Prince of Darkness [reviewed by Lackey]

Directed by John Carpenter, 1987 (102 min.)
My rating:
IMDB

A true science-fiction-religious-philosophical-slasher-horror classic.

* * *

Premise

When a priest belonging to a mysterious Catholic sect dies, a terrifying secret is revealed. In the basement of an abandoned church in Los Angeles is a cylinder containing a mysterious green liquid. Another priest discovers this cylinder and calls upon physics professor Howard Birack, a scientist with a philosophical bent, to investigate the cylinder’s history and anomalous scientific properties. Birack and his team of graduate students make a shocking discovery: the fluid contains the essence of a powerful force that has come to be known by mankind as Satan…and it’s not only the researchers whose lives are in danger as the force spreads its malevolent influence, it’s the very future of the human race.

Critique

There’s a lot going on in Prince of Darkness, so you’d better pay attention. We’ve got a ’50s style hard science-fiction and horror story crossed with a nihilistic, philosophical tale of dark transdimensional forces lurking at the threshold and butting up against the strictures of religious horror. Oh, and maybe you noticed that this is a horror movie made in the year one-nine-eight-seven, which means that it’s required by law (the Hill-Castle Act of 1978) to follow a slasher structure in which people are picked off one by one in impractical but striking ways by a killer who’s driven to delivering one-liners. (My favorite is when a character under the influence of Unholy Water tells a victim that he won’t be saved by God, won’t be saved by science, and in fact won’t be saved AT ALL.) So is it any wonder that the end result isn’t entirely satisfying?

But don’t make the mistake of thinking “not entirely satisfying” is the same thing as “bad” or “unwatchable.” What I like about John Carpenter is that he can operate in pretty much any mode and make it work. From sarcastic science fiction to suspense thrillers to biting social commentary, from dystopian Westerns to Gothic horror to Stephen King adaptations…he’s a far more versatile filmmaker than a lot of people give him credit for.

Despite the awkward fit of the “deeper” scientific and philosophical facets of the thematics and backstory, and the admittedly cheesy definition of Satan and Jesus Christ as aliens, the attempt to redefine Christian iconography in terms of science (and pseudoscience) is undeniably endearing. Carpenter borrows heavily from both Nigel Kneale and H.P. Lovecraft (never ashamed to wear his influences on his sleeve in the form of in-jokes, we have characters named Marsh, Danforth and Wyndham, and a college named Kneale) without straying too far into rip-off territory (the “chosen one” is so Regan McNeil I wonder if Carpenter seriously considered approaching Linda Blair for the role).

As fascinating as the Anti-God is in concept, the weakest parts of the plotting usually involve it taking direct action. There’s a resigned sense of murder-by-numbers at play when it takes its victims. It would be nice if there was some evident rhyme or reason to which characters get killed and which get possessed. And do you seriously expect me to believe that nobody’s noticed these large pools of green water that are collecting on the basement ceiling?

And yet even these scenes are enjoyable, despite the flaws. As always, Carpenter makes good use of his visual aesthetic. Those clumps of homeless people who always show up outside the church whenever the tension’s running a bit thin or someone needs to die is a great device. Carpenter also gets a chance to give his sense of absurdity a workout, too (remember, this is the guy who gave us philosophy-spouting bombs in Dark Star). You just gotta love it when a guy tells you he has a message for you and you’re not going to like it, and then dissolves into a pile of beetles.

The cast is about as strong as you’d expect from Carpenter. The leads (played by ’80s stalwarts Jameson Parker and Lisa Blount, as grad students Brian and Catherine) are a bit stiff and wet, but the supporting cast is excellent, with Carpenter fixtures Donald Pleasance (as the nameless priest, inexplicably credited as “Father Loomis” in the DVD subs) and Victor Wong (Egg Shen from Big Trouble in Little China) as Birack being their usual awesome selves. The team of students is large, but all of the characters are distinctive, with the most memorable being Dennis Dun (as Walter), Jessie Lawrence Ferguson (as Calder) and Peter Jason (as Leahy). Not to mention (and if you didn’t already know about this one, rest assured that I am not bullshitting you) Alice Cooper as the bull goose homeless guy; his presence makes a surreal-looking production even weirder.

The end result is a rickety movie with a lot of flaws…and yet the great strength of Prince of Darkness is its scope and ambition. It’s a movie that wants to take a bunch of disparate elements and make something big out of them. The pieces don’t always fit together, but you can’t fault it for trying.

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