“Prince of Darkness” (1987) written & directed by John Carpenter; starring Donald Pleasence / Z-View

Prince of Darkness (1987)

Director:  John Carpenter

Screenplay: John Carpenter as Martin Quatermass

Stars: Donald Pleasence, Lisa Blount, Jameson Parker, Victor Wong, Dennis Dun, Susan Blanchard, Anne Marie Howard, Dirk Blocker, Jessie Lawrence Ferguson, Peter Jason, Thom Bray, Joanna Merlin and Alice Cooper.

Tagline: Before man walked the earth… it slept for centuries. It is evil. It is real. It is awakening.

The Plot…

A priest (Pleasence) discovers a large cylinder of green bubbling liquid hidden in a church.  The priest can sense that the container holds something evil.  In an effort to discover exactly what the substance is, the priest brings in Professor Howard Birack (Wong) and several of his best students.  The team begins running tests to determine the age, make-up and other properties of the green liquid.  At the same time others work to decipher the ancient manuscripts found with the cylinder.

The unknown substance is at least 7 million years old, made of pre-biotic material and is quickly evolving.  The priest feels the increasing power of the substance and fears that it may be Satan or some other ancient god.  Soon homeless people begin showing up outside the church.  They stand a stare as if waiting for something.  Then the team members begin to experience the same dream – a menacing dark figure coming towards them.

Soon the team will know the truth…

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I’m a John Carpenter fan, but I feel that Prince of Darkness falls far short of Carpenter’s best work.  As always, your mileage may vary.

Prince of Darkness (1987) rates 2 of 5 stars.