Prince of Darkness

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Prince of Darkness

R

1987

1h 42m

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

60%

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48 Reviews

61%

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10,000+ Ratings

Poking around in a church cellar, a priest (Donald Pleasence) finds an otherworldly vial filled with slime. Frightened, he brings his discovery to a circle of top scholars and scientists, who eventually learn that the strange liquid is the essence of Satan. The slime then begins to seep out, turning some of the academics into zombified killers. As the possessed battle the survivors, student Kelly (Susan Blanchard) is infected by a large quantity of the liquid and becomes Satan personified.

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Critics Consensus

Prince of Darkness has a handful of chillingly clever ideas, but they aren't enough to put John Carpenter's return to horror at the same level as his classic earlier outings.

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Mike Emery

Austin Chronicle

Jul 22, 2026

Creepy to say the least (but not without some cheesy schlock value), Prince of Darkness remains one of Carpenter's forgotten works that is worth a closer look.

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Phil Hoad

Guardian

Oct 25, 2018

4/5

Close to a decade's experience in horror pays off, with Carpenter working the audience with jump-scares and revolting demises like an old pro.

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Michael Wilmington

Los Angeles Times

Oct 5, 2018

John Carpenter seems to be hovering between cold-eyed mechanical fear-making and horror camp.

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Chance Solem-Pfeifer

Willamette Week

Jul 16, 2026

Prince of Darkness is best remembered as a Carpenter B-side, but it has both quintessential Carpenterisms and some fascinating idiosyncrasies.

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Peter McPhee

Winnipeg Sun

Jun 8, 2026

There are a few scary moments, but for the most part it is rather long, extremely hard to follow story with a predictable outcome.

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Jack E. Wilkinson

United Press International

Jun 8, 2026

Not bad, if you like this sort of thing.

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Kia B

Oct 16, 2025

A horror with a mystery. John Carpenter doesn't disappoint.

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Moussa M

@moussamazouzi Oct 15, 2026

Creepy at times, but too slow and emotionally distant... wanted to love it more.

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Tasia H

@RT23391097 Oct 14, 2026

This movie irritated me so badly. It could have been a very interesting story, but instead it fell victim to extremely frustrating characters and a hard to follow plot. The characters were always making terrible choices and definitely not enough curb-stomping going on during the "action" scenes. A lot of words, yet little content, which is sort of impressive. Disappointing for a John Carpenter movie.

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Coen G

@RT80647613 Oct 10, 2026

Prince of Darkness is probably the best John Carpenter movie I ever seen since The Thing, it has shocking moments, it has a great score, and it’s actually worth checking out

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Thomas V

@Dontcallmedude Oct 10, 2026

The feeling of hopelessness is unavoidable in this cosmic horror treatment from the mind that brought us from alien infections to psychological lunacy. If you enjoyed The Thing, and questioned your own sanity In the mouth of madness, this movie will have you questioning your faith and perhaps your very soul. Thank you again John Carpenter

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Matthew D

@OceanSage Oct 10, 2026

This is honestly a lesser John Carpenter film. Sure it has some cool cinematography, lighting, practical effects, creepy makeup, and an eerie synth score. But it is very boring and not a scary horror film. Just showing a bunch of gross bugs is just grotesque and not scary. It's just not exciting, creepy, or frightening for a Carpenter movie. The acting is atrocious. The writing is bare bones. A bunch of smart scientists are gathered from a college to the basement of an old monastery, then unleash Satan in a liquid form from a cylinder. They stand around debating philosophy, theology, physics, history, and other sciences until they are gradually picked off one by one when the Satanic liquid is spit in their mouths. All talk and no action, interesting kills, or freaky horror sequences is very odd. The mirror bit is the closest Prince of Darkness comes to having an original idea. I am sadly disappointed by Prince of Darkness (1987). John Carpenter has directed far greater films.

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John Carpenter

Director

Donald Pleasence

Priest

Jameson Parker

Brian Marsh

Victor Wong

Prof. Howard Birack

Lisa Blount

Catherine Danforth

Dennis Dun

Walter

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Synopsis

Poking around in a church cellar, a priest (Donald Pleasence) finds an otherworldly vial filled with slime. Frightened, he brings his discovery to a circle of top scholars and scientists, who eventually learn that the strange liquid is the essence of Satan. The slime then begins to seep out, turning some of the academics into zombified killers. As the possessed battle the survivors, student Kelly (Susan Blanchard) is infected by a large quantity of the liquid and becomes Satan personified.

Director: John Carpenter
Producer: Larry J. Franco
Screenwriter: John Carpenter
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Alive Films
Rating: R
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 21, 1987, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 6, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $12.9M
Runtime: 1h 42m
Sound Mix: Surround
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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