THE SEVENTH SIGN
The seals have been broken. The prophecies have begun. Now only one woman can halt the end of our world.
Directed by Carl Schultz
Stars Demi Moore as Abby Quinn, Michael Biehn as Russell Quinn, Jürgen Prochnow as David Bannon, Peter Friedman as Father Lucci, Akosua Busia as Penny Washburn, John Taylor as Jimmy Szaragosa, Manny Jacobs as Avi, Lee Garlington as Dr. Margaret Inness and Hugo Stanger as Old Priest.
Strange events are happening around the world that seem to indicate that prophecies foretold in the Book of Revelation, the opening of seven seals, signs of the apocalypse, are coming true. These events are being investigated by Father Lucci from the Vatican and a man called David Bannon seems to be connected to them. Abby Quinn is having a baby (as star Demi Moore was in real life). She and husband, Russell, lease part of their home to the mysterious Bannon. Abby begins to suspect that Bannon is trying to harm her baby. The more she finds out, well, you know, spoilers!
There are no visible intestines in this film but I’m sure the cast do have intestines beneath their clothes. What it does have is a very, very good story, awesome locations and a sterling cast. I was pretty surprised that I hadn’t seen this one before, considering its age and the fact that it’s such a high quality film, but there you go, although it is a bit like not having seen The Omen (1976) or something. Now, I don’t often mention other sites but I’ve got to mention ‘Rotten Tomatoes’ in this particular case where this film gets a laughable 19% based on 16 reviews by critics, astonishing really, this fact gets a mention on Wikipedia to0. Having watched the film, in my book that makes this the most underrated film I’ve ever heard of, I guess that’s just my opinion but I was totally engrossed from start to finish.
I have to admit that before watching this I thought, well, it’s probably going to be a bit of a yawn. Big stars don’t a great film make in my experience and while I think Demi Moore is generally OK and I’ve seen Michael Biehn in various things, can’t really recall what, I didn’t think it’d be that interesting to me personally, same with Jürgen Prochnow and indeed the director, nothing said great horror film to me, but how wrong I was! It’s certainly not a shocking or bloody film at all but those things aren’t the be all and end all of a horror film as any horror fan knows; the horror genre embraces a well-told tale without those aspects too and how welcome such films are. This has tension, it’s engrossing, the effects are very decent, Demi Moore appears naked while pregnant and er…. it has tension! Wow, big nipples!
It’s a fantastic film and that 19% rating is the stupidest thing I’ve ever come across. I say get this thing out on Blu-ray remastered and relaunch it with a whole bunch of extras and stuff, and a free poster would be nice. Yes, it is that good! Along with Audrey Rose (1977) this is a newly discovered classic to me, I hadn’t seen either till recently and I’m massively impressed with both. Great atmosphere and gripping. Stand out performances include Moore, Prochnow and Manny Jacobs, really good stuff, no weak performances at all actually. I highly recommend this to anyone who hasn’t seen it, bear in mind it was 1988, of course, although I’m not saying it doesn’t stand up today – it does, and just enjoy this unacclaimed classic. I will certainly be watching it again and soon. What a revelation (couldn’t resist that one).
