Tagline
“This is not a dream.”
The Review
John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness is the most underrated film in his filmography — a cerebral, dread-soaked sci-fi horror film about a group of physicists and theology students who discover a canister of green liquid in a Los Angeles church that may contain the physical essence of Satan. The 'dream transmission' sequences — grainy video footage supposedly sent backward through time as a warning — are among the most unsettling recurring images in any Carpenter film. The film combines quantum physics, theology, and Lovecraftian cosmic horror into something uniquely its own. Alice Cooper appears as a possessed homeless person, which is perfect casting.
Fun Fact
Carpenter wrote the screenplay under the pseudonym 'Martin Quatermass,' a reference to the classic British sci-fi series. The dream transmission footage — shot on consumer video to look like a real broadcast — was designed to be ambiguous enough that viewers would question if it was actually part of the film or a real signal. Alice Cooper's casting was Carpenter's idea.
Score Breakdown
Total Score
20/30
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