Prince of Darkness (1987)

Director:

John Carpenter

Writer:

John Carpenter (writer)

Release Date:

23 October 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Fantasy | Thriller | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Where are you...? Christ?

Plot:

A research team finds a mysterious cylinder in a deserted church. If opened, it could mean the end of the world.

Plot Keywords:

Church | Priest | Liquid | Devil | Professor

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Donald Pleasence	...	Priest
Jameson Parker	...	Brian Marsh
Victor Wong	...	Prof. Howard Birack
Lisa Blount	...	Catherine Danforth
Dennis Dun	...	Walter
Susan Blanchard	...	Kelly
Anne Marie Howard	...	Susan Cabot (as Anne Howard)
Ann Yen	...	Lisa
Ken Wright	...	Lomax
Dirk Blocker	...	Mullins
Jessie Lawrence Ferguson	...	Calder
Peter Jason	...	Dr. Paul Leahy
Robert Grasmere	...	Frank Wyndham
Thom Bray	...	Etchinson
Joanna Merlin	...	Bag Lady

Also Known As:

John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Iceland:16 | Ireland:18 | West Germany:16 (video release) | Australia:M | Canada:18+ | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video re-rating) (2000) | UK:18 (original rating) | UK:18 (video rating) (1988) | USA:R (certificate #28768) | West Germany:18 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

When actor Peter Jason, who plays Dr. Leahy, introduces himself to Dr. Birack ('Victor Wong') for the first time, he wasn't expecting Wong to walk away in the middle of the scene. Jason's subsequent confused appearance and awkwardness is natural and unscripted.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The moon/sun configuration we see repeatedly could not last even a single day, yet it is shown on several different days.

Quotes:

[Birack teaches a class on quantum physics]
Professor Edward Birack: Let's talk about our beliefs, and what we can learn about them. We believe nature is solid, and time a constant. Matter has substance and time a direction. There is truth in flesh and the solid ground. The wind may be invisible, but it's real. Smoke...

Movie Connections:

Features Heavenly Puss (1949)

Soundtrack:

Heavenly Puss

Greatly underrated. One of Carpenter's best!

I remember working as an usher when this movie came out. The look on the faces in the audience after the movie ended was priceless. Most were either truly disturbed or confused as hell.

I thought the premise was unique. It's always been said that the existence of God can't be proven. Here we have several scientists and students trying, not only to prove that the Devil exists, but that they have him trapped in a jar in a church basement.

The movie is so full of sub-atomic theory that you would swear it was written by Michio Kaku, not John Carpenter. (Yeah, don't let the credits fool you. Carpenter wrote this film under a pseudonym)

Took my girlfriend to see this when it came out. She's now my wife and to this day, she's still a little afraid of mirrors because of this film.

Loved it.