Review of Prince of Darkness (1987) by David L — 26 Oct 2007

This review contains some spoilers. *****************************.

John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness is a dark, tense, and disturbing journey into philosophy, religion, and man's basic, instinctive fear of the dark.

The film begins with the death of a priest who represents the last member of an ancient, ultra-secret Catholic order that was created to guard the ultimate threat to mankind. With the death of this priest, another priest by the name of Father Loomis (appropriately portrayed by Donald Pleasance), uncovers the first priest's diary and begins to investigate this secret order of priests called "the Brotherhood of Sleep." In the process, he visits the old priest's church and, deep in the basement, discovers the mysterious secret that the Brotherhood was protecting (or rather, protecting the world from). Overwhelmed by this discovery, Loomis seeks out a physics professor by the name of Birack (capably portrayed by the late Victor Wong). Birack is also more than a little intrigued because he, in turn, summons his students for an "extra-credit" project over the weekend at the church.

Once the students arrive at the church, and put their skills and equipment to work on a mysterious canister, the main flow of the story gets underway with results that challenge the viewer's most basic views in regard to the nature of man and the universe, of course you come to find out that the secret that the Brotherhood of Sleep was guarding is nothing less than the physical presence of Satan himself. Through the translation of an ancient text kept by the Brotherhood, Loomis and the science students discover that Satan was the son of the ultimate boogeyman: an "anti-god" who was eventually banished to "the dark side." Prior to his banishment, however, this anti-god reduced his son to a liquid state and placed him in a sophisticated capsule where he has reposed in "sleep" ever since. The goal was that Satan would sleep until the time was right for him to awaken and bring his father back from the dark side to walk the Earth again. This capsule was later discovered and eventually entrusted to the Brotherhood for its sake-keeping and careful monitoring. Prior to his death, the last guardian priest had begun to realize that Satan's spirit was finally reviving within the capsule and the hour of confrontation was drawing near.

This film is vintage John Carpenter. It is dark, tense, and genuinely frightening at times. The film will take some time to get underway, at least for some viewers but once it does, it is well worth the effort. We are also treated to another one of Carpenter's creepy signature scores as it threads its way through the film, greatly contributing to the tension and overall atmosphere. Carpenter's films would simply not be the same without that special touch on the score. Can you imagine "Halloween" without that famous, spine-tingling track? The same holds true for "Prince of Darkness." Also, Carpenter makes use of some video "real-time" footage to create a truly eerie and memorable effect. By the way, turn up the volume during these video sequences and you'll hear confirmation of the students' theory that they are not dreams at all but actually warnings.

A quick side note here, if you are easily offended on religious or philosophical issues, to the point where you cannot accommodate leaps into fantasy for the silver screen, then you might want to avoid this film. I have very strong beliefs in these areas as well, but it does not prevent me from enjoying a venture into film fantasy.

The secondary plot involving the students Brian Marsh (Jameson Parker) and Catherine (Lisa Blount)provides two lead characters for us to identify with and be concerned about. Parker and Blount worked well together without stealing too much away from the main storyline. Donald Pleasance and Victor Wong are both very good as well. Also, look for Dirk Blocker (son of Dan Blocker: "Hoss" from "Bonanza") in a minor role.

There are some great, unforgettable, vintage Carpenter moments in this film. Look for Lisa typing, zombie-like, on the computer, Wyndham's little "I've got a message for you" scene, and of course, the final frightening sequence with Jameson Parker.

A underrated film from John Carpenter. Well worth checking out.