In the late 1970s, small Mormon sect, led by charismatic but ruthless Ervil Le Baron (played by Brian Dennehy), begins the campaign with the intention of becoming the dominant force in the Mormon community. In doing so, any means are necessary, including violence and physical elimination of rivals. The sect seems unstoppable until the dedicated district attorney Daniel "Dan" Fields (played by Willliam Devane) begins investigation and personal crusade with the intention to bring Le Baron and his cronies to justice.

Based on true events, this film is just another example of assembly line philosophy that characterises American television approach to the stories inspired by real life. The result of such philosophy is gazillion of docudramas, movies whose only value in saving time and resources for those viewers hungry for true-life stories yet unable or unwilling to spend their precious time and resources for reading books or articles. However, even in the world of docudrama there are different layers of quality. Some movies can be enjoyed by their own merit, and some can't be saved even by fascinating subject.

Prophet of Evil falls within the second category. Directed by Judson Taylor, director who made more than fifty television movies in his career, it shows the lack of any interest by filmmakers. The interesting and fascinating subject of little known inter sectarian violence in American Southwest is mostly ignored (Messenger of Death, 1988 film with Charles Bronson, was much better in exploring such themes). What we get is the lame, predictable and sometimes downright boring story, with Brian Dennehy, usually very capable actor, making his character a third-grade caricature. Same is with William Devane as his adversary, and the boring subplots fail to make his character human. All in all, Prophet of Evil is a film unworthy of both the story and viewer's attention.

RATING: 2/10 (-)

(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.movies.reviews on June 6th 1999)

Blog in Croatian https://draxblog.com
Blog in English https://draxreview.wordpress.com/
Cent profile https://beta.cent.co/@drax
Minds profile https://www.minds.com/drax_rp_nc

Brave browser: https://brave.com/dra011

BTC donations: 1EWxiMiP6iiG9rger3NuUSd6HByaxQWafG
ETH donations: 0xB305F144323b99e6f8b1d66f5D7DE78B498C32A7