This is one of those seminal films that really helped forge the Horror fan that I am today. Particularly, well-directed Horror. This film has so many striking visuals that stand the test of time. Apparently Alice Cooper has tried several times to convince director John Carpenter to film a sequel, stating he “… wants to see more than just the anti-God’s hand but the whole thing.” I really appreciate that we only ever catch glimpses — the silhouette from a distance, the hand coming out of the mirror. We’ve seen “the big reveal” fall flat on its face so many times in Horror films.

And can we talk about Susan Blanchard’s bloody, peeling face for a moment? That image haunted and disturbed me as a child, yet I couldn’t tear my eyes away. To this day I still find it to be so very… unnerving. The juxtaposition of the blood against the pure blond hair is what pushes it over the edge for me.

Like so many of John Carpenter’s films, Prince Of Darkness didn’t perform well in theaters, but had a second life with home video and has since grown a large cult following. It’s apparently one of his personal favorites from his catalog, and I can understand why.