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In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

The second instalment in John Carpenter's Apocalypse Trilogy, Prince of Darkness finds the legendary filmmaker blending the elements of quantum physics & religion into one atmospheric horror that's consistently gripping, entertaining & suspenseful but slightly goofy as well.The story of Prince of Darkness takes place inside an abandoned church where a research team is invited by a priest to investigate an old secret that has been kept there for many years. As the team conduct their experiments, they realise that it's something far more sinister than they imagined.Written & directed by John Carpenter (best known for Halloween & The Thing), an air of mystery & sense of foreboding pervades the story from the very beginning as Carpenter establishes a disquieting atmosphere almost instantly with his haunting score & snippets of moments that accompany the opening credit sequence.The premise set up & tension build up is real quick and once the main plot surfaces, Carpenter slowly ratchets up the tension while retaining the mystery and conjures up some terrific chills. Characters aren't fully fleshed and have nothing to make us invest in their predicament but thanks to its dreadful aura, the interest is never lost.The isolated setting surrounded by a growing mass of homeless people only helps in amplifying its chilling ambience. Camera is expertly manoeuvred throughout the film, using different techniques & sources to add a distorting vibe to its images. Its 101 minutes runtime is steadily paced but the story would've benefitted from a few trims.Coming to the performances, the cast consists of mostly those who have worked on his films previously and they all chip in with serviceable inputs, if not more. Another aspect worthy of a mention is the film's thrilling score composed by John Carpenter himself, for those synth-heavy tracks add an eeriness to its already dark, menacing & ominous mood.On an overall scale, Prince of Darkness is another insidious feature from The Horror Master that may appear a bit dated today but its taut atmosphere & interesting story will manage to keep most viewers around until the end. John Carpenter's attempt to experiment with the genre and do something differently from the norm never fails to impress and for the uncanny experience it has in store, Prince of Darkness is well-worthy of its cult following.

So maybe I'm stretching "classic" a bit, but this film never got the good reviews I felt it deserved, an I'm a veteran of many things horror. The subject matter is fairly original. Did you ever hear of Satan as a green fluid held prisoner under a creepy old church? I didn't think so. Watch how Donald Pleasance overacts, but he's engaging, and makes anything he's in that more enjoyable. A few more familiar faces include Jameson Parker, who's sporting a Freddie Mercury mustache, Dennis Dun, Alice Cooper(that's right)and Victor Wong. I found this film very suspenseful with some interesting kills, and cool scenes. It's not a film that ends nicely, like many John Carpenter films, so you may feel empty after watching it, but the ride should be worth it. There are a few negative things, however, that bear mentioning, such as poor character development, as there's really no one to root for, and an awful, forced love scene that's almost as bad as the one from The Fog(1980), as it wasn't needed at all. Getting those out of the way, I still recommend this film, as I don't think Carpenter made many more good ones after this came out.

The atmosphere is incredibly dense, it's an unrelenting thickness suffocating everything else, including plot, character and common sense. But man does it work and brilliantly.The score is typically moody and great, and it's used effectively as a constantly reverberating background beat to the slow unveiling of hell on an uncoupling earth. This film works so well because it's truly unrelenting, and I don't mean in the Evil Dead sense of constant assault, but in its unbearable grip on your audio and visual senses. It's a slow strangling.This film also made me realize how great of a stylist Carpenter is. I always knew that on some level, but watching this again for the second time I realized how casual Carpenter is in his brilliance. His shots have an off-the-cuff elegance, almost as a painter so in control of his work he doesn't have to stop and savor his great images because they all are in a way, each shot into the next, a kind of constantly evolving masterful painting of horror. Shots of crosses through fence links, zombie faces awash in black and shadow, the lighting of an Argento witches movie, the soft surrealism of water dripping upward yet slowly outward towards hell, visions of ants invading the back grating of a TV set, white light from inside calling to them.It's kind of amazing. I really really wish the plot came together a bit more. I like the obtuseness of it to a point (how much could the characters really know about it all) but because of that a lot of the revelations come from people hypothesizing out loud in a way that you know the movie is trying to explain itself without actually having to -- having its cake and eating it too.

One of Carpenter's lesser known horror films, but also one of his best. Well, I liked it, but opinion is usually divided. Some love it, some hate it, I'm in the first half. PRINCE OF DARKNESS tells the story of Satan's return to Earth, and mixes religion with science in a brilliant way. As per usual in a Carpenter film, we get a varied group of characters who are likable and easy to identify with.Donald Pleasence heads the cast as a priest, and actually gets to battle Satan at the end. Just what I love to see. The other cast all do fine jobs, especially the Asian guy who I really felt for. The concept of Satan's return in a modern world is handled very well, and makes for a really riveting film. Unlike THE THING, Carpenter keeps the special effects to a minimum in the film, but the final scene is very good (I won't spoil it for you, but it involves Donald Pleasence and an axe, so it can't really fail).There are a couple of stupid things in the film, like some dated makeup, but it doesn't really detract from the story. The only flaw I could see was the fact that the final battle between good and evil wasn't handled too well, but instead became survivors vs. the monsters, which we have seen oh so many times. The way in which the possessed people can't be killed is very effective, bringing back memories of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD.I liked the way one of the dead people, a black guy, kept on giggling all the time. Actually it reminded me of Dwight Frye as Renfield, from Universal's Dracula. The massing of insects on windows also favourably reminded me of THE AMITYVILLE HORROR. Out of interest, '80s rock star Alice Cooper, who performed some of the soundtrack, also appears in the film as a tramp. Sadly he doesn't get killed. If you enjoy this film, Hammer's QUATERMASS AND THE PIT is a little similar in theme (and I find it a far-fetched coincidence that the writer here is created as Michael Quatermass). Well worth a watch.