666: The Prophecy
By-the-numbers horror from Darren Lynn Bousman, inspired by calendar numerology
(15) 90mins
The current public appetite for horror barely excuses the eventual, much delayed release of 666: The Prophecy, which was opportunistically released in the US in November last year on the date (and under the title) 11-11-11. The idea that calendar numerology could somehow be the trigger for demonic creatures running rampant on earth is unlikely to prove a persuasive one, particularly in a product sporting a sell-by date from some five months ago.
Writer/director Darren Lynn Bousman was responsible for several Saw films and last year’s superior thriller Mothers Day, and at least brings a professional gloss to the hokum as bestselling writer Joseph Crone (Timothy Gibbs) heads to Barcelona to visit his priest brother Samuel (Michael Landes) as their father lies dying in the attic. Joseph travels abroad already haunted by the murder of his wife and child, burned to death in a house-fire started by an obsessed fan of his writing. He also narrowly escapes from a potentially fatal car-crash, and the penny begins to drop that all these terrible events happen at eleven minutes past eleven on the eleventh day of the month. Once in Spain, only Joseph’s last minute intervention saves his brother from assassination by a mysterious member of his congregation. Throw in the presence of shadowy, gargoyle-like figures appearing on security camera footage at Samuel’s house, and it’s increasingly clear that as the date 11-11-11 gets closer, Joseph’s holiday isn’t going to be a relaxing one.
Ripping off the story of The Omen and the shock tactics of Insidious to little effect, 666: The Prophecy is a mundane horror-thriller, complete with a limp twist involving romantic interest Sadie (Wendy Glenn). While not as offensively tawdry as recent release The Devil Inside, Bousman’s film is strictly by-the-numbers horror fare.
Selected release from Fri 6 April.