Rapid Review: Prince of Darkness (1987)

“Hello… Hello… I’ve got a message for you… and you’re not going to like it.”
– Wyndham

SYNOPSIS: A research team finds a mysterious cylinder in a deserted church. If opened, it could mean the end of the world. – via IMDB

Continuing with John Carpenter’s Apocalypse Trilogy, next in line was Prince of Darkness. I thoroughly enjoyed The Thing last week, and you will all hear about In The Mouth of Madness next week, but what did I think of this one? Well, I watched this movie with Chop Eric because he is so partial to it (as in five top hats partial), and as much as I enjoyed this, I definitely didn’t appreciate it on the same level as he did. However, I did have an absolute blast watching it with someone who adored it. Now, it cannot be argued that John Carpenter is a phenomenally awesome horror director, I just wanted more from this. The cast did well with their material (except that I wanted to even out Jameson Parker’s porn ‘stache – it was too long on one side, and it gave my eye an OCD tic every time I saw him), and the score worked, too, and provided me with giggles at times because it could be pretty cheesy. Typical of a horror, not too much logic going into things sometimes, but it definitely had more thought go into it than your average film in the genre. I absolutely loved the concept they explored (Jesus was an alien?! When did this happen?!) and how it came to be that Satan was locked in a box and what not, and I enjoyed the effects of the trippy green water dripping upwards. Purdy! Also, there was some Alice Cooper in here with spans of face powder but no eye makeup for a change, but still as douchey as ever. There were some great scenes in here (particularly looking at the dove that was crucified at the bottom of the staircase – disgusting as it sounds, I know), and the bugs were nasty. Prince of Darkness was a slow burn movie, and that isn’t something I have an issue with, as I am sure you all know. Sometimes the pace was a little all over the show, and (though it most likely wasn’t the case when it came out), there were some pretty predictable places. I had a good laugh more often than not, because there was some sharp humour from time to time, and I was sure I was looking at Mr Miagi until the Chop rained all over my parade there. Oh well, what must we do? There is a lot of seriously 80s stuff going on in this movie, too, but it works for it. The effects, again, were excellent for the time, and the film looks good and is shot well. I could definitely recommend checking this out, especially if you are into horror flicks!