Night 14: ‘Prince of Darkness’ (1987)

After finding the key to an abandoned basement in an old church, and discovering a mysterious relic, a team of researchers is called to investigate the contents. What they are not expecting is to find themselves face-to-face with a murderous cult of bums, and the Devil himself.

John Carpenter’s ‘Prince of Darkness’ follows a plot that could fit perfectly in horror anthologies like ‘Tales from the Crypt’. Indeed, it has that same fun, slasher-film type of formula that makes you wonder ‘who is going to be killed next?’, as each member of the research team gets possessed or murdered by the evil forces at work.

Like ‘Tales…’ the movie has a great campy vibe, complete with the mandatory pop culture cameo in the form of Alice Cooper. But it’s also quite frightening, with scary images that will haunt your nightmares long after the film has ended.

It also skillfully navigates the line between religion and science, staying away from favoring one over the other, and even trying to combine them without hitting you over the head with it.

‘Prince…’ also has a fun open ending, which leaves the door unlocked for a continuation of the adventure –and the ultimate destruction of the world.

Even when the characters aren’t quite likeable or developed enough for us to care about them, the movie has enough charm in its otherworldliness to sustain itself. It succeeds where movies like ‘Phantasm’ fail, creating an improbable situation that is still quite entertaining to watch.

Grade: 7/10. Crazy fun!

Scare Factor: some haunting moments.

Gore/violence: yes!

Nudity/sexual situations: nothing too memorable.

Next: ‘Cat People’ (1942)