Welcome on and all to the 4th part of my blog series entitled The 52 In 52. Before I begin I want you to check out part 3 of the series, Upgrade. I also write a lot about WWE and this weekend there is not one but two events that I have written about, NXT Takeover:Phoenix and Royal Rumble go and check them out.
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As I mentioned this is the 4th part in my series, The 52 In 52. The premise is simple I watch and review a film I have never seen every week for a year. I have a lot of films on my shelf that have sat on the shelf gathering dust and this is a great way of crossing them off my list. Part 4 is the 1987 John Carpenter science fiction/horror Prince Of Darkness. I recently bought the newly restored Blu Ray that is part of the reissue of most of Carpenters back catalogue.
I had heard mixed things about Prince Of Darkness but, I was pleasantly surprised. Is it Carpenters strongest work ? absolutely not that honour goes to Halloween but, it's not terrible.
Donald Pleasence stars as a priest that invites a quantum physicist and a team of his students to an abandoned church where a mysterious tube of green fluid has been discovered. a series of terrifying events unfold and the nature of what the green fluid really is becomes a horrifying discovery that should have been left well alone.
There are a few issues I had with Prince Of Darkness, namely the lack of character development. Whilst I didn't want overly convoluted back stories for each character a little bit of development would have allowed for a lot more investment in each character. There is a lackluster romantic story line between the two lead characters (Catherine and Brian) that I felt was only incorporated into the story to allow for a cliffhanger ending. The supporting characters got little to no real screen time or background other than in the 3rd act when they are used to bring the story to a surreal close. I also felt that Alice Coopers role in the film was strange and unnecessary, taking me out of the story a little bit due to close ups and a gruesome death scene involving a prop from his stage show.
There were a few things I did love about Prince Of Darkness. I loved the score throughout the film. Carpenter has a distinct style of music he uses in his films and Prince Of Darkness is no different. There is a great juxtaposition between the electronic instruments and the choral vocals used that really highlights the blend of science fiction and religious horror.
The character effects work is really great. The transformation of characters as they become possessed is done in a really gruesome way that it is memorable. The blood and guts are really subtly done in a time when slasher and video nasties were popular and full of blood and this really sets Prince Of Darkness apart.
I felt that Prince Of Darkness is very reminiscent of the Italian horror classics by the likes of Argento and Lucio Fulci with the incorporation of surrealism and religious dread. This is really driven home in the final act of the film where everything seems to culminate in a really bizarre and effects driven way that is a little unexpected but probably the most entertaining part of the film
Overall I enjoyed Prince Of Darkness. Whilst I didn't enjoy it as much as other Carpenter classics (Halloween and They Live being my two favourites) I did enjoy it enough to watch it again. There are some failings such as lack of character development but, the surrealism and score more than make up for that. Go and check it and other John Carpenter classics out and buy physical media because there are some great horror and science fiction gems being restored and re released at the moment.
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