Stephen King and Quentin Tarantino Both Love This 70s Monster Movie (Even Its Director Doesn’t)

Stephen King might be an expert when it comes to evaluating old and new horror movies, but he’s not safe from guilty pleasures either — and, surprisingly, those include a critical flop that even its own director never liked after all.

There was a time when King revealed he was a fan of some “horrible” horror films that everyone slammed back in the day, with one of those being John Frankenheimer’s Prophecy released in 1979.

The movie did fail on many levels and even made Frankenheimer wish he had done things differently. However, the flick still found its audience, and even Quentin Tarantino eventually joined the fandom.

Stephen King Calls ‘Prophecy’ His Favorite Horrible Horror Movie

• On Rotten Tomatoes, Prophecy holds a score of 35% from both critics and viewers
• On IMDb, the movie is rated 5.6/10

It might be that the writer saw something truly unique in the movie that was abandoned by its own creators, but King in fact liked Prophecy so much he couldn’t stop himself from rewatching it eventually.

“Since any affectionate discussion of really horrible movies (as opposed to horror movies) is in the nature of a breast baring. I must admit here that I not only liked John Frankenheimer’s Prophecy, I actually saw it three times”, King revealed in his non-fiction book “Danse Macabre” which was released back in 1981.

Apart from that, Prophecy wasn’t an option that bad for Quentin Tarantino either.

“I kind of have a soft spot in my heart for this stupid ass movie. Aside from the bonkers bear monster, the film's one saving grace is Talia Shire”, the director wrote for New Beverly Cinema back in 2020.

What Do Critics and Viewers Say About ‘Prophecy’?

Unlike Stephen King and Quentin Tarantino, most critics and audience members weren’t that enthusiastic about Prophecy that, according to its director John Frankenheimer, could’ve turned out way better hadn’t he altered some major details in the initial script.

“Frankenheimer even makes moral noises about what industrial pollution is doing to our lives. But Prophecy's moral aspirations turn out to be mere window dressing for an old-fashioned and not very convincing monster movie”, Gannett Westchester Rockland Newspapers’ Peter Travers wrote about the film.

“The problem with Prophecy is that it can't decide whether it wants to be a serious indictment of corporate corruption or a campy, old-fashioned monster marathon”, New West / California’s Stephen Farber added.

Some viewers, however, were more condescending. “The movie has too many stationary scenes. Monstrosity scenes are well crafted. Some scenes are technically amazing. But slow-burn parts killing the vibe. Could have been much much better”, user Valeri Ege D wrote on Rotten Tomatoes’ website.

“A true hidden gem that for some reason is extremely underrated. Superbly written and wonderfully executed in general, albeit with some dodgy effects here and there. Don't believe the hate - this one deserves a better reputation”, Sebastian L revealed.

Where to Watch ‘Prophecy’?

The movie is available for streaming on Prime Video.