Prince of Darkness (1987 film)
Summary
Poking around in a church cellar, a priest finds an otherworldly vial filled with slime. Frightened, he brings his discovery to a circle of top scholars and scientists, who eventually learn that the strange liquid is the essence of Satan. The slime then begins to seep out, turning some of the academics into zombified killers. As the possessed battle the survivors, student Kelly is infected by a large quantity of the liquid and becomes Satan personified.
Details
- Release Date: 1987
- Country/Language: USA, English
- Genres/Technical: Horror, Science Fiction
- Runtime: 1 hr 42 min
- Starring: Donald Pleasence, Lisa Blount, Jameson Parker
- Director: John Carpenter
- Writer: John Carpenter (as "Martin Quatermass")
- Producer/Production Co: Alive Films, Larry Franco Productions
- View Trailer: (link)
Ratings
MPAA Ratings
- Rated: R (Violence, gore, etc.)
Tentacle Ratings
A rough measure of how "Lovecraftian" the work is:
- SS___ (Two Tentacles: Barely Lovecraftian; could be a very loose adaptation)
Prince of Darkness has everything from extra-terrestrial deities, metaphysics, and Tachyon particles to major Mythos name-dropping, including characters named Marsh and Danforth and references to the film's spiritual predecessor The Stone Tape by Nigel Kneale.
Note: This rating is not intended as a measure of quality, merely of how closely related to Lovecraftian "Weird" fiction the work is.
Reviews
Review Links:
- The Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review (link) - 3 Stars. "Prince of Darkness may not make much sense, but it is nice to be able to sit down and see something written by someone who speaks the same language that you do. It is an ingenious twist on classical occultism – one where The Devil is an anti-universe that exists at the level of quantum uncertainty waiting to occlude this one."
- 1000 Misspent Hours & Counting (link) - 2 and a half Stars. "This might actually be a case of Carpenter’s Lovecraft getting in the way of his Kneale... Hell, quantum mechanics is downright Lovecraftian, if you look at it from the right angle. Why not use it to give substance to a film about Newtonian-scale reality breaking down under the influence of otherworldly forces? The thing is, that’s a trick question."
Synopsis
Spoiler Section (Highlight to Read)
Poking around in a church cellar, a priest finds an otherworldly vial filled with slime. Frightened, he brings his discovery to a circle of top scholars and scientists, who eventually learn that the strange liquid is the essence of Satan. The slime then begins to seep out, turning some of the academics into zombified killers. As the possessed battle the survivors, student Kelly (Susan Blanchard) is infected by a large quantity of the liquid and becomes Satan personified.
Notes
Comments, Trivia, Dedication
Associated Mythos Elements
- Quatermass (1953 franchise)
- The Stone Tape (1972 film)
- family: Marsh
- family: Danforth
