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IMDbPro

Prince of Darkness

  • 19871987
  • RR
  • 1h 42m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
44K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,480
226
Prince of Darkness (1987)
Trailer for Prince of Darkness
Play trailer1:51
3 Videos
99+ Photos
Horror
A group of graduate students and scientists uncover an ancient canister in an abandoned church, but when they open the container, they inadvertently unleash a strange liquid and an evil forc... Read allA group of graduate students and scientists uncover an ancient canister in an abandoned church, but when they open the container, they inadvertently unleash a strange liquid and an evil force on all humanity.A group of graduate students and scientists uncover an ancient canister in an abandoned church, but when they open the container, they inadvertently unleash a strange liquid and an evil force on all humanity.
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
44K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,480
226
  • Director
    • John Carpenter
  • Writer
    • John Carpenter
  • Stars
    • Donald Pleasence
    • Lisa Blount
    • Jameson Parker
  • Director
    • John Carpenter
  • Writer
    • John Carpenter
  • Stars
    • Donald Pleasence
    • Lisa Blount
    • Jameson Parker
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 315User reviews
    • 204Critic reviews
    • 50Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 2 nominations

    Videos3

    Prince Of Darkness
    Trailer 1:51
    Watch Prince Of Darkness
    Prince of Darkness
    Trailer 1:52
    Watch Prince of Darkness
    Through the Lens: Defining Carpenteresque and Why It Belongs in the Dictionary
    Clip 4:54
    Watch Through the Lens: Defining Carpenteresque and Why It Belongs in the Dictionary

    Photos129

    Prince of Darkness (1987)
    Donald Pleasence and Victor Wong in Prince of Darkness (1987)
    Alice Cooper in Prince of Darkness (1987)
    Prince of Darkness (1987)
    Prince of Darkness (1987)
    Donald Pleasence in Prince of Darkness (1987)
    Prince of Darkness (1987)
    Prince of Darkness (1987)
    Prince of Darkness (1987)
    Prince of Darkness (1987)
    Prince of Darkness (1987)
    Peter Jason in Prince of Darkness (1987)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Donald Pleasence
    Donald Pleasence
    • Priest
    Lisa Blount
    Lisa Blount
    • Catherine Danforth
    Jameson Parker
    Jameson Parker
    • Brian Marsh
    Victor Wong
    Victor Wong
    • Prof. Howard Birack
    Dennis Dun
    Dennis Dun
    • Walter
    Susan Blanchard
    Susan Blanchard
    • Kelly
    Anne Marie Howard
    Anne Marie Howard
    • Susan Cabot
    • (as Anne Howard)
    Ann Yen
    Ann Yen
    • Lisa
    Ken Wright
    Ken Wright
    • Lomax
    Dirk Blocker
    Dirk Blocker
    • Mullins
    Jessie Lawrence Ferguson
    Jessie Lawrence Ferguson
    • Calder
    Peter Jason
    Peter Jason
    • Dr. Paul Leahy
    Robert Grasmere
    • Frank Wyndham
    Thom Bray
    Thom Bray
    • Etchinson
    Joanna Merlin
    Joanna Merlin
    • Bag Lady
    Alice Cooper
    Alice Cooper
    • Street Schizo
    Betty Ramey
    • Nun
    • Director
      • John Carpenter
    • Writer
      • John Carpenter
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Alice Cooper used the bike impalement trick in his stage shows prior to this movie. The bike he uses was his own personal prop.
    • Goofs
      (at around 1h 29 mins) After Walter crawls through the hole in the closet with "possessed" Lisa in tow, they're both in the other room with Prof. Birak, all standing up. You can see the obvious doubling of "short Lisa" by a stuntman - she's suddenly much bigger and taller than the two other men.
    • Quotes

      Voice: This is not a dream... not a dream. We are using your brain's electrical system as a receiver. We are unable to transmit through conscious neural interference. You are receiving this broadcast as a dream. We are transmitting from the year one, nine, nine, nine. You are receiving this broadcast in order to alter the events you are seeing. Our technology has not developed a transmitter strong enough to reach your conscious state of awareness, but this is not a dream. You are seeing what is actually occurring for the purpose of causality violation.

    • Crazy credits
      The opening credits last for nine minutes.
    • Alternate versions
      Television version is slightly reedited, suggesting that all that takes place in the film is just a dream that Jameson Parker's having:
      • after the opening credits there a new shot showing Parker's house from the outside (the theatrical version opens with a shot of Parker trying to perform a card trick).
      • at the beginning, after Parker watches on TV a program reporting the discovery of a new supernova, the narration goes on talking about the death of a millionaire and the discovery of a religious book in his library
      • all mentions of the dead priest, member of the Brotherhood of Sleep who took care of the church where the evil liquid is kept hidden, are deleted;
      • during the whole film, there are new inserted sequences showing Parker sleeping/dreaming in his bed
    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: The Sicilian/Prince of Darkness/No Man's Land/The Glass Menagerie/The Whales of August (1987)
    • Soundtracks
      Prince of Darkness
      Written by Alice Cooper and Kane Roberts
      Performed by Alice Cooper
      Produced by Michael Wagener
      Courtesy of MCA Records
      (C) 1987 Ensign Music Corporation, Ezra Music Inc.
      Screen Gems Music - EMI Music Inc.

    User reviews315

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Carpenter crafts another masterpiece
    What's wrong with Prince of Darkness? Well, it is a film that is struggling to find a link between Christianity and science (physics, to be more specific), and it fails to do so. Most of the things they are saying sound crazy at best.

    However Prince of Darkness is still one scary movie. Horror master John Carpenter (the same genius behind The Thing and In the Mouth of Madness) is behind this masterpiece about a mysterious form of energy that appears in a Los Angeles temple and soon starts to gain control of all the people, most of them scientists, studying it. A cameo by Alice Cooper as a homeless schizophrenic who, accompanied by people like him, is making sure no one inside the temple leaves may indicate this is what he meant with the song "Welcome to my nightmare." Prince of Darkness is nightmarish. And its ending will make you wonder what the protagonist is about to do.

    Watch this film alone, at night, with the lights off.
    helpful•13
    10
    • Roddy-15
    • May 6, 2004

    FAQ3

    • Who is the character shown in the main poster in IMDb?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 23, 1987 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Official Site
    • Languages
      • English
      • Latin
    • Also known as
      • John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness
    • Filming locations
      • LA Artcore, 120 Judge John Aiso Street, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Alive Films
      • Larry Franco Productions
      • Haunted Machine Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $3,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $14,182,492
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $4,657,401
      • Oct 25, 1987
    • Gross worldwide
      • $14,182,492
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 42 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Ultra Stereo
      • Dolby Atmos
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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