Each October, the Unsung Horrors podcast does a month of themed movies. This year, they will once again be setting up a fundraiser to benefit Best Friends, which works to save the lives of cats and dogs across America, giving pets second chances and providing them with happy homes.

Today’s theme: Animals Attack!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Adam Hursey is a pharmacist specializing in health informatics by day, but his true passion is cinema. His current favorite films are Back to the Future, Stop Making Sense, and In the Mood for Love. He has written articles for Film East and The Physical Media Advocate, primarily examining older films through the lens of contemporary perspectives. He is usually found on Letterboxd, where he mainly writes about horror and exploitation films. You can follow him on Letterboxd or Instagram at ashursey.

Ecology horror boomed in the 1970s. The reason is clear. Environmentalism was becoming a major political talking point. Companies were disposing of their toxic waste without proper regulations. In 1969, the Cuyahoga River in Ohio caught fire due to the amount of chemicals in the waterway. By 1970, Earth Day was established to bring awareness to the fragility of the Earth and its resources. And the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established as a government agency via an executive order by Richard Nixon, later ratified by Congress. You mean there was a time when Republicans cared about the environment and the future of our planet? 

There are of course many films that base its plot around animals running amok, perhaps seeking revenge on the neglect or outright disdain humans have for the environment. Frogs. Bug. Squirm. One word really sums it up.

You can add John Frankenheimer’s Prophecy to that list. His film takes the next step, though. Not only is the improper waste management of a capitalistic corporation to blame for the mayhem that ensues, the encroachment of indigenous land plays a major part in the mutation of a bear out for righteous revenge. Although, in retrospect, perhaps casting Armand Assante as the leader of the Native American resistance was not ideal. You have to take social change in cinema one bite at a time, I suppose.

Unfortunately, despite the importance of the story, the film itself is a bit bland, perhaps focusing a bit too hard on the relationship between ecologist Robert Verne (Robert Foxworth) and his cellist wife Maggie (Talia Shire). Maggie recently found out she is pregnant, and Robert is not interested in bringing a child into such a broken world. She has not broken the news to Robert, though, when they go to the area of dispute between the evil corporation and the Native Americans. The situation gets dicier when she realizes she may have exposed her unborn child to the environment that mutated the bear. As much as I love melodrama in my horror film, this story left me underwhelmed.

What left me properly whelmed, though, is the sleeping bag child kill! Is it wrong that I literally laughed out loud when it happened? If laughing at kids getting demolished in movies is wrong, I don’t wanna be right.