Thursday, October 31, 2013

Trick or Trailers: Prince of Darkness (1987)



Oh, what a trailer this is - what I wouldn't give to see something this promising coming soon to theaters! Also, why can't every trailer have the movie's title smashing through glass at the end?

If they did, I'd see a lot more movies, I'll tell you that!

By now it's probably not fair to describe John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness as underrated as its reputation as one of John Carpenter's finest films seems well established. In 1987 I remember being soooo excited for Carpenter's return to horror. This was the first Carpenter horror film I was able to see in theaters and it did not disappoint.

Released on October 23rd, 1987, this was not the sleeper hit that Halloween had been but it did respectable business and it marked a commercial bounce back for Carpenter.

For me, this is in the very upper ranks of Carpenter's films. I love the mood, the gonzo ideas, the funky, truly ghastly gore, and the amazing score by Carpenter and frequent collaborator Alan Howarth (not as iconic as Halloween's but every bit as good). A great cast here, too, with Carpenter reuniting one last time with both Donald Pleasence and Victor Wong.

Being that it's Halloween and I have many things to do, I don't have time for a long post. Then again, after 31 posts this month I've probably already said too much! To anyone who's stuck around with me this October, I hope it was a kick to spend time reminiscing about the Halloween releases of years past - some of them classics, some of them, ehhh, not so classic, but all were fun to look back on.

Here's hoping for a great crop of new horror next October!

Have a happy and safe Halloween, everyone!

4 comments:

Wings1295 said...

I have never had an easy time getting into this film. I need to give it another watch and appreciate it more, so many people seem to love it. Hope you have a great Hallowe'en, sir! Enjoy!

Timmy Crabcakes said...

Happy Halloween!

I really need to watch Prince of Darkness again. The one viewing I had of it was long ago and I think I must have been distracted (girls!) or something because in my head it's just a jumbled mess... except for the ending, which was great.

Jeff Allard said...

Like many Carpenter films, Prince of Darkness tends to get better upon revisiting. If you guys watch it again, maybe it'll grow on you. At any rate, have a Happy Halloween!

Kev D. said...

It's my favorite Carpenter film, it still makes me want to stay away from mirrors.