Prince of Darkness
Movie, 1987, Named by the director, Set in Second in the trilogy
Prince of Darkness is #15 of 48 in release order and #11 of 48 in chronological order in the Spiritual Trilogies.
The story
A priest discovers an ancient canister containing a strange liquid in an abandoned church. When a group of graduate students and scientists are tasked with studying it, they unknowingly unleash an evil force waiting to destroy all of humanity.
Prince of Darkness recap
When the last member of a secret Catholic order dies, a priest finds the key to the basement of an old Los Angeles church, where a huge canister of swirling green liquid has been kept for centuries. He asks the physicist Professor Birack to study it, and Birack brings a team of graduate students. Their tests show the canister is millions of years old and the liquid inside is alive. Ancient texts found with it say it holds Satan, the son of a greater Anti-God trapped on the far side of reality, and that Jesus was a visitor who came to warn humanity. Homeless people gather outside and kill anyone who tries to leave. The liquid sprays into one student, Susan, and possesses her, and she spreads it to others. The survivors share the same dream, a broadcast from the future showing a dark figure in the church doorway. It is the second film in Carpenter's Apocalypse Trilogy.
Prince of Darkness ending explained
Catherine sacrifices herself to seal the portal, and the survivors are left fearing mirrors. Possessed student Kelly becomes Satan's body and reaches into a full-length mirror to pull the Anti-God through. Catherine tackles her into the mirror, and the priest shatters the glass with an axe, trapping both on the other side. The possessed die and the crowd outside disperses. Later Brian dreams that the figure in the doorway is Catherine, wakes in fear, and reaches toward his bedroom mirror as the film ends.
Where to watch Prince of Darkness
Prince of Darkness is streaming on Prime Video in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 6.6/10, Rotten Tomatoes 60%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Amadeus, before Days of Being Wild.
- Chronological order: after The Thing, before In the Mouth of Madness.
Cast
- Donald Pleasence as Priest
- Lisa Blount as Catherine Danforth
- Victor Wong as Prof. Howard Birack
- Jameson Parker as Brian Marsh
- Dennis Dun as Walter
- Susan Blanchard as Kelly
- Anne Marie Howard as Susan Cabot
- Ann Yen as Lisa
- Ken Wright as Lomax
- Dirk Blocker as Mullins
- Jessie Lawrence Ferguson as Calder
- Peter Jason as Dr. Paul Leahy
Directed by John Carpenter.