Prince of Darkness

As this film opens an elderly priest dies shortly before he was due to see his cardinal; in his possession is a key. This is passed on to a new priest; it unlocks a door to a basement which has, for several hundred years contained the imprisoned Satan! The priest believes the ancient evil is about to escape so invites Howard Birack, a professor of quantum physics, and his students to help investigate. The students are sceptical but strange things start to happen; homeless people, acting like zombies gather outside and whenever they sleep they experience the same dream which may be a message from the future. It isn't long before the danger is clear to them and they are fighting for their lives against an evil that is now inhabiting the bodies of those killed.

This film might not be Carpenter's best known or his scariest but it is still well worth watching. For the most part it eschews obvious scares in favour or a sense of creepiness. Later on there are more gory moments; aided by impressive physical effects. I really liked how the story combined a religion based evil with the ideas of quantum physics. The cast are solid; most notably the excellent Donald Pleasence, who plays the priest and Victor Wong as the professor. As is often the case those playing the students are a little old for the roles but they perform well enough. Some may find the early scenes a little slow but for me they served to gradually raise the tension as we learn more about the evil in the basement. Overall I'd certainly recommend this for fans of Carpenter's other films or those who enjoy 'religious horror'.