#19 - Prince Of Darkness - 1987

"Hello... Hello... I've got a message for you... and you're not going to like it."
-- Frank

'Prince of Darkness' marks John Carpenter's second entry on the list, and it's one of his most under seen films, not to mention just under appreciated in general. It forms what is part of what Carpenter called his 'Apocalypse' trilogy, which started with 'The Thing' (1982) and concluded with 'In the mouth of Madness' (1995).

We start with a the death of a Priest, he leaves behind a box that is passed on to Father Loomis (Donald Pleasence). Elsewhere there are other strange goings on. Fire ants are rising from the ground, the Moon and the Sun are in close configuration and the Homeless are gathering together; captivated by it. Inside the box is a key to an Ancient chamber that houses a large container of Green swirling fluid. Father Loomis hires a Physics professor and his group of Students to investigate and run tests. And slowly the truth is revealed.

Supposedly this film came about when Carpenter was researching Physics and came across Matter and Anti-Matter, then applied the idea to religion. It's a neat conceit, to bring together the two things that are diametrically opposed to each other and on the whole it works rather well. I don't want to say just what's in the container for those of you who have yet to see the film, but Carpenter manages to make it genuinely unsettling - despite the slightly hokey sounding reveal.

The film is littered with some great scenes. There's a crucified Bird, Alice Cooper as the leader of the Homeless gang stabbing someone with a Bike (A trick that was actually part of his stage show at the time, but incorporated into the Script), the green fluid in the container that drips upward, and freaky dreams of a shrouded figure in a doorway.

'Prince of Darkness' is unusual for the genre in that it's a thinking man's horror film. Not that it takes a great brain to understand it of course, but because it deals with the events in the film in a totally new way. You would be hard pressed to pick out another film that's similar to this one and I think that's what makes it endure. Slasher films are ten a penny, but films like this, in which real ideas are presented and dealt with in a convincing way are sadly hardly ever seen.

Carpenter remains one of my favourite Directors ('Vampires' and 'Ghosts of Mars' are obviously best forgotten by all) and films like this are way. He is unashamedly a Horror director, but he's able to tell the stories in a way that is thoroughly convincing and gets under the skin. Something which this film (And later 'In the Mouth of Madness') typifies. He's also ably helped here by his cast, most of which he's worked with before (From 'Halloween' or 'Big Trouble in Little China' mainly). The only weak spot is the lead, Brian, played by Jameson Parker. But that's only because he's oddly written, in fact for the first third of the film he comes across as a Stalker, regularly watching his co-student for seemingly days before he asks her out for Coffee (And sleeps with her - this is why I should have gone to University). But some weak spots aside it's certainly not enough to harm this great film.

So please, watch it. It also has the best (And creepiest) final shot of all time.