John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness - 1987

John Carpenter’s Prince Of Darkness - 1987

What do you get when you cross priests, scientists, a huge cylinder of swirling green goo, and a dash of Alice Cooper?? You get the 1987 cult classic Prince of Darkness. This film is the middle film in John Carpenter’s “Apocalypse Trilogy” after his 1982 film “The Thing” with Kurt Russell and before his 1994 “In the Mouth of Madness” with Sam Neill. Now I have seen all three of these movies more times than I will ever admit to anyone. They are all wonderful on their own, but I am still trying to puzzle out how the three of them fit together. Feel free to drop any theories you might have in the comments section, would love to see them. Maybe we can figure this one out together.

There are so many things I love about this movie. The cast is amazing with some pretty big 80’s stars. The whole atmosphere in this film is just right on the button. As well as the plot is “religious horror” but it is not the same old story.

I mean, how many other religious horror movies, have an evil entity in a tube? It is hard to discuss the plot without spoiling the movie, but here are the basics. An old priest dies and leaves behind a terrifying secret in an awesomely creeptastic location, an old abandoned church basement, which happens to be a huge cylinder of swirling green goo. It is found by another priest (played by Donald Pleasence) and he contacts his dear friend, who just happens to be a quantum physicist, (played by veteran 80’s actor Victor Wong). The priest explains that the liquid inside the tube is the physical manifestation of an ancient evil that has been sleeping for centuries. Here lies the problem, it is waking up and starting to affect the world. He wants his friend to give him quantifiable proof of what is going on so he can warn the world. So, now we get the scientists that come into the church and study the liquid. Lead by 80’s TV heartthrob, Jameson Parker (of Simon and Simon fame). When you see fashion and their computer equipment, it dates the movie. All the computers are huge clunky machines that when you look at compared to today’s computers they are humorous. I am not a computer nut so I can’t talk much about the computers that are used in this movie, but they remind me of the Apple IIe’s that I used to play “Oregon Trail” on when I was in elementary school.

Anyways, we know that when you mix an evil entity, scientists, and creepy locations it is never a recipe for “Happy Picnic Time”. You know there is a problem when you go into the basement and the cylinder is dripping up. That’s right dripping from floor to ceiling and if that is not enough to weird you out, it seems to have a psychological effect on anyone that gets to close to it. Some pretty creepy scenes come from this whole situation, however, to discuss them in-depth would give away too many spoilers. But what I can say is watch for Alice Cooper’s super creepy cameo. A scene with the most creepy rendition of “Amazing Grace” that I have ever heard.

This movie also has one of the best horror movie quotes EVER.“You will not be saved by the Holy Ghost. You will not be saved but the god Plutonium. In fact, YOU WILL NOT BE SAVED!!!!” Once you see this scene, you will understand why it is so awesome.

There is so much to love about this movie that it is hard to think of only a few things to talk about. There is the dark, brooding, creepy as hell atmosphere that is helped by the amazing soundtrack. There are the actors that though some of their dialogue is campy, really give you their all. There is a plot that is original and refreshing. But really it is a John Carpenter movie, would you really expect any less?

So let's talk about some of the stars that made this hidden gem of the horror genre so great.

You can’t discuss a stellar cast without discussing the man who for many years has been the doctor to one of our all-time favorite horror villains. A man who really needs no introduction and that is the amazing actor Donald Pleasence. He plays the Priest who engages a group of scientists in helping him get concrete proof of the evil that is in the church basement. Now we all know and love Donald and his performance in this movie does not disappoint. Though I wish he had a bit more screen time, it is still noteworthy.

On to our resident quantum physicist, Dr. Birack played by Victor Wong. Grandpa in the 3 ninjas movies, and Egg Shen in Big Trouble in Little China. I love the fact that they didn’t just say he was a “scientist” he was a specialized scientist that really does not have anything at all to do, usually, with the supernatural. Along with the fact that his group of scientists comes from all walks of life as well as all belief structures. I love the fact that he is a smart scientist, not just clicking buttons on a computer and freaking out at the results.

There is another Big Trouble in Little China alumni in this film as well. Our hero Wang Chi from that film plays Walter, a student of Dr. Birack’s. Walter is not the sharpest member of the group and really it is his humor that I love. He tells really bad jokes, as well as hits on the girls, who don’t even give him the time of day. He is one of those characters that you find yourself liking just because of his personality.

The last person we are going to talk about is our “hero”, Brian, played by 80’s TV heartthrob Jameson Parker. Most people will remember him as A.J. Simon alongside Gerald McRaney in Simon and Simon. He is your typical horror movie hero, he is not the smartest man in the room. He is also conflicted because in his mind rationally the things that are happening, should not be possible. He, of course, has to have a romantic interest, but even that comes with a twist. He is not the worst character in the movie, but he is not really one of my favorites.

This is a really great Saturday afternoon movie. If you want to reminisce about when you could turn on your TV at noon on Saturday and watch great programs like Commander USA or Joe Bob Briggs on Saturday Night. It is not the greatest film out there on the market, but it has enough about it that is unique that makes it stand out, even in John Carpenters' catalogue of films as something special.

Alright, let’s see how this measures up on our Rating scale..

1 of 5, there is one intimate scene and that is pretty tame.

3 of 5, because of the small cast size, it really makes the deaths add up.

2 of 5, not really a whole lot of blood, but some of the special makeup effects are pretty gruesome.

3 of 5, this is pretty much on interpretation, the storyline could be scary to some people. To me, it is a scary movie because of the atmosphere and the entire premise of the story. But I am willing to discuss this with anyone in the comments.

2 of 5, it is not a terrifying movie, but with the language and some of the scarier scenes, this is not really a “Panda Friendly” movie.

Recommendations:

The Thing

In the Mouth of Madness

Lord of Illusions

Halloween (Any one of the movies in this series)

Legion

The Prophecy (Again, any in the series)