Customer Reviews

Prince of Darkness

5 star:		(55)
4 star:		(41)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

One of John Carpenter's last truly great movies, made before he lost his touch and began cranking out dreck like "In the Mouth of Madness" and "Vampires."

Not surprisingly this film tanked at the box office when released way back in 1987. It's script, a heady mix of quantum physics, religious doctrine, and questions about the origins of Christ and Satan, challenges everything viewers think they know about God, the Devil, and Man. But true horror film fans will appreciate it's intelligent script about Satan's return to earth and his attempts to bring along something even worse than him.

What could possibly be worse than Satan? Buy the movie and find out. You won't be dissappointed.

At its core, "Prince" is an old-fashioned horror film. A group of people, in this case, college grad students, their professor, and an emotionally shattered priest, are trapped in an old spooky place(a church) with something horrible. But the script's deft mix of science and secret scripture lifts it above cliche. Carpenter's skillfull direction creates a sense of claustrophobic tension that makes you feel as if you're in the movie.

There are few directors who can create this sense of menace even in daylight scenes but Carpenter pulls it off. The film's first scene establishes a sense of escalating dread that spirals into full blown terror by the movie's final moments.

You'll also be thinking about the film's bone-chilling last scene long after you've hit the rewind button.

John Carpenter's "Prince of Darkness" is vintage Carpenter and one of the Master's greatest and most underrated outings, serving up a masterfully ghoulish, take-no-prisoners, heavy on the red sauce and liquefied pure green Evil little howler of a horror movie.

Consider "Prince of Darkness" as a fine Carpenterian wine (a merlot, of course---a deep *red* merlot), well aged---after all, 1987 was a good year, and this film is a fine vintage. The bouquet? Rich and heady, a fine distillation of "Assault on Precinct 13" and "The Thing." With that in mind, let's pop the cork on "Prince of Darkness".

When the last, venerable priest of an ancient and mysterious Catholic order dies, Father Loomis (played with aplomb by the great Donald Pleasence---possibly playing the brother of Mike Myer's shrink?), sent to gather the priest's effects and secure his crumbling parish church, discovers something green, liquid and nasty bottled up in the church basement, and it's not detergent.

Father Loomis calls in a team of physics students and linguistic researchers, who begin to suspect something Evil is afoot in the church basement, and It has plans of its own. Let the Smackdown commence!

In this corner: A team of physics grad students led by Parker Jameson (A.J. Simon from the TV series "Simon and Simon, of course!) and veteran character actor Victor Wong (from Carpenter's other camp classic "Big Trouble in Little China", here hamming it up and chewing scenery with furious abandon and with the help of a spooky eye), and of course with Pleasence bringing in the ecclesiastical heavy weapons.

AND in this Corner: Evil, incarnate as puke-green liquid encased in a translucent cylinder in the base of a decrepit L.A. church, and its zombified homeless minions, who are in turn led by Alice Cooper with extra ghoul make-up. Welcome to my nightmare, indeed!

As silly as all of it might sound, Carpenter has made a nasty, atmospheric, stylish and grippingly effective little horror movie, one that still disturbs me when I watch it---this is not a movie for the fainthearted. But more to the point, it's loads of fun; just look what you get---

*The Ultimate Evil---in a Can! It spews, it congeals, it defies gravity, and it infects its victims and makes them behave badly, right down to belching and personal remarks. This is nasty stuff, folks!

*Donald Pleasence, Jameson Parker, AND Victor Wong in the same movie---and all over-acting (which in itself should bring about the end of the world)!

*Some of the most merciless, nasty kills this side of "The Thing"---including death by cockroach swarm and my personal favorite, death by Bicycle (chain that thing, son)!
*Zombified homeless people, including a creepy-crawly Alice Cooper and a nice turn by veteran character actor Joanna Merlin (what's...that....in her alms cup?)!

*A trademark extra-creepy crawly Soundtrack composed by John Carpenter!

*Sexy physics grad-student pick-up lines and a happening romance between Parker and heroine Lisa Blount!

If I'm making this sound more campy than horrifying, then I don't mean to, because "Prince of Darkness" is Carpenter at his very best: sure some of the acting is a little raw (but remember: if you can afford lots of b-movie actors, you get more gory kills!), but the editing, sleek cinematography (by first-timer Gary Kibbe, who went on to become a regular Carpenter crew-member), and sleazy set design come together to underscore the film's subtext of Evil as dry-rot.

This is a brutal, relentlessly gory, and completely merciless little horror movie that doesn't pull any punches, and it does a fine job of painting its bleak, genuinely malignant atmosphere. There are some truly nasty touches here that will stay with you long after the credits roll: for instance, the 'radio broadcasts' (from another dimension? from the future?) gave me the crawls. If you like your Ultimate Evil with a side-order of nuclear physics, then "Prince of Darkness" is certain not to disappoint.

An ancient evil has awakened, and it is in liquid form! Father Loomis (Donald Pleasance) receives a key from another, now deceased, priest, and with this key opens himself up to a whole new realm of knowledge that the Roman Catholic church has kept secret for quite some time now. Father Loomis enlists the aid of a brilliant physicist, Prof. Howard Birack (Victor Wong), and some of his graduate students to help him unravel this archaic mystery. Without knowing exactly what they are getting themselves into, several experts in the fields of chemistry, biology, and ancient texts set out to investigate the undisclosed enigma.

Deep within the sanctuary of a run down church lies a dirty little secret few know about. The Prince of Darkness, son of the devil himself, is being held captive in liquid form, and is guarded by only a few lucky priests and nuns. However, the time has come for the Prince to awaken and bring forth his father to wreak havoc. As the Prince, and thus his father, gains his strength, many of the more weak-minded are turned to do the biding of the dark lord. The zombie and bug counts rise as the plot thickens, and this group of science professors and students are in a race against time to stop the forces of evil from inflicting their ill will on the unsuspecting public.

Unfortunately, this film tends to be hidden in the shadows behind Carpenter's more famous "Halloween" and "The Thing." However, that does make this film all that much more of a gem. This is truly one of his great cinematic accomplishments, complete with his own score, a great cast, and stellar effects for the time. The characters are fairly well developed, yet Carpenter manages to accomplish this without dwelling on this aspect of the film. Instead, he submerges the viewer into the intrigue and story line, which there is plenty of.

The plot is completely original, which is something hard to come by in this particular genre. Though Carpenter enlists certain elements that may be stereotypical, such as the Romero-esque zombies and the notion of all-encompassing evil attempting to over-take good, Carpenter adds his own unique twists. One thing that's absolutely superb with regards to this film is that it never devolves into a gore or suspense filled vacuum, completely devoid of meaning. Hidden within the blatant horror facets are religious undertones as well as a love story. Though it may seem that this would not work well for a film of this genre, Carpenter pulls it off as only a horror master could. Interspersed throughout the film one can also find excellently cheesy comic relief, mostly in the form of poor jokes presented by Walter (Dennis Dun).

All in all this movie happens to be one of my favorite films, by one of my favorite directors. Thought the DVD is completely bereft of extras, I highly recommend this film to any fan of the genre!

Thanks in large part to the frenetic efforts of John Carpenter, the horror film medium flourished anew in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Few fans of the genre need a reminder that Carpenter directed the classic "Halloween," an independent film that went on to great success and eternal status as a cult classic. While the tale about the merciless Michael Myers certainly didn't invent the slasher film (look back to Mario Bava's classic "Twitch of the Death Nerve" to see an earlier effort), it influenced many others to carry the torch in the following years. Carpenter's recent films just don't compare with his early fright fests. That's a darn shame, but for horror aficionados, watching the troika of "Halloween," "The Fog," and "The Thing" will always deeply satisfy. I suspect the last truly effective film Carpenter directed was "Prince of Darkness" in 1987. When I first watched this film shortly after it came out, I didn't enjoy it, but a recent viewing swept away all of my prior distastes for the film. I don't know why my thoughts about this movie have changed, but I now consider it a phenomenal effort easily comparable to this director's early work.

Something of unfathomable evil resides in the basement of a decrepit church in downtown Los Angeles, an object of such vast terrors that the mere thought of its existence makes one's flesh crawl and soul shudder. For Father Loomis (Donald Pleasence), the secrets of this object suddenly intrude on his consciousness when the last member of an enigmatic secret society called the Brotherhood of Sleep dies. Loomis finds the man's diary and learns part of the truth concerning this object. In order to discover more, the priest writes a letter to renowned quantum physicist Professor Howard Birack of the Doppler Institute in an effort to secure his services. Wong readily complies, bringing with him several of his best graduate students. Accompanying the good professor are a few other specialists, namely in the fields of chemistry and ancient languages. None of the students know exactly what is going on at first until the truth makes itself known in particularly gruesome ways.

It turns out that the evil object in question is a dark canister containing some inky substance in a perpetual state of flux. Ominous clues about this fluid pop up with frightening regularity. One of the students learns there is a lock on the inside of the canister, certainly one of the last places such a device would be under normal circumstances. Moreover, a computer scan of the fluid reveals a plethora of unknown mathematical equations. The ancient language student studies a massive tone found in the canister's chamber and makes frequent heart stopping pronouncements about what she finds. The secrets uncovered about the canister are shocking, providing an entirely alternate account of Satan, Jesus Christ, and the nature of evil. Additionally, the dark fluid looks as though it is about to wake up somehow, an awakening with dire results for the hapless band of students roaming around the abandoned church. To make matters worse, a gang of zombie-like homeless people gathers in silence around the outside of the building. Anyone who attempts to leave the church dies especially gruesome deaths, such as the disbelieving student who disintegrates into a mass of roaches or another escapee who meets his bloody end with a bicycle. The situation inside isn't much better as the fluid infects several students who then promptly murder their companions. The ultimate evil is horribly close to spreading into the outer world, and it is up to this unlikely band of heroes to save the planet.

"Prince of Darkness" works because it is an attempt at a cerebral foray into the world of horror. Perhaps some people will not appreciate the heavy reliance on physics here, but I found it quite refreshing when mixed with some nice, down to earth gore effects. The performances worked as well, especially Donald Pleasence as the frightened Father Loomis (perhaps he is the twin brother of Pleasence's character in "Halloween," Dr. Sam Loomis?) and Victor Wong as the incredulous professor. The conversation these two have about the underlying scientific principles of the object is massively entertaining even if it is complete malarkey (actually, I don't know if this stuff is malarkey or not since I know nothing about quantum physics). As for the students, we spend most of the time learning about the burgeoning relationship between Brian Marsh (Jameson Parker) and Catherine Danforth (Lisa Blount). I always frown on the obligatory love interest elements of a horror movie, and I did the same here even though it is necessary for us to care about Danforth due to her heroism at the end of the film. But, if I had to list just one factor I liked best about the film, it would definitely be the weird dream about the dark figure emerging through that doorway that everyone in the church seems to have at one point or another. This creepy effect takes on an even greater sense of dread when we learn about its possible origins.

"Prince of Darkness" is definitely an oddity as far as horror pictures go, but it is a must see for John Carpenter fans as well as those viewers who appreciate films that require you to think. The DVD release could have possessed some decent extras, but at least the picture quality is good. The movie may be a little off putting at first due to heavy scientific themes and occasional bouts of confusion. Give it a chance, though, because you may be presently surprised with the results.

Here is my biggest complaint about the film. Most of the college students suffer "Friday the 13th Syndrome" where they wander off by themselves in places they KNOW they shouldn't be, but hang around just so they can meet their grisly end. Ask yourselves, when you walk into a room only to find green Satan goop dripping upwards and pooling on the ceiling, wouldn't you go to your friends for help? I thought so. Such a great premise and genuine forbodeing builds up to Camp Crystal Lake in an inner city church.

Having said that, I still give it three stars and maybe it should be four. Excellent premise. Donald Pleasence delivers the doom and gloom forecast like no other. The transmissions from the future are great. The ending left me COMPLETELY rattled. If this film were a little shorter, eliminating the necessity of killing off so many college kids while leaving the substance of the story intact, this would've been perfect. (Either that or give me more plausible ways to kill off the herd.) Not Carpenter's best, but it sure could've been.

I remember seeing this in the theatre when it first came out and there is no mistaking that this is one terrifying horror movie, not because Carpenter can knock up a load of blood on the screen but because it has brains and all the hallmarks of classic Carpenter suspense. If you are a Carpenter fan then you probably know that his earlier shoestring budget works are better than his recent big budget crap fests - The Thing, Assault on Precinct 13, Halloween and The Fog are what makes Carpenter great. Prince of Darkness is no exception to that rule.

The film concerns a secret Christian sect, called the Brotherhood of Sleep, who have kept something evil locked up in one of their churches downstairs in a large glass vessel. When the final brother dies he passes on the secret to Father Loomis (Donald Pleasence) who in turn decided to call in some physics students from the local college to find out what is in the vessel. Soon the students find themselves up against an evil that is waiting to be reborn, and also up against themselves as the evil takes hold of them (sort of turning people in zombies that spray evil water out from their mouths).

The single most amazing thing about the Prince of Darkness is the whole atmosphere. There is very little blood at the start and yet the feelings that are evoked by the wonderful set designs, music and lighting will have the hair on the back on your head sticking up. When the blood does come it is not as shocking, however there is one scene of a dead man outside standing in beetles that gave me sleepless nights for weeks. Imagine that thing standing at the end of your bed at night!

This is not just a horror film either. There is lots of quasi-science going on, including theories on things like tachyon particles that can transmit messages through time (in fact the Brotherhood of Sleep all the have the same dream). So in reality this movie's genre is a horror/sci-fi rather than just horror.

Although the film has certainly dated, it is still leaps and bounds ahead of the horror we put out these days. We like horror films that think a little and Carpenter used to do that for us. Oh how times have changed for this once great author, but let's not be too judgemental because of what he has already given us. Certainly Prince of Darkness ranks up there as one of the tenses and weirdest horror films of all time. Alice Cooper also has a cameo as a possessed wino! Now how can you say no to seeing that!

Bottom line is to let this film take you. Sure it is nearly twenty years old, but it is just so damn original that you have to give the man top marks. A cult classic in every sense of the word and certainly DVD ownership is a must for early Carpenter fans.

As a note Screenwriter "Martin Quatermass" is actually John Carpenter.

Yes I happen to agree with the review below mine and have to say that this film is one of John Carpenter's best and is my favorite allong with The thing and Halloween. It has a very smart storyline and has a quiet unique and interesting idea about Quantum physics and satanic possesion, trust me it will make sense later in the film. When a group of graduate students and scientists discover an ancient canister containing an evil-looking liquid in an abandoned church all hell breaks loose as the liquid seems to come alive and turns some members of the group into zombies, but even worse it releases Satan. I remmember watching this film as a kid and being absolutely terrified by it especially at the scene where the chinese guy gets stuck in the small room or closet when he then sees the possessed female and starts panicking and tells the guys to get him out of there , soon her stomach starts to fill up and her face was very grotesque and disgusting it almost gave me nightmares seeing this part now and I just had to laugh at what used to be frightening still it is a very entertaining and enjoyable horror film. You'll also get to see a short cameo by Alice Cooper as a demonicly possessed bum who provides one of the best death scenes in the film when he kills one of the scientist, anyway I highly recommend this great and exciting film to all horror fans and two thumbs up!.

Having loved the films of John Carpenter since childhood, I feel highly qualified to review this mid-level effort from America's'b'-movie maverick. Not as efficient as 1978's 'Halloween', not as accomplished as 1982's gory remake of 'The Thing', 'Prince of Darkness' is in fact an entertaining and occasionally riveting horror-thriller from a director who specializes in making old-fashioned genre pictures. Far from being the bomb some have deemed it, it is simply a mildly disappointing fright film. Perhaps a little too talky, perhaps void of explosive confrontations between the Devil and mankind like some expected, it is still a handsomely produced and perfectly scored (by Carpenter) entry in the auteur's career.
The acting is passable, the photography moody and memorable, and the whole idea of a team of Physics geeks battling an anti-God in a church basement is pretty novel(!) Thank Carpenter for the clever script(he wrote it under a pen-name) the pounding and relentless soundtrack, and the sure-handed direction. Not his best, but far from his worst, 'Darkness' is worth checking out even if you don't have unconditional love for Carpenter(as I do).

Of all John Carpenter's films, this one requires you actually concentrate on what's being said: The Brotherhood of Sleep, an ancient order created to protect the world, has a secret that, if revealed, would end all religion: God is evil. After being trapped in a highly advanced prison by Jesus Christ over 2000 years ago, the documentation describing it (aka the Bible-which was rewritten to sugarcoat events for humanity) and the prison are still kept in an abandoned church until the last of the order dies. The Vatican sends Donald Pleasence to investigate, who doesn't know what to make of it all and so sends for his friend Professor Wong. On the pretense of extra credit, he offers his quantum physics class the opportunity to examine the vessel themselves. During this time, one of the principal characters begins dreaming of the future. This turns out later to be televised transmisions actually sent from the future warning the students of the forthcoming apocalypse. What follows is an inevitable descent into darkness. None make it out, and the world is about to go bye-bye. The movie ends on that cheery note. It's not for everyone, true, but it stands out as an interesting reinterpretation of the forces involved in our creation, but moreso what lengths some might go to in order to conceal the truth. Even if it kills us.

This is a very strange movie to review. Most people, upon seeing it for the first time, will dismiss it as a laughable b-movie. The thing about it, is that Carpenter comes THIS close to creating a masterpiece that would rival "The Exorcist".

"Prince of Darkness", if you give it another viewing or two, you will realize how close he came to greatness. Maybe if the budget had been higher, or if the cast had been a little more 'A list'. If you have seen many Carpenter movies, you will recognize many of the faces from his other movies, including a few from "Big Trouble In Little China", which itself is not just a good bad movie; it is a GREAT bad movie. But then, it's the cheesiness and low budget feel that makes it a Carpenter project.

This is a truly scary movie because the fear comes from the ideas presented, not bogeymen jumping out of closets. It invokes the concept of Quantum Physics, that things can be 'dreamed into existence', making almost anything, including true evil, possible.

To quote an actual scientist that I heard speak a while back: "If quantum physics doesn't scare the holy crap out of you...you don't understand quantum physics."