Prince of Darkness (1987)

Director:

John Carpenter

Writer:

John Carpenter (writer)

Release Date:

23 October 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Fantasy | Thriller | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Where are you...? Christ?

Plot:

A research team finds a mysterious cylinder in a deserted church. If opened, it could mean the end of the world.

Plot Keywords:

Nun | Science Versus Supernatural | Tachyon | Electronic Music Score | Dream Transmission

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Donald Pleasence	...	Father Loomis
Jameson Parker	...	Brian Marsh
Victor Wong	...	Prof. Howard Birack
Lisa Blount	...	Catherine Danforth
Dennis Dun	...	Walter
Susan Blanchard	...	Kelly
Anne Marie Howard	...	Susan Cabot
Ann Yen	...	Lisa
Ken Wright	...	Lomax
Dirk Blocker	...	Mullins
Jessie Lawrence Ferguson	...	Calder
Peter Jason	...	Dr. Paul Leahy
Robert Grasmere	...	Frank Wyndham
Thom Bray	...	Etchinson
Joanna Merlin	...	Bag Lady

Also Known As:

John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Ireland:18 | West Germany:16 (video release) | Australia:M | Canada:18+ | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video re-rating) (2000) | UK:18 (original rating) | UK:18 (video rating) (1988) | USA:R | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

This is the second film in what John Carpenter calls his Apocalypse Trilogy. The others are The Thing (1982) and In the Mouth of Madness (1995).

Goofs:

Factual errors: The moon/sun configuration we see repeatedly could not last even a single day, yet it is shown on several different days.

Quotes:

[Wyndham is being consumed by beetles]
Wyndham: I've got a message for you, and you're not going to like it.
Brian: Look at his chest!
[Wyndham's suit coat opens to reveal swarms of beetles]
Wyndham: Pray for death!
[Wyndham's head falls off, and his body starts coming apart]
Brian: [in horror] Jesus Christ!

Movie Connections:

Features Heavenly Puss (1949)

Soundtrack:

Heavenly Puss

The green goo

I missed this one the first time around back in the 80s, and despite what all the critics say, I didn't think it that bad at all.

Ok some of it's pretty silly and Jameson Parker and Lisa Blount were about as wooden as two totem poles, but the story did keep my attention without me having to reach up and change the channel. Plus, I really dug the tension filled pulsating synth soundtrack by Alan Howarth.

A group of graduate students & scientists are called upon by Father Loomis (Donald Plesance) to investigate a mysterious canister filled with green goo that is stored in the basement of an abandoned church. Right after they get there, all kinds of strange things begin to occur such as the homeless (led by a pale-faced Alice Cooper) going around, zombie-like, killing people outside the church, earthworms and ants clustering on window panes in strange patterns, and machines and equipment moving on their own.

When the team begin to translate an ancient document that was also stored in the basement, they find out that the canister contains the energy of the son of Satan who was banished to the darkside, eons ago. This supposedly occurred in ancient Middle Eastern times but how it got to L.A. is never explained.

One by one, each of the students are either killed off or possessed by the entity that is slowly growing around them. The scene where thousands of beetles eat away at the guy in the church parking lot is cool. It looks pretty funny when his hands and then his head falls off, rolling around on the ground. Hilarious.

Then one of the females has all the green fluid from the canister flow into her mouth and eyes from the ceiling in a reverse matte shot. That looks pretty cool, too. While she's lying on the cot, her stomach starts to expand and she starts to decompose as this thing is growing inside her. It seems the Prince of Darkness is going to use her as an incubator to grow his fetus.

The scene at the end with the mirror leading into an alternative universe and Satan's arm being outstretched towards the woman was fairly impressive. It sort of looked like it existed in some kind of clear, oily fluid that had the consistency of cooking oil.

All in all, I think this is a pretty entertaining John Carpenter flick to watch on a Saturday night and I consider it light years above his recent mess, GHOSTS OF MARS.

7 out of 10.