Prince of Darkness
Dir: John Carpenter
1987
*****

I would argue that 1987's Prince of Darkness is John Carpenter's scariest film of all. The Thing had lots of gore, The Fog had chills and Halloween pretty much invented the slasher but it is Prince of Darkness, with its atmospheric portrayal of inescapable and impending doom, of the most evil kind, that makes it something rather unique. Of all the horror films I've seen, it is only Prince of Darkness that makes me feel fear at the thought of entering a room alone or going down into the basement. I love the fact that the characters aren't a bunch of kids entering a haunted house either, they are all scientists and technicians, none are superstitious or even afraid for the most part, making the scary parts seem even more natural and realistic. I didn't feel the same sense of dread with Carpenter's Halloween, it made me jump out of my skin and it is often uncomfortably intense but it was a case of either the characters die or they don't. It's the best example of a slasher/haunted house horror, Prince of Darkness takes that idea to the next level. It's a slasher of sorts, it has a lot in common with exorcism movies, it's also a Zombie film and it deals with hell and other dimensions, making it a great sci-fi horror too. It begins with a priest (Pleasence) who invites a quantum physics Professor Howard Birack (Wong) and his students to join him in the basement of an abandoned Los Angeles church. He requires their assistance in investigating a mysterious cylinder containing a swirling green liquid. Among the thirteen academics present are wise-cracking Walter (Dennis Dun), demure Kelly (Susan Blanchard), and lovers Brian Marsh (Jameson Parker) and Catherine Danforth (Lisa Blount). They decipher text found next to the cylinder which describes the liquid as the corporeal embodiment of Satan. The liquid appears sentient, and broadcasts increasingly complex streams of data. The academics use a computer to analyze the data, and find that it includes differential equations. Over a period of two days, small jets of liquid escape from the cylinder. Members of the group exposed to the liquid become possessed by the entity and attack the others. Anyone attempting to leave is killed by the growing mass of enthralled schizophrenic homeless people who surround the building. Birack and the priest theorize that Satan is actually the offspring of an even more powerful force of evil, the "Anti-God", who is bound to the realm of anti-matter. The survivors find themselves sharing a recurring dream (apparently a tachyon transmission sent as a warning from the future year "one-nine-nine-nine") showing a shadowy figure emerging from the front of the church. The hazy transmission changes slightly with each occurrence of the dream, revealing progressively more detail. The narration of the transmission each time instructs the dreamer that they are witnessing an actual broadcast from the future, and they must prevent this possible outcome. Walter, trapped in a closet, witnesses the possessed bring the cylinder to a sleeping Kelly. It opens itself and the remaining liquid absorbs into Kelly, transforming her into the physical vessel of Satan: a gruesomely disfigured being, with powers of telekinesis and regeneration. Kelly attempts to summon the Anti-God through a dimensional portal using a mirror, but the mirror is too small and the effort fails. While the rest of the team is occupied fighting the possessed, Kelly finds a larger wall mirror and draws the Anti-God's hand through it. Danforth is the only one free to act: she tackles Kelly, causing both of them to fall through the portal. The priest shatters the mirror, trapping Kelly, the Anti-God, and Danforth in the other realm. Danforth is seen briefly on the other side of the mirror reaching out to the portal before it closes. Immediately, the possessed die, the street people wander away, and the survivors (Marsh, Walter, Birack, and the priest) are rescued. Marsh has the recurring dream again, except now Danforth, apparently possessed, is the figure emerging from the church. Marsh awakens and finds Danforth, gruesomely disfigured, lying in bed with him. This is still part of his dream, however, and he awakens screaming. Rising, he approaches his bedroom mirror, hand outstretched. Carpenter became inspired while researching theoretical physics and atomic theory. He recalled, "I thought it would be interesting to create some sort of ultimate evil and combine it with the notion of matter and anti-matter.” This idea, which would eventually develop into the screenplay for Prince of Darkness, was to be the first of a multi-picture deal with Alive Pictures, where Carpenter was allocated $3 million per picture and complete creative control. It is the second installment in what Carpenter calls his "Apocalypse Trilogy", which began with The Thing in 1982 and concludes with In the Mouth of Madness made in 1995. Like nearly all of Carpenter’s films it was a flop and was panned by critics. Utterly ridiculous. It has everything you could want from a real, non-comedy horror film. It's the only film I could watch alone and feel uncomfortable, and I recommend all horror fans watch it late, with the lights off and alone at least once for full effect. Highlights include; Alice Cooper as evil homeless man, death by half a bicycle (Cooper’s stage show trick), "Lisa Lisa, Mona Lisa", the great Donald Pleasence and Victor Wong, a brilliant ensemble supporting cast and of course Carpenter's signature score. If anyone has any doubts regarding Carpenter's capabilities as a horror director (and I'm not sure anyone has) then they can't deny that everything scary he shoots is double effective, thanks to his amazing soundtracks. For me, Carpenter is the masters of horror and Prince of Darkness is criminally overlooked.