Rating: 
Summary: Almost Brilliant
Review: This movie nearly proved to be John Carpenter's transcendant masterpiece, but fell terribly short. The premise, concept and storyline could have been triumphant in the history of sci-horror, but it looks like Carpenter rushed through this one. Maybe it was fidgety actors (what the heck was Alice Cooper supposed to be doing, anyway?), low budget, or a series of terrible hangovers that led him from brilliant concept to underdeveloped cinema? I don't know. I'm a huge fan of John Carpenter, from Halloween to The Thing to Big Trouble in Little China. I rushed to the theater to see this one, and sat slack-jawed at the terrible acting, stupid dialogue and poor script. On the other hand, I also realized that if Carpenter or any other decent director decided to go back, rewrite this one and do it right, it could prove to be the best sci-horror film ever. Rent it before you buy it; even the hard-core Carpenter fans may be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Darkness Rocks in this movie!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: This movie was suprisingly good. I really didn't expect to be as creeped out as I was. This movie gives you chills right up until the very end. I think the "Prince of Darkness" is definitely a keeper.
Rating:
Summary: The Real POD Review
Review: Of all John Carpenter's films, this one requires you actually concentrate on what's being said: The Brotherhood of Sleep, an ancient order created to protect the world, has a secret that, if revealed, would end all religion: God is evil. After being trapped in a highly advanced prison by Jesus Christ over 2000 years ago, the documentation describing it (aka the Bible-which was rewritten to sugarcoat events for humanity) and the prison are still kept in an abandoned church until the last of the order dies. The Vatican sends Donald Pleasence to investigate, who doesn't know what to make of it all and so sends for his friend Professor Wong. On the pretense of extra credit, he offers his quantum physics class the opportunity to examine the vessel themselves. During this time, one of the principal characters begins dreaming of the future. This turns out later to be televised transmisions actually sent from the future warning the students of the forthcoming apocalypse. What follows is an inevitable descent into darkness. None make it out, and the world is about to go bye-bye. The movie ends on that cheery note. It's not for everyone, true, but it stands out as an interesting reinterpretation of the forces involved in our creation, but moreso what lengths some might go to in order to conceal the truth. Even if it kills us.
Rating: 
Summary: Screw The Reviewers This Movie Flew Right By Them
Review: After reading the back of the box at the video store on this one I have to admit I was a bit skeptical. Satan stored in a canister which is beginning to leak? But when I saw it was directed by John Carpenter and starred Donald Pleasance I decided to give it a try simply because of Halloween. I was pleasantly surprised.First off the plot which at first I thought would be stupid is much better than you think. The Canister has been holding Satan for eons and Satan has a father who's been cursed to a dark side. Jesus also isn't who we all thought he was but I won't ruin that for you. It's one of those anti-Church movies that basically says everything we've believed has been a lie put on us by the Church to make human beings still feel themselves to be the center of the universe. Maybe anti-Church is a bit strong but that's a premise that's been used before. Even though I'm a practicing Catholic I really enjoy these types of movies because for some reason I find them fascinating. While the acting at times seems to leave something to be desired, especially the start, it seems to improve the deeper you get into the movie. The movie does take a while to get going but once bodies start getting taken over by Satan it really gets terrifying. I wasn't sure if this if this one would get me jumping off my couch but holy crap there were some freaky parts. The ending even leaves you stunned. I'm not quick to give anything 5 stars but this one deserves it. I don't get scared easily and have been mad when many horrors movies I rented didn't even give me a scare. I watched this one during the day and it was still terrifying. So I would recommend you at least give this one a look at your local video store and you won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Very haunting
Review: John Carpenter's great horror feature film, Prince Of Darkness is a great terror-filled ride! The setting is magnificent. The characters are cool and the dialogue is well...cool too! At the beginning of the movie we're slowly moving threw the story while the credits continue on, helping the anticipation on the coming story by cinematic-great John Carpenter, who also directed Hallowee, Escape From New York, and perhaps my two favorites, Big Trouble In Little China and They Live. The story tells of gooey-green son of the devil in a tube where he eventually, turns one of the character's into a horror film-baddie. One-by-one the characters are turned into more horror film-baddies. And the humans that are still themselves duel against the forces of evil until a great near-finale, and an also great finale that is of Carpenter-tradition. This is a very scary movie, so don't turn the lights out when you go to bed!
Rating:
Summary: "...this is not a dream..."
Review: A group of scientists are asked by a priest to analyze the contents of a container, filled with a swirling liquid, in the basement of an old church. However once the origin of the liquid is revealed, this group of people (now trapped inside the building) has to stay alive and try to change the course of the future in order to prevent the apocalypse as each member is possessed by the power of the liquid. Right from the start, Carpenter sets a tense tone for the movie. He introduces the viewer to the scientists as he also shows us how the priest discovers the container. The excitement never lets down for a moment and is kept alive by interesting (but easy to understand) scientific comments, small signs of the apocalypse, some interesting theories about the nature of evil and then traditional scare. Like most of Carpenter's films, PoD is filled with fresh and creative ideas and solid directing & cinematography. Several unforgetable scenes stand out in the film: Particularly, the "dreams" that scientists experience during their stay and the usage of mirror as a passage way to the "other side". Overall, an excellently made, intelligent horror movie. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: JOHN CARPENTER AT HIS BEST
Review: THIS IS A GREAT MOVIE. THE BEST OF JOHN CARPENTER. THE SPECIAL EFFECTS ARE WELL-DONE AND ALICE COOPER AS A HOMELESS ZOMBIE IS GREAT. THE CAST OF CHARACTERS ARE GOOD. DONALD PLEASENCE IS GREAT (BEFORE HALLOWEEN) SOME PARTS OF THE MOVIE ARE DISTURBING, BUT NOT ENOUGH NOT TO SEE.
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Summary: Prince of Darkness Delivers
Review: Any true fan of John Carpenter's work will thoroughly enjoy "Prince of Darkness." At a time in cinematic horror history when the best that Hollywood could put out were mindless slasher movies (a la Friday the 13th, parts 1 - 99), Carpenter created a thinking person's cult classic. He shunned the useless gore and replaced it with quantum physics (somewhat watered-down, but honest-to-goodness actual theory, I know because I teach the stuff). An abondoned church is the perfect setting for a clash between good vs. ultimate evil, and Alice Cooper adds a fitting touch. All-in-all, I would suggest that true horror (not gore) fans chalk up any negative reviews of this movie to ignorance and see it for yourselves. Oh yeah, the ending leaves you stunned. Does anyone know what became of the planned sequel?
Rating:
Summary: BRILLIANT-BUT..
Review: where are the dvd specials? like 5.1, trailers, bio's? so it don't have 'em, but STILL I AM GLAD THIS CAME OUT ON DVD!A TRUE HORROR CLASSIC..
Rating:
Summary: ....we are transmitting from 1-9-9-9......
Review: Not as scary as truly and completely chilling, "Prince of Darkness" is less a horror movie than a really long episode of Twilight Zone. The titular crowned-prince of evil lives as some kind of ooze in the basement of a church in LA, kept imprisoned by a centuries-old monastic order outside of the Vatican's control. Heirs to the secret realize that the ooze may be able to escape in their days - a fear manifested by a sudden supernova and by greater-normal infestations of vermin and rats, and LA Zombies. When a team of theoretical physicists investigates, they find the situation direr than their training would have led them to expect. Scientists are supposed to group god and the devil into one theory of myth. Instead, the secret in the church reveals that, while god isn't the supernatural creator the bible posits, the devil is very real and closer than you think. To reinforce the cognitive dissonance, the scientists find that, whenever they manage to sleep in the creepy church, their dreams are intruded upon - not by apocalyptic visions, but home videos of the apocalypse beamed back in time from the moment of world's end. "This is not a dream" warns a dispassionate voice during the vision shared by anybody grabbing a snooze, "our technology isn't advanced enough to interrupt concious thought transmissions." There are no heroes, because there isn't anything to be done - the charachters aren't around so much to dispatch the son of darkness as much as remind us how scared we're supposed to be, and how powerless we are. That "Prince" tanked at the box-office reminds me that Carpenter failed to highlight the timeliness underlying his subject. "The Thing" (1982), positing an other-worldly microbe that infects humans and turns them into monsters, would have been a perfect analogy for AIDS, but for its all-male cast. "Prince", offering up a drum of glow-in-the dark ooze is clearly an eco-parable. Coming only a year after Chernobyl, the film's church looms on the horizon much like the doomed Soviet power plant. The scientists, in no mood for rosaries, debate whether there's enough concrete in LA for them to dump on the chruch and make a difference. Lastly, the overriding theme in environmentalism is to save the world for tomorrow. Carpenter's tomorrow isn't satisfied to wait for today to get off its seat, and thus beams its warnings of doom. Like a good eco-fable, "Prince" is easier to dismiss than it is to keep out of your head. I first watched this after recording it off cable in '94 and immediately erased it. I like my uninterrupted thought transmissions. Carpenter says - tough luck.
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