Review of Prince of Darkness (1987) by Phily B — 01 Jan 2016

Prince of Darkness is yet another stellar film from John Carpenter's Golden Decade of the 1980s. I think Prince of Darkness ranks highly among Carpenter's better shot films. The lighting in particular is fantastic and helps to build atmosphere and tension.

The film has a Lovecraftian vibe of intelligent people going up against the terrifyingly incomprehensible. There's not much to go on with the characters, but the cast do their job well enough, particularly Donald Pleasence (as always) as the concerned Priest. Victor Wong also plays his part magnificently. The whole effort feels consistently well-crafted, unlike Carpetner's later work, with the exception of the phenomenal They Live. This film is a pleasure to look at, and I liked the ending. Critically, this movie does its most important task of building suspense and creating a creepy atmosphere well. I was spooked most of the time, frightened out of my skull the rest of the time. I love Carpenter's work throughout the 80's when he was at the zenith of his creative talents. Four stars well deserved.