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Prince Of Darkness [1988]
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Awful
Review date: 2008-10-23 Rating: 2 out of 10
This film is awful. Bad acting, bad dialogue, bad effects, bad everything. Alice Cooper fans beware, it ain't worth it.
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Reviews
Slow, but effective.
Review date: 2007-07-14 Rating: 10 out of 10
A cast of almost unknowns and some not exactly stellar special effects can't stop this from being an excellent film even if it wouldn't pass muster as horror by todays standards. In some respects it displays Carpenter at his best, making the most of a creepy soundtrack, lighting and straightforward makeup/photographic effects, amazing what you can achieve with a few cockroaches up your sleeve. More 'Assault on Precinct 13 than 'The Thing'.
The plot is well thought out with few holes or obvious clangers and wraps up into an effective climax. It's not the first film to try and blend science with theology, but it does a pretty good job and it's another Carpenter film that could easily have been made into a really good scifi/horror miniseries. Although most of the plot lines are resolved, there are enough questions left at the end to have made me wonder if there might have been a sequel planned.
I've watched it a few times, and there always seems to be something new to notice and it always manages to keep my attention to the end. Other people have given quite negative reviews so it seems to be a film that Carpenter fans either love or hate, be prepared to be disappointed but give it a go.
Creepy
Review date: 2007-07-11 Rating: 8 out of 10
The general concensus by so called film critics is that after the mid-eighties John Carpenter lost his touch and became a hack remaking his previous films with little or no imagination, ignoring the Lovecraftian post modern terrors of In the Mouth of Madness, the violent, politically incorrect western style Vampires, his anti-capitalist sci-fi They Live and Prince of Darkness, probably his most underrated piece.
The tone of unease is set from the beginning as Carpenter and frequent collaborator Alan Howarth's chilling score plays against the stark white on black credits interspersed with short scenes opening the story. This tone does not let up for the rest of the running time, as even relatively light or intimate scenes are bathed in this sense of menace. Many films since Romero's first living dead movie have benefitted from hauling it's cast off to a single location and trapping them there, none more than this as it leaves us with no escape from the main story, no cops on the hunt, no roving bands of kids, we are trapped in the church with the cast.
Obviously inspired by the writing of Nigel Kneale (even going under the pseudonym Martin Quatermass for the story) and the visual style of Dario Argento, the film still remains very much a Carpenter movie, with crisp 2:35:1 widescreen camerawork and a lot of his pet themes from his other movies such as mistrust of the church, the cynical none ending and and the effective use of special effects.
The main crux of the story allows for some interesting interpretations of classical theology and throws in Schrodingers Cat, Tachyons, Differential Equations and Modern Psychology, some would argue that this just muddles the script, but i believe it takes the classic horror movie themes of prophecy and fate and adds a secular slant to it
The fairly large cast acts well, with Dennis Dun, Victor Wong and Donald Pleasence making the most impact, Pleasence is perfect as the Priest discovering the truth behind his creed and searching for a way to deal with it.
In the end, ignore the critic's unjust dismissal of Prince of Darkness, take a chance it's one of Carpenter's best and an intelligent alternative to all the plotless splatterfest's that are ruining the genre.
not great when you consider its a carpenter movie
Review date: 2007-07-08 Rating: 4 out of 10
prince of darkness is a film more cult than classic and thats widely accepted,of course being regarded as a cult film means that not all will take to it and despite this film pulling out a scary moment that made me jump towards the end,those in the know will know what i mean,this film directed by the much lauded john carpenter,falls flat on its face more than once.
The film centres around a priest played by don pleasence who finds a book written in ancient script alongside a container of swirling green liquid,so when he asks for help of a scientist and his class of students to find out whats going on,it soon becomes clear that what they are dealing with is satan himself and as each person gets consumed with the evil and becomes a zombie murder reigns down.That may well sound exciting but the films pace is one of a tortoise with a broken leg in parts,and the plot is uneven in segments.
Some of the acting is very wooden indeed and i can put up with that if there was more to the film,despite a cameo by vintage rocker alice cooper ,there is little to inspire me to watch this again,mind you that bit near the end did make me jump and better films havent always done that.
Actually rather scary!
Review date: 2006-06-21 Rating: 6 out of 10
I can quite happily watch most other horror movies by myself in a darkened room, but for some reason this movie really does scare me and I don't know why. It's not the best film I have ever seen but the atmospherics are excellent for giving you the heebies. I try to avoid walking past mirrors for a few hours after watching this film.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Jameson Parker
Lisa Blount
Dennis Dun
Donald Pleasence
Victor Wong
Creators:
Donald Pleasence (Primary Contributor)
Lisa Blount (Primary Contributor)
Gary B. Kibbe (Cinematographer)
John Carpenter (Writer)
Steve Mirkovich (Editor)
Andre Blay (Producer)
Larry J. Franco (Producer)
Shep Gordon (Producer)
Director(s):
Recording label: Momentum Pictures
Manufacturer: Momentum Pictures
EAN: 5060049140094
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Anamorphic, Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2002-10-21
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 101 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1987-10-23
Language: Danish (Subtitled)
Language: Dutch (Subtitled)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: Finnish (Subtitled)
Language: German (Subtitled)
Language: Norwegian (Subtitled)
Language: Portuguese (Subtitled)
Language: Spanish (Subtitled)
Language: Swedish (Subtitled)
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: German (Dubbed)
Language: Spanish (Dubbed)