Prince of Darkness

“Before man walked the earth...It slept for centuries. It is evil. It is real. It is awakening.”

6.8

1987

1h 42m

Horror

Director: John Carpenter

Overview

A priest discovers an ancient canister containing a strange liquid in an abandoned church. When a group of graduate students and scientists are tasked with studying it, they unknowingly unleash an evil force waiting to destroy all of humanity.

Trailer

"Prince Of Darkness" movie trailer [1987]

Cast

Priest

Donald Pleasence

Priest

Catherine Danforth

Lisa Blount

Catherine Danforth

Prof. Howard Birack

Victor Wong Chi-Keung

Prof. Howard Birack

Brian Marsh

Jameson Parker

Brian Marsh

Walter

Dennis Dun

Walter

Kelly

Susan Blanchard

Kelly

Susan Cabot

Anne Marie Howard

Susan Cabot

Lisa

Ann Yen

Lisa

Lomax

Ken Wright

Lomax

Mullins

Dirk Blocker

Mullins

Calder

Jessie Lawrence Ferguson

Calder

Dr. Paul Leahy

Peter Jason

Dr. Paul Leahy

Reviews

John Chard

Then it really is Old Scratch knocking at the door. Something of the forgotten John Carpenter movie, Prince of Darkness shows both the good and bad side of the supremely talented director. The story is a beaut, a bit skew-whiff, but unmistakably Carpenter territory as Satan exists in some sort of parallel universe. How he manifests himself is narratively a bit tricky, but still it makes for good horror, especially as the old religious angle finds Carpenter - in the guise of Donald Pleasence - chortling away to himself in a way that Old Nick has been prone to do. Cue bugs, green goo, zombies and a centuries old sect determined to keep Satan out of our world. The scares are many, atmosphere bubbling away (in time with another of Carpenter's pulse beat synth musical scores), while the finale has a genuine surprise up its sleeve. Unfortunately the cast are playing second fiddle to the supernatural strengths, working from a script that doesn't sit at one with the screenplay, rendering the characters as uninvolving fodder. Yet be that as it may, it's still a film of delights, enough in fact to make it a top end entry on Carpenter's CV. 7/10

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CinemaSerf

When an elderly priest passes away, one of his colleague discovers a mysterious green liquid hidden in a cylinder deep beneath a long-abandoned church. Rather misguidedly, as it turns out, he invites a group of enthusiastic students to come and investigate it's properties. Big mistake! It was hidden deep in the bowels of this crypt for a very good reason, and once they release it they discover that the Satanic horror they face might just be the tip of the iceberg! Donald Pleasence is strong here as the priest who realises, all too late in the day, that they are facing a terror that could jeopardise the very future of humanity... Christianity at any rate! Can he galvanise his now panic-stricken helpers to reverse the effects of the deadly gloop before they all become zombified servants of evil? The dialogue maybe isn't so hot, especially as hysteria begins to set in amongst the petrified, but the pace is great and the effects have held up remarkably well as this solid and quite menacing story builds to a genuinely exciting conclusion. The supporting cast deliver well, too and John Carpenter and Alan Howarth manage a score that adds quite a bit of peril to the accruing sense of danger the former creates throughout this rather superior drama. It's short, taut, and well worth a watch.

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patient1

Such an interesting film, grew up minutes from the church this was filmed at. It’s where the Pope used to stay when he came to Los Angeles, California. This was really quite unnerving when it came out, as we saw it in the movie theater, and it had people gasping and leaving the theater. I knew I was in for a good time when that started happening. I’ve loved this film ever since, raised my 3 kids on John Carpenter films, and am hoping to do the same for ALL OF my grandchildren as well.

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