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Stars:
Donald Pleasence, Lisa Blount, Victor Wong, Jameson Parker, Dennis Dun, and
Alice Cooper
Writer:
Martin Quatermass
Director:
John Carpenter
Feature
length: 102 minutes
Extras:
Trailer
Languages:
English Dolby Surround Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and French and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 18
Sound:
Dolby Surround Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 1987/DVD Release: 2003
Theatrical
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Home
Video Distributor: Universal Studios home Video
MPAA
Rating: R
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
Millions
of years ago it walked the Earth before it was cast out into the void. The
Anti-Christ of prophecy has been imprisoned in a strange canister containing
antimatter, but what might as well just be considered concentrated evil. For
centuries the Brotherhood of Sleep, an underground sect within the Catholic
Church that has shared dreams, have guarded the world from its malevolent powers
while keeping the very existence of the thing a secret. Now a group of
physicists, chemists, and doctorate students focusing on ancient languages and
metaphysics have been called into an abandoned church to decipher an ancient
text and study the nature of the swirling contents that is the Prince of
Darkness kept in the basement of the church.
As
the contents grows more powerful so do the strange occurrences that go with it
from worms and other vermin creeping up from the Earth to various homeless and
mentally ill who are attracted to the site of the church as if they are being
called and controlled from something within. When the contents of the canister,
which can only be open from within, begins to leak out, defying the laws of
gravity, it infects various team members and turns them on the uninfected as a
host is chosen to set free the Devil from the void that exists just beyond our
mirrors.
“John
Carpenter’s Prince Of Darkness” is the second in what Carpenter has coined
his “End Of The World” or “Apocalypse Trilogy.” He considers his 1982
adaptation of “The Thing” to be first part and “In The Mouth Of Madness”
to be the third part although all three films have nothing to do with each other
directly. It would make sense that Carpenter would include this film in that
mode of thinking. It is very much like something H.P. Lovecraft would write. In
Lovecraft tales there are an ancient race of immortal beings seeking a way to
reenter our world, which is just beyond their grasp. They usually find a way
through the corruption of others. “In The Mouth Of Madness” is probably the
most Lovecraft like film Carpenter has directed, but “Prince Of Darkness”
has some of the most intriguing concepts ever presented in a Carpenter film.
There
are some interesting ideas taken from the pages of theoretical physics that are
compared with theology that help to elevate the film above the standard Satanic
horror film. In fact one wishes Carpenter focused a bit more on the mysterious
possibilities that the film presents and a bit less on the gore though there are
a few great disturbing scenes in this film that seem like something I can
imagine reading in a Stephen King novel or something. The film is also somewhat
reminiscent of Dario Argento’s “The Church,” which was released after
“Prince Of Darkness” in 1988. I am not sure, but I think Martin Quatermass
may be another pseudonym for John Carpenter, which is appropriate since the film
does call to mind the kind of stories that were told in the British serial and
Hammer feature adaptations, specifically “Quatermass And the Pit.” The film
would mark the third and final time Carpenter and Donald Pleasence would work
together as Director and Actor and the film also features Victor Wong and Dennis
Dun, who had appeared previously in Carpenter’s “Big Trouble In Little
China.” Wong and Pleasence work well together onscreen and both bring their
own sense of authority that both lend the film a certain flair of camp to
lighten up the brooding setting and at the same time elevate it above the
average supernatural horror film. Dennis Dun has some of best lines in the film
and provides some excellent comic relief that contrasts well with the
increasingly tense situations depicted in the film.
Originally
licensed by Universal to Image Entertainment a few years back, “John
Carpenter’s Prince Of Darkness” is now being reissued in Region One, North
America directly from Universal Studios Home Video after being on moratorium for
a few years. The transfer and soundtrack appear to have been taken from the same
source material as the original Image release with a clear anamorphic widescreen
(2.35:1) aspect ratio and a well rounded English Dolby Surround Soundtrack that
captures John Carpenter’s and Alan Howarth’s score beautifully while
presenting the dialogue and effects without any distortion. The music for a
Carpenter film is extremely important since it sets up the mood and enhances the
visuals nicely. The anamorphic widescreen presentation is also integral to a
Carpenter film because he is one of the few filmmakers from the last quarter of
the 20th century that frames his compositions for widescreen viewers.
Seeing a Carpenter panned and scanned is like seeing only half of the movie. You
could say that this is true of all moviemakers, but some filmmakers frame or
reframe select scenes with home video and TV in mind. I am not stating that
Carpenter does not, but I will note that he knows how take advantage of the
scope presentation to make each scene seem like a carefully crafted painting.
English
Captions for the hearing impaired and French and Spanish Language Subtitles are
encoded as options onto the dual layered DVD as well. Unfortunately the feature
length audio commentary Carpenter recorded for the film, which was released
abroad by Momentum Pictures, as a Region Two PAL DVD release is not included in
Universal’s NTSC Region One counterpart. The theatrical trailer (1:52) is
provided and the menus are standard interactive still frames that are easy to
navigate. The disc comes housed in a keep case, which is step up from the
previous release, which came in a snap case.
“John
Carpenter’s Prince Of Darkness” will debut on DVD-Video on Tuesday, October
7, 2003 from Universal Studios Home Video.
©
Copyright 2003 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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