Prince of Darkness ** (1987, Donald Pleasence, Jameson Parker, Victor Wong, Lisa Blount) – Classic Movie Review 12,025

Donald Pleasence above left.

John Carpenter’s 1987 return to the horror film stars Donald Pleasence as a priest who calls in a quantum physicist professor (Victor Wong) and his students when a mysterious ancient cylinder with green liquid is found in the basement of an LA monastery.

Director John Carpenter’s 1987 American supernatural horror film Prince of Darkness stars Donald Pleasence, Jameson Parker, Victor Wong and Lisa Blount.

John Carpenter’s return to the horror film stars an expectedly reigned-in Donald Pleasence as a Catholic priest who calls in quantum physicist Professor Howard Birack (Victor Wong) and his group of quantum physics students when a mysterious ancient cylinder containing a strange swirling green liquid is found in the basement of a Los Angeles monastery belonging to The Brotherhood of Sleep, an ancient order communicating through dreams.

Prince of Darkness (1987) with Donald Pleasence and Victor Wong.

The physicists come to find that a strange satanic energy source is at work and that the liquid is a sentient embodiment of Satan. The academics present are wise-cracking Walter (Dennis Dun), demure Kelly (Susan Blanchard), high-strung Susan (Anne Howard), and lovers Brian (Jameson Parker) and Catherine (Lisa Blount).

Prince of Darkness is below par and tacky for Carpenter, thanks to a rather feeble script (written by John Carpenter under the name of Martin Quatermass), some amateurish performances and a cheap-looking production. Also there is a fatal lack of light and shade, characterisation and humour in the writing.

However, it has its moments, there is interest in some of the actors, especially Carpenter’s regular star Pleasence of course, and the creatively crazy premise, and overall it is just about good enough to keep you watching.

Also in the cast are Dennis Dun, Susan Blanchard, Anne Marie Howard [Anne Howard], Ann Yen, Ken Wright, Dirk Blocker, Peter Jason, Robert Grasmere, Jessie Lawrence Ferguson, Thom Bray, Joanna Merlin, and Alice Cooper as Street Schizo, one of the homeless zombies.

‘Prince of Darkness’, written by Alice Cooper and Kane Roberts, is performed by Alice Cooper. The film’s executive producer Shep Gordon was manager to singer Alice Cooper, and suggested he record the song for the film, while Carpenter cast him in a cameo as one of the homeless zombies.

The opening credits last nine minutes.

The TV version is slightly re-edited, suggesting that it is all just Jameson Parker’s dream.

The UK 15-rated Universal video version was slightly edited to avoid the original 18 rating.

The Momentum UK DVD is the full film, now 15-rated.

Prince of Darkness was shot in Los Angeles in 30 days. Carpenter developed the screenplay after 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.’

It is the first of a multi-picture deal with Alive Pictures, giving Carpenter a $3 million budget for each film and complete creative control.

It is the second instalment of Carpenter’s self-styled Apocalypse Trilogy, after The Thing (1982) and before In the Mouth of Madness (1994).

Carpenter’s pseudonym of Martin Quatermass and the name of Professor Birack’s institution Kneale University are homages to Nigel Kneale and his character, Bernard Quatermass, and the story has elements associated with Kneale: confrontation with ancient evil, messages from the future, scientific investigation of the paranormal. Kneale was apparently not amused.

The title recalls Dracula: Prince of Darkness.

© Derek Winnert 2022 Classic Movie Review 12,025

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