Prince of Darkness (film)

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Prince of Darkness is a 1987 American supernatural horror film, written, co-scored and directed by John Carpenter, and starring Donald Pleasence, Victor Wong, Jameson Parker, and Lisa Blount. The second installment in what Carpenter calls his "Apocalypse Trilogy"—which began with The Thing (1982) and concludes with In the Mouth of Madness (1994)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>—the film follows a group of quantum physics students in Los Angeles who are asked to assist a Catholic priest in investigating an ancient cylinder of liquid discovered in a monastery, which they come to find is a sentient, liquid embodiment of Satan.

Plot

Centuries ago in the Middle East, the Brotherhood of Sleep—a secret order of the Catholic Church—discovered a massive cylinder containing a swirling green liquid. Hidden even from the Vatican, the relic was eventually moved to Los Angeles and guarded in secrecy. In the present day, the last surviving member of the order dies before warning the cardinal that "the sleeper awakens." A Catholic priest sent to examine his belongings recovers a key that leads him to the cylinder, concealed beneath Saint Goddard's monastery.

The priest enlists quantum physicist Professor Howard Birack to analyze the cylinder. Birack brings along his students: wise-cracking Walter Fong, demure Kelly, the highly-strung Susan Cabot, laid-back Mullins, and lovers Brian Marsh and Catherine Danforth, as well as scientists Calder, Lisa, Etchinson, Lomax, Wyndham, and Dr. Paul Leahy. The priest explains that the liquid's influence is growing and begs Birack to provide scientific proof of its nature to the public before it escapes. Soon after the team arrives, the monastery becomes encircled by increasingly hostile homeless people. Their analysis reveals that the cylinder is at least seven million years old, can only be opened from within, and contains a substance that is prebiotic yet evolving with intent, instead of decaying.

Translating the Brotherhood's ancient texts, Catherine finds references to advanced mathematics predating their known invention, while Lisa uncovers claims that the cylinder holds Satan, the son of an ancient god who was banished to the dark side. The texts describe Jesus Christ as an extraterrestrial who tried to warn humanity of the cylinder's threat but was executed by those who deemed him insane and too powerful. Birack theorizes that Satan's father may be the Anti-God, an even more powerful being trapped in a parallel realm of anti-matter.

The liquid begins to exert its influence beyond its container, spraying into Susan's mouth and possessing her. She in turn infects or kills other members of the team, while anyone who tries to leave is slaughtered by the enthralled homeless. The survivors realize that, since their arrival, they have experienced a shared dream of a shadowy figure emerging from the monastery. Brian surmises that the dreams are a warning sent from the future using tachyons. Meanwhile, the remaining liquid enters Kelly, transforming her into a monstrous vessel for Satan. Displaying telekinesis and rapid regeneration, Satan attempts to free the Anti-God by reaching through a handheld mirror, but it is too small and the effort fails.

The possessed attack the survivors, while Satan locates a larger mirror, and reaches through, clasping the Anti-God's clawed hand. The priest attacks with an axe, but Satan instantly regenerates and resumes the summoning. Realizing the danger, Catherine tackles Satan into the portal, sacrificing herself. The priest shatters the mirror, sealing Satan, the Anti-God, and, to Brian's horror, Catherine on the other side. Instantly, the possessed die as the liquid evaporates, and the homeless disperse. Brian, Walter, Birack, and the priest are rescued as emergency crews arrive.

Later, Brian dreams once more, this time seeing Catherine as the dark figure emerging from the church. He awakens to find her disfigured body beside him, only to realize it was another nightmare. Shaken, he approaches his mirror, hesitantly reaching out toward its surface.

Cast

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Analysis

Film critic John Kenneth Muir suggests that Prince of Darkness serves as a parable for the AIDS epidemic that was at its peak during the time the film was made.Template:Sfn Throughout the film, demonic possession is depicted as something that is transmitted like a communicable disease, via fluid passed between people.Template:Sfn Muir goes on to note a number of references to homosexuality in the film, namely regarding the character of Walter, who makes several statements implying that he is gay (although he briefly flirted with Lisa, one of the female characters).Template:Sfn In particular, Muir notes a sequence in which Walter, attacked by a number of possessed women while trapped inside a closet, emerges and flees.Template:Sfn In addition to this, Muir writes that the film "pointedly asks some rather big questions about human nature, our existence, and the universe at large."Template:Sfn

Production

The building currently used by the Union Center for the Arts in Los Angeles served as the Saint Goddard monastery.

Prince of Darkness was shot in Los Angeles, California in 30 days. 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."<ref name=Boulenger-201/> 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.<ref name=Boulenger-201>Boulenger, pp. 201</ref>

Executive producer Shep Gordon was also manager to singer Alice Cooper, and suggested Cooper record a song for the film. Carpenter also cast Cooper as one of the homeless zombies. Cooper allowed the "impaling device" from his stage show to be used in the film in the scene where Cooper's character kills Etchinson.<ref>Boulenger, pp. 204</ref> The song Cooper wrote for the film, also titled "Prince of Darkness", can be heard briefly in the same scene playing through Etchinson's headphones.

Carpenter cast people that he had worked with previously, including Victor Wong, Dennis Dun and Donald Pleasence. It was Peter Jason's first film for Carpenter, and he would afterward become a Carpenter regular. The film was shot with wide-angle lenses, which combined with anamorphic format to create a lot of distortion.

Carpenter wrote the screenplay but was credited as "Martin Quatermass", which, along with the name of Professor Birack's institution (Kneale University), was an homage to British film and television writer Nigel Kneale and his best-known character, Bernard Quatermass. The story features elements associated with Kneale, including a confrontation with ancient evil (Quatermass and the Pit and The Quatermass Conclusion), messages from the future (The Road), and the scientific investigation of the paranormal (The Stone Tape).

The poster for Prince of Darkness was created and designed by Henry Rosenthal, who worked for print production vendor Rod Dyer.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> According to Carpenter in the DVD audio commentary, the post-production was done at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California.

In an interview with Michael Doyle in the November 2012 issue of Rue Morgue, John Carpenter revealed how he created the eerie dream sequences in Prince of Darkness that feature a shadowy figure emerging from a church doorway. Carpenter first shot the action of the figure (played by actor Jessie Ferguson) with a video camera and then "re-photographed it on a television set" in order to give the image a peculiar, dislocated feeling that also appeared as if it was being filmed live. Doyle also reminded Carpenter that the director himself provided the disembodied voice that narrates each dream.

Soundtrack

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Release

Critical reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Prince of Darkness holds an approval rating of 63%, based on 40 reviews, and an average rating of 6.2/10. Its consensus reads, "Prince of Darkness has a handful of chillingly clever ideas, but they aren't enough to put John Carpenter's return to horror at the same level as his classic earlier outings."<ref name="rottomatoes">Template:Cite web</ref> On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 50 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In his review for the Washington Post, Richard Harrington wrote, “At one point Pleasence vows that 'it's a secret that can no longer be kept.' Here's another: Template:'The Prince of Darkness stinks.' It too deserves to be shut up in a canister for 7 million years".<ref name= "Harrington">Template:Cite news</ref> Liam Lacey, in his review for The Globe and Mail, wrote, “There is no character really worth caring about, no sympathy to any of these characters. The principal romantic couple, Jameson Parker and Lisa Blount, are unpleasant enough to create an unfortunate ambivalence about their eternal destinies”.<ref name= "Lacey">Template:Cite news</ref> In his review for the New York Times, Vincent Canby called the film a "surprisingly cheesy horror film to come from Mr. Carpenter, a director whose work is usually far more efficient and inventive."<ref name= "Canby">Template:Cite news</ref> Nigel Floyd in Time Out gave a positive review of the film, calling Prince of Darkness "engrossing" and adding "the claustrophobic terror generated by fluid camerawork and striking angles" leads "to a heart-racing climax".<ref>Nigel Floyd, "Prince of Darkness" in John Pym, Time Out Film Guide 2011. London, Time Out Guides Limited, 2010. Template:ISBN (p. 848)</ref>

In 2004, Jim Emerson wrote that Prince of Darkness was an undervalued horror film: "What makes me goose-pimply about Prince of Darkness is its goofy-but-ingenious central conceit and its truly surrealistic imagery, some of which could have sprouted out of Buñuel and Dali's Un Chien Andalou."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Like most of Carpenter's films, Prince of Darkness went on to have a cult following.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The dream sequence narrations have been sampled by a variety of musicians and producers over the years, including DJ Shadow on his debut Endtroducing..... LP and Marilyn Manson on the track "Down in the Park" from his "Lunchbox" CD single.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Accolades

In 1988, the film was nominated for a Saturn Award for best music, and won the Critics Award at the Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival.

Home media

On September 24, 2013, the film was released by Scream Factory on Blu-ray and DVD. On February 18, 2019, the film was released on 4K by StudioCanal. In January 2021, Scream Factory issued their own 4K release of the film, which includes both a 4K UHD disc and a Blu-ray disc.

References

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Bibliography

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