Review of Prince of Darkness (1987) by Jazz V — 17 Jun 2010

John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness is a very hit and miss horror film, it has flashes of brilliance and some great dialogue but ultimately too many parts are boring and drawn out and there is an underlying cheesiness to most of the scenes.

The plot revolves around a canister of green goo that has been protected in a church for 2000 years. When the protector priest dies, in steps Donald Pleasance to assume his duties as protector. He senses an aura of doom around the canisters and brings in a team of scientists to explain its origin. We find out it's the essence of Satan who is trying to become reborn which leads to the goo beginning to leak and take over the scientists turning them into strange killers.

I have to admit that it's an interesting premise which is effectively explained using pseudo-science rather than the typical hocus pocus explanation. The problem is that it takes for too long to get going making the opening 45 minutes largely boring. Too much time is spent on the science aspect and not enough on the horror. The last half hour is great stuff as the "zombie" humans stalk the remaining scientists; there are some great practical effects and some scary moments. It all leaves you with the question of why did Carpenter insist on spending so much time building up the story as it's clearly unnecessary.

The acting is a mixed back, some good some awful. The soundtrack, as always, is excellent and does a great job of building up a foreboding atmosphere. There are too many moments of cheesiness however as some characters tell awful jokes and the Alice Coopers character is unintentionally hilarious.

Prince of Darkness is very much a mixed bag and far from Carpenters best work but it's worth a look for an interesting plot and an entertaining final act.