Bloody Disgusting Horror - "Prince of Darkness" Movie Info, Review, Headlines, Gallery

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Posted By: DrCaligari666 at 12:54pm, January 29, 2010

John Carpenter�s Prince of Darkness is an interesting amalgam of classic horror films, offering us some of their best aspects while also giving viewers a fresh new take on the �demonic� story. Horror fans will quickly recognize the overall plot here � a group of people trapped in a building while malevolent entities try to destroy them from without and within. The group at hand is a research team of scientists, a priest, and a theologian. A mysterious, liquefied evil is infecting people, turning them into violent zombie-like soldiers controlled by �Satan�s� will and who in turn are empowered to infect others. (I have put quotations around certain words due to the refreshing twist of the plot.) From these elements one can see the influences of the genre�s elite, including The Haunting, The Night of the Living Dead, The Legend of Hell House, and even Carpenter�s own earlier masterpiece, The Thing. In fact, this film is the second installment of what Carpenter refers to as his �Apocalypse Trilogy,� which begins with The Thing and ends with In the Mouth of Madness. I have always been a sucker for ensemble horror, and this is no exception. And rather than be distracted by these similarities, they instead pay homage in an endearing way.

The script is compelling and tight, and it interweaves quantum theory, religious philosophy, and a healthy smattering of pseudoscience in way that is believable and compelling. The result is not your average tale of good versus evil, or even God versus Satan, but rather a dystheistic scenario in which man is confronted and endangered by the forces of the universe. It turns what man understands of reality and spirituality and turns it upon its head, calling into question the nature of evil and God�s role in the world. There are some genuine scares in the movie and some scenes are very creepy. Carpenter builds the tension of the plot very well and adds some shocking, unsettling imagery. Likewise, the cast is compiled of capable actors.

Unfortunately, the film has begun to show its age in some respects, including its special effects (The Thing actually holds up better in this respect and many others). Its pacing, too, is very slow in the beginning. I normally do not mind this, and at times love it (especially when compared to today�s horror�s frantic editing), and Carpenter shows some good direction here by establishing some character relations, but in the end those relations do not matter much or contribute to any emotional impact or empathy. Therefore we care nothing for what happens to each character. The viewer is certainly rewarded in the end for sticking with the film, but the beginning can begin to try one�s patience. Despite these relatively minor flaws, however, Prince of Darkness is an original horror film worth seeing. Besides, it�s got a cameo of Alice Cooper as a possessed homeless �schizo,� so what more could you ask for?

B-

Posted By: Magnascopics at 1:15am, September 24, 2009

Solid, atmospheric horror with an eerie choral-layered score. The audience that I saw this with in '87 went nuts when Jameson Parker discovered the 'evil' beside him in his bed at the end. Long live John Carpenter and Alice Cooper!

Posted By: Scurgar at 11:47pm, September 23, 2009

Thinking man's horror? Geeky horror? Either way you spin it, this is definitely an interesting take on the whole 'Satan trying to come into our world' plot.

It's a slow burner, but I was never bored. I was always interested in the dialogue considering the unique content. The acting is fine, the effects are fine, the music was starting to grate on me though, and I definitely would have liked more violence AND I wanted the son of Satan to look more evil.

Overall though, this movie is definitely worth a watch. Good, but not great.

Posted By: Darkstorn at 11:35pm, September 9, 2009

'Prince of Darkness' is supposed to be the middle film of Carpenter's sci-fi/horror trilogy that includes The Thing before it and In the Mouth of Madness after it. Both those films are superior, but this film goes for a very different tone than the others. It's basically about a group of college students and their professor who discover Satan himself in liquid form hidden deep inside an ancient Spanish church. While they try to research it, things get out of hand, and end up getting VERY scary toward the end. It's worth a watch, but remember that you likely won't connect with any of the characters. Even so, it's a good movie that has been underlooked for far too long.

Posted By: IWRS at 7:19pm, February 3, 2009

This movie wasnt bad, not Carpenters best but a decent film. It has a traditional score that is well written and helps feed the atmosphere of the film, Carpenter always does a great job on his scores for his films it seems.

I enjoyed the makeup effects in this film, and there are a few good scares. I also found the dream sequence that the actors in the film have to be somewhat eerie as well. Donald Pleasence does a great job in this one as a priest, and the acting isnt bad from the rest of the cast. The story takes a while to get off its feet, but it is worth it, as it deals with a hidden secret by the church thats over 200 years old and involves Satan. Overall I give this a 6 out of 10.

Posted By: downward_spiral at 2:11pm, November 6, 2008

A very weird film but hey its a classic. Very differnet and a must see for anybody that loves horror films.

Posted By: Protecious at 11:45pm, September 30, 2008

a strange movie that uses supernatural forces as a threat to people, interesting ideas here, could have been a bit better with the good ideas, but overall it was good, not great.

Posted By: fathermalachi at 11:51am, September 24, 2008

Its one of my favorite Carpenter films. The combination of science and religion was very deep which made for a very exciting movie. That and Peter Jason rocks!

Posted By: Loomistheman at 12:31am, September 24, 2008

One of John Carpenter's best! I never looked at mirrors the same. Nice seeing Alice Cooper in it. I also loved the way it combined science and religion

Posted By: MonsterFreak at 2:28am, July 26, 2008

To be honest it's a below par film for John Carpenter. I found it slow, boring and ultimately pointless.

Posted By: stewietantrum at 10:30am, June 15, 2008

I love this film. It's chilling, suspenseful, and very grim. The way the story combines science with religion and puts it into a horror scenerio is absolutely brilliant.