Prince of Darkness [Collector's Edition] [Blu-ray]

Director: John Carpenter John Carpenter

Overview

After clashing with the studio system over his last film, Big Trouble in Little China (1986), genre director John Carpenter returned to low-budget horror and complete creative control with this intriguing attempt at intellectual chills. Donald Pleasence stars as Father Loomis, a Catholic priest charged with investigating a book, key and other cryptic clues left behind by a fellow priest who passed away. In the basement of a decaying Los Angles church, Loomis finds a cylinder that seems to be holding a green energy force inside. A physics professor, Edward Birack (Victor Wong), is intrigued by Loomis' discovery and brings a team of grad students to the church for a weekend study and analysis session. They learn that the energy is the son of Satan, preparing to unlock himself and bring his evil father back from an other-dimensional prison. As an army of possessed vagrants (led by Alice Cooper) assemble outside the church to prevent anyone from leaving, the team members begin having the same dream, which turns out to be a horrific transmission from the future.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/24/2013
UPC:	0826663143003
Original Release:	1987
Rating:	R
Source:	Shout Factory
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Language:	English
Time:	1:42:00
Sales rank:	17,776

Special Features

Audio commentary with director John Carpenter; New interviews with director John Carpenter and Alice Cooper; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Donald Pleasence	Vater Loomis
Lisa Blount	Catherine Danforth
Victor Wong	Howard Birack
Jameson Parker	Brian Marsh
Dennis Dun	Walter
Susan Blanchard	Kelly
Anne Marie Howard	Susan Cabot
Ann Yen	Lisa
Ken Wright	Lomax
Dirk Blocker	Mullins
Jesse Lawrence Ferguson	Calder
Peter Jason	Dr. Paul Leahy
Robert Grasmere	Frank Wyndham
Thom Bray	Etchinson
Joanna Merlin	Bag Lady
Alice Cooper	Street Schizo
Betty Ramey	Nun
Alan Howarth	Composer
John Carpenter	Composer

Technical Credits

Martin Quatermass

John Carpenter

Larry J. Franco	Producer
Shep Gordon	Executive Producer
Andre Blay	Executive Producer
Mario Roberts	Stunts
Martin Quatermass	Screenwriter
John Carpenter	Screenwriter,Director
Linda Francis	Casting
Jeff Imada	Stunts
Mel Metcalfe	Sound/Sound Designer
David J. Hudson	Sound/Sound Designer
Terry Porter	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

The middle film in John Carpenter's loose 'apocalypse trilogy' (in between The Thing and In the Mouth of Madness), Prince of Darkness is a sustained mood piece that puts the viewer at the doorstep of a coming apocalypse. Taking place in basically one location - a dilapidated church in the middle of LA, the director follows up the giddy charm of Big Trouble in Little China with a picture packed with an overwhelming sense of dread. It's a hard film to pin down, as it melds scientific and religious riddles along with pseudo-zombie/possession themes. Some have claimed the central conceit of anti-matter leading to the devil to be goofy, but the film hardly ever breaks a smile. Indeed, the film was not well received at the box office, yet there remain little doubts about it within the cadre of Carpenter aficionados. The aural pulse of the soundtrack (once again supplied by the director) cues the viewer into the graveness of the story, which takes its time until the end when all hell breaks loose for the human survivors. Filled with disturbing imagery - and Alice Cooper as a homeless zombie - Prince of Darkness is not for a casual viewer, but for ones who will take delight in visual nods to Dario Argento, along with the pleasure of seeing such a classic Carpenter ensemble (the likes of Donald Pleasance, Victor Wong, Dennis Dun, and Peter Jason) at work in this no-hope playground of horror.