John Carpenter's Die Fürsten der Dunkelheit

Trust John Carpenter to constantly subvert expectations, aim for innovation and simply just please the crowds throughout his career. Prince Of Darkness is, at first glance, a creaky ol' fright fest, and it is that, but there's also a cheeky little irreverent streak to it as well, a borderline atheist flourish that you wouldn't normally find in a flick about summoning up the devil. Carpenter lays the atmosphere on thick, especially with a reliably spooky electronic score and a pace that burns slow and steady. Deep in the crypt of a church there lies a large glass vial containing swirling green matter, a pseudo scientific/spiritual cocktail that contains the "anti god", a denizen composed of backward atoms that wants to break out and raise a little hell. Grim faced priest Donald Pleasence will prevent this at any cost, and hires a team of underpaid undergrads led by a crusty professor (Victor Wong) to research it, camping out in the church for kicks. You can imagine how this goes, and there's a refreshingly old school 'Body Snatchers' vibe as various characters fall victim to the creeping dark forces. There's also mind-stimulating, sci-fi ideas at work too though, including an intriguing time travel prospect and a deft little jab at religion via the story's trickier elements. Carpenter, although hailed as a master of horror, is no simpleton when it comes to ideas, and he flexes his cerebral muscles nicely here. Ambient, gooey, smart, provocative, a terrific little fright fest that leaves you wanting more.

One of the Director's most underrated Movies. This is almost a bona-fide Classic. The thing that keeps it from such an exalted status is a few major missteps. It starts with a very creepy setup and manages through most of the Film to keep that sense of Impending Doom with its Supernatural and Apocalyptic tone.

The use of Ancient Texts and Religious language Prophecy is introduced but somewhat abandon as things unfold, giving way to more conventional displays of Zombie like Characterizations and Gore Movie conventions. When a Text translation is rendered on a computer screen... the goosebumps arise.

The scariness is lessened by the end of it all as the Director veers away from the unseen Evil and things get a bit standard. Such as some unnecessary attempts at humor and a denouement that is a reflection of a weak wrap-up. One more item...hopefully, it should be clear by now that Sci-Fi Writers should completely avoid using specific dates in their Stories. It is a Death Trap, because as you discover here, the Dream induced message is coming from the year 1999. Oops!

A priest (Donald Pleasence) finds a large cylinder of glowing green liquid in the basement of a church in Los Angeles. He contacts a physics professor (Victor Wong), who brings a research team to the church to investigate. The research team includes a risibly-mustachioed Jameson Parker, the always-amusing Dennis Dun, Dirk Blocker (son of Bonanza's Hoss), and a few relatively forgettable actresses. I should also point out this entire team of graduate students seems to be in the 30-45 age range. The investigation turns up shocking results as the team discovers the liquid inside the container is the Devil or Anti-God or son of the Devil....it's something bad, for sure.

This is one of the most divisive John Carpenter films, even among his fans. Most people either seem to love it or hate it. I know when I first saw it back in the early '90s I hated it. I thought it didn't make a lick of sense and the male lead was one of the all-time great movie goobers. It left such a bad taste in my mouth that I refused to even try it again until about five years ago. But when I did, my opinion of it changed quite a bit. I'm not saying I'm now part of the "love it" crowd. I still believe it's flawed and has some elements than can only be enjoyed on a tongue-in-cheek basis. But I do like it a lot. I have watched it several times in the last few years and have grown to appreciate it more each time.

Some genuinely creepy moments, nice gross-out effects, and a very tense last 30 minutes that ranks among Carpenter's best work. Also, another terrific Carpenter score. I don't even mind the cheesy relationship between Lisa Blount and Jameson Parker or the terrible lines they both have to say to one another. Little bits of corn are kind of expected with Carpenter. It's part of his style. It's definitely a unique movie. I can't think of anything else quite like it.

It is a pity this good movie of Carpenter did not get a better recognition by critics and audiences. By the time of its release Carpenter had already a good reputation as a horror-movies director (Halloween, The Fog, The Thing) and perhaps people that went to see this film only did so for this particular reason. Carpenter, however, tried to do something different with 'Prince of Darkness' and audiences (and critics) did not follow or perhaps did not give it the proper attention.

A Physics Professor and his group (comprising both graduate students and technicians) accept the invitation of a priest to study an organic fluid that a secret (early Christian) book suggests it should not be tempered with since it has been made by the Prince of Darkness. The group also tries to decode this early Christian document as well.

Carpenter attempted to introduce some aspects of theological implications in this movie without 'hitting' at Christianity or other organized religion. His main concern was of metaphysical nature. My guess is that Carpenter's thoughts were as follows: if God exists and sent Christ (with his dualism: both spirit and flesh-human) then wouldn't one expect that anti-God (Evil-Devil) may also try to set foot on earth using a flesh-organic manifestation as well ? Beyond a certain point the film takes on a traditional horror approach but still it has Carpenter's touch with a very unexpected ending.

I also had a personal reason to like more this film having studied Physics as a graduate student and I thought Carpenter did a more than decent job of portraying believable characters. The romance between two of the students was also built convincingly. Donald Pleasence (another favorite actor of Carpenter) was again excellent as the cynical priest. My rating is a 7.5/10 for this film. One of the good Carpenter films.

John Carpenter's made some great horror films, and Prince of Darkness is my hands-down favorite Carpenter flick. First and foremost, the music does it for me every time. Sometimes Carpenter's score do miss their mark, but this time, the music is dead on perfect. Beyond this, the movie overall is wonderful. The opening title sequence (which does extend quite a bit into the film itself) does a great job of setting up the characters and the beginning of the drama at hand. Once the film picks up, it really doesn't let you go until the end, and even then, to the very last shot, the film reminds you that, for the briefest of moments, it had you. Oh, it had you. Alice Cooper makes his first theatrical film appearance with this film, but he appears briefly. Instead, the film centers mostly around Brian Marsh, a grad student brought in as part of a group of collegiate-types to investigate something dark and sinister in the basement of an old church. A lot of people I know pan his performance, but I felt Jameson (TV's "Simon & Simon") Parker's performance was solid and that look of confusion he wears throughout a bulk of the picture seems appropriate to the events unfolding around his character. Donald Pleasance's presence as a Catholic priest who begrudgingly recruits the team of college students and professors, scientists and theorists, adds a sense of credibility to the threat involved, as well as the film itself. And Victor Wong - he's just fun to watch. I love this movie.