probably my fourth of fifth viewing of this film. i still love it: the climactic scene in the corridor is certainly the best example of lovecraftian horror i’ve seen in film. the overall atmosphere is so good, too. carpenter is a very atmospheric filmmaker, but in this one he just does it so well.
it’s really unfortunate that it has as many cheesy elements as it does. the kills, the liquid, the characters, some of the acting, some of the writing. The Thing is a much better overall film with the same lovecraftian cosmic horror atmosphere, but its soundtrack and vibe are not quite on par with this. The Thing is too close to something like an action or a conventional monster movie, whereas Prince of Darkness is pretty uncompromisingly cerebral.
there’s some weird stuff going on with the relationship between the two lead actors, and the overall dynamics between men and women in the film. i think it’s intentional, there were a few lines of dialogue that made the antagonism between the sexes explicit. i wonder if it’s supposed to be another effect of nega-god’s encroachment into our world, or if the parallel goes the other way?
i still love this movie, flaws and all.