious stranger by the name of David (Jurgen Prochnow) comes to rent their studio apartment. But Abby slowly realized that David isn't what he seems to be and David is actually an avenging angel bringing seven signs of the Apocalyspe to come.

Directed by Carl Schultz made an intriguing supernatural thriller with strong performances by Moore and especially Prochnow. This slick looking production has an terrific, haunting music score by Oscar-Winner:Jack Nitzsche (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Stand by Me, Starman) and great looking cinematography by Juan Ruiz Anchia (Glengarry Glen Ross, The Jungle Book, Spartan).

The original DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) transfer (also in Pan & Scan) and an good Dolby 2.0 Surround Sound. This film was an box office disappointment in the spring of 1988. But it somewhat went on to be a Cult Classic. "The Seventh Sign" is slow-moving at times but it's occasionally eerie and unexpectedly touching as well. "The Seventh Sign" may not be the greatest supernatural thriller of all time but it's certainly better and smarter than most. Panavision. (****/*****).

Unlike many others, I thoroughly enjoy this movie, it has many inconsistencies and it is no fair representation of The Book of Revelations or Christian mythology. However, the acting is good on most parts and the story in itself is thrilling. The best part is the end, though! My guess is that the producers did not use a test audience or they would have chosen a much sweeter and uninteresting ending.

The first scene in the film is a super one. In the middle of a small Haitian village, through the impenetrable crowds of people, walks a man who is clearly out of place with everything else. He walks toward the sea and stops before a beach. In his hands he holds a scroll and a seal. He breaks the seal, drops it on the surf, and walks away, leaving a small boy to watch as the sea begins to boil and the fish wash up on the shore. It is clear what is happening: the first sign of the apocalypse.

Thus begins "The Seventh Sign", a supernatural thriller that only partially works, and should be better than it is. Demi Moore is a pregnant woman who begins to believe that the boarder in the apartment next door may have some bizarre, end-of-the-world plans for her baby. The boarder is the aforementioned stranger with the seal, as played menacingly by Jurgen Prochnow. The strength of this film is the sense of impending doom that pervades throughout. The film is stylish, and very effective in managing an apocalyptic tone.

The main flaw of the movie, however, is that the supporting characters are so much more interesting than the featured couple. Prochnow's boarder is very creepy, and we realize that this man means business (although his role and his motives are never really made clear). The Father Lucci character is a fascinating one, and when we hear of his true identity, we are further gripped, although at the end he is made into a routine maniacal villain, and his fate is never told.

This movie might have worked better if the Moore character were not so bland. She is put forth as a woman destined to save the world, yet she comes across as a talking head who is endlessly impressed by Prochnow's cryptic stories. She never really comes across as anything interesting. Her husband is the typical disbelieving clod who refuses to accept what his wife is saying, even when all hell is breaking loose around their ears.

Despite the flaws, I enjoyed "The Seventh Sign" and would willingly watch it again. There are several powerful moments, and other scenes that are memorable, like the opening shot. I would recommend it, but I'm not sure if I'd do so as a serious movie or as silly weekend fare.