The Seventh Sign (1988)

The Seventh Sign movie synopsis. In Haiti, the sea and the life-form die; in the Middle East, a town is frozen. These are signs of the Apocalypse and the Vatican is investigating, but Father Lucci advises that these omens are hoax or technologically explained.

In California, the housewife Abby Quinn is pregnant and the delivery is scheduled to February, 29 in a leap year. Her husband, the lawyer Russell Quinn, is defending a weird case of the teenager Jimmy Szaragosa that killed his parents telling that he was following the Word of God. Meanwhile Abby rents a garage apartment to the mysterious David Bannon.

The hopeless Abby has strange nightmares and soon she finds that around the world there are signs of the Apocalypse in accordance with the Book of Revelation. She learns also that David Bannon is Jesus that has returned; Father Lucci is the Pilate’s porter Cartaphilus that was doomed to wander on Earth for the eternity; and she is a woman that tried to help Jesus.

The Seventh Sign is a 1988 apocalyptic drama horror film written by Clifford and Ellen Green and directed by Carl Schultz. The title and plot reference the seven seals described in the Book of Revelation, the final book of the New Testament of the Bible.

About the Story

Around the world, unusual phenomena are occurring that bear resemblance to signs of the Biblical apocalypse; these include a mass death of sea life in Haiti and a devastating freeze in the Middle East, and at each of these locations, a mysterious traveler (Jürgen Prochnow) opens a sealed envelope just prior to the event taking place. The Vatican tasks Father Lucci (Peter Friedman) with investigating these events, though Lucci advises that they are all either hoaxes or have other explanations.

Concurrently to this, Abby Quinn (Demi Moore), a pregnant woman living in California, prepares for the birth of her child. Her husband, Russell (Michael Biehn), is the defense lawyer representing Jimmy Szaragosa (John Taylor), a mentally handicapped man dubbed the “Word of God Killer” after murdering his incestous parents and claiming he did so because of God’s guidance. Jimmy is convicted of the crime; Russell hopes to convince the court that he should be spared the death penalty.

In order to raise additional money for when their child is born, Abby and Russell rent a room to the mysterious traveler, who identifies himself with the name David Bannon. Soon thereafter, the usually hopeless Abby begins to have terrible nightmares of a man resembling Bannon being struck down by a soldier, who then demands “would you die for him?” of her.

Abby also learns of the apocalyptic signs that have occurred, and combined with her nightmares and Bannon’s suspicious behavior, she begins to worry that something terrible is taking place. She snoops through Bannon’s papers and discovers an ancient note that leads her to believe he intends to harm her child. When Abby confronts Bannon about this, he tells her that God’s grace is empty and soon, no souls will remain to be given to newborn people. Abby panics and stabs Bannon, only for him to shrug off the injury and claim that he “cannot die again.”

It becomes apparent that “David Bannon” is actually the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Abby’s nightmares are visions of his original crucifixion, and she is the reincarnation of Seraphia, the woman who offered Jesus water prior to his death only to be turned away by Cartaphilus, Pilate’s porter who struck Jesus.

The signs of the apocalypse continue to unfold, eventually causing a giant storm. Abby connects with Avi (Manny Jacobs), a Jewish man who helps her understand these events and their meaning. Father Lucci, who has come to California as part of his investigation, finds her and hears her concerns. However, while meeting with Lucci, Abby spots a ring on his finger identical to the one Cartaphilus wore and learns that Lucci is Cartaphilus himself, cursed to wander the Earth until Christ’s return to judge mankind.