John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness (1987) – Episode 174 – Decades of Horror 1980s
Decades of Horror | Horror News Radio
Release Date: 02/22/2021
Decades of Horror | Horror News Radio
The Grue-Crew head to France (actually Spain) to meet up with Waldemar Daninsky and Countess Wandesa to revisit THE WEREWOLF VS THE VAMPIRE WOMAN (1971, La Noche de Walpurgis). After decades of watching this classic Spanish wolfman film, seeing the restored 4k version is a revelation. Sure, it's a B-Movie, but it's a fantastic B-Movie. Now it is easy to see why this is Paul Naschy's most successful film, it clearly deserves that honor. If you've never seen THE WEREWOLF VS THE VAMPIRE WOMAN, seek out a 4K version or a streaming version of it online, stay away from the graining, overly dark...
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The Grue-Crew follow H.G. Wells and THING TO COME (1936) 90 years into the past to predict 10 years into the future. This film is fully politically charged but incredibly fascinating. While it slogs from time to time compared to modern films, it manages to deliver as a movie by the end. The film spans over four distinct dates: 1940, 1966, 1970, and 2036 encompassing a decades long war and the reformation of civilization afterwards. The main character that we follow is John Cabal as he goes from a cynical visionary to a liberator from the skies as part of the Wings Over the World; for the 2036...
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The Decades of Horror Grue Crews stick with the folk horror subgenre and bring in Scott Wells to help explain some of the details. This time, the film is A CHINESE GHOST STORY (1987), from Hong Kong producer Tsui Hark and director Siu-Tung Ching. The great Leslie Cheung and Joey Wang create the chemistry necessary to believe this “ghost meets innocent, naive tax collector” love story. Of course, they need the help of Wu Ma’s Monk/Swordsman to overcome the hold the Old Dame has over the two lovebirds. Much wire-work, special makeup effects, stop-motion animation, and mystical shenanigans...
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This exercise in lycanthropic folk horror from Argentina catches the Grue Crew by surprise. Lulled to sleep by the slow, freezer-burn pace of the first twenty minutes, they immediately perk up when the Devil shows his face. There are several reasons to watch this film: brilliant cinematography, an excellent performance from Alfredo Alcón, entertaining supporting characters, fascinating folk horror, and a WEREWOLF! Bill and Jeff are joined by Scott Wells, who adds his folklore expertise, and Gregory Crosby, who contributes his usual insightful analysis. Enjoy! NAZARENO CRUZ AND THE WOLF (1975)...
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Jeff picks an obscure Japanese horror film, THE LIVING SKELETON (1968 - Kyūketsu Dokurosen), for episode 235 of Decades of Horror The Classic Era. This black and white novelty was featured in Criterion's When Horror Came to Shochiku along with The X from Outer Space, Genocide, and Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell. While skeletons are featured in the film, the rumors of their being "living" are greatly exaggerated. Instead, and perhaps for the better, director Hiroshi Matsuno plays out a ghostly revenge tale featuring bats, haunted ships, and mad scientists. Still, sadly, no living skeletons. Oh,...
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“Don’t you stare at me like that, you puppet!” Sheesh! It’s the only way I’m capable of staring. After all, I am a puppet. Join your faithful Grue Crew – Crystal Cleveland, Bill Mulligan, Doc Rotten, and Jeff Mohr – as they discuss the low-budget, British portmanteau, (1983). Decades of Horror 1980s Episode 317 – Screamtime (1983) Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel! Subscribe today! Click the alert to get notified of new content! ANNOUNCEMENT Decades of Horror is partnering with the WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL Which now include video...
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“Has the human a soul? And if he has – where does he keep it?” Well, answer the question. Where is it? Join your faithful Grue Crew – Doc Rotten, Bill Mulligan, Jeff Mohr, and guest Gregory Crosby – as they ponder the above question asked in a bit of an avant-garde film, . Decades of Horror 1970s Episode 273 – The Shout (1978) Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel! Subscribe today! And click the alert to get notified of new content! https://youtube.com/gruesomemagazine ANNOUNCEMENT Decades of Horror 1970s is partnering with WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL,...
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The Grue-Crew head back to 1953 to tackle a film from the first wave of 3D films, THE MAZE (1953), featuring one of the most bizarre twist endings of the decade. If you haven't seen this movie, you won't see it coming. While the films looks great and the cast, featuring Richard Carlson, Veronica Hurst, and Katherine Pate, is solid, the story and pace are snooze-inducingly plodding. If ever a film needed 3D, it may be this one. Yet, with all its flaws, the film has a B-movie charm to it. Catalog THE MAZE for "only the curious." Enjoy! THE MAZE (1953) Episode 234 - Decades of Horror: The Classic...
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PRIMAL RAGE (1988) is a horror movie that gets very little mention, accolades, or fanfare. Many horror fans may not have heard of the film, instead maybe they recall the 1995 video came or 2018 movie of the same name. For this episode, Bill steps up and declare "The Grue-Crew shall watch Primal Rage!" And so we did. What did we find: Mad scientists, crazed baboons, a rage virus turning college students into rampaging zombie-like monsters, and a gore-soaked Halloween party. Let's party! Enjoy! PRIMAL RAGE (1988) Episode 316 - Decades of Horror 1980s Quote: “Trust me, she’s more than your...
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Is this even a real movie? Ed Wood? The Grue-Crew set out to find out, reviewing the schlock fest known by many names: THE REVENGE OF DR X (1970), BODY OF THE PREY, THE DEVIL'S GARDEN, and VENUS FLY TRAP. Which ever title it is under, the result is the same: the most bizarre and god awful film of all time; yet, somehow, it is entertaining in its terrible glory. James Craig is a mad NASA scientist who seems to take up botany and creates a hybrid creature as if he were Dr. Frankenstein. WTF? Check out what the Crew think on this one. You have been warned. Enjoy! THE REVENGE OF DOCTOR X (1970)...
info_outline"Hello... Hello... I've got a message for you... and you're not going to like it... Pray for death!" Yup. He’s right. His message was not likable. Join your faithful Grue-Crew - Crystal Cleveland, Chad Hunt, Bill Mulligan, and Jeff Mohr - as they try to keep it real amidst the world of quantum mechanics, John Carpenter-style, with Prince of Darkness (1987). It’s like hanging out with a friend.
Decades of Horror 1980s
Episode 174 – Prince of Darkness (1987)
Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel!
Subscribe today! And click the alert to get notified of new content!
https://youtube.com/gruesomemagazine
A group of graduate students and scientists uncover an ancient canister in an abandoned church, but when they open the container, they inadvertently unleash a strange liquid and an evil force on all humanity.
IMDb
- Director: John Carpenter
- Writer: John Carpenter (as Martin Quatermass)
- Music: John Carpenter, Alan Howarth
- Cinematography: Gary B. Kibbe
- Cast
- Donald Pleasence as Priest
- Victor Wong as Professor Howard Birack
- Jameson Parker as Brian Marsh
- Lisa Blount as Catherine Danforth
- Dennis Dun as Walter
- Susan Blanchard as Kelly
- Anne Marie Howard as Susan Cabot (as Ann Howard)
- Ann Yen as Lisa
- Ken Wright as Lomax
- Dirk Blocker as Mullins
- Jessie Lawrence Ferguson as Calder
- Peter Jason as Dr. Leahy
- Robert Grasmere as Frank Wyndham
- Thom Bray as Etchinson
- Alice Cooper as Street Schizo
Prince of Darkness is Chad’s pick, which, knowing what a big fan he is of John Carpenter, should come as no surprise. Over the years, he’s gained an appreciation for how well-written it is and loves the use of quantum mechanics in a horror film. Crystal describes the story as being very cool and Prince of Darkness as being a classic, even though not on a parr with his best films. Having always thought well of Prince of Darkness, Bill loves it more this time around, emphasizing what he calls Carpenter’s best score, the beautiful look, and how fantastically intelligent it is, even though a few of the characters are somewhat “fodderish.” The first time around, all Jeff could think was WTF, but now he loves the complicated story and Prince of Darkness has moved way up in his ranking of 1980s horror movies.
Your Decades of Horror 1980s Grue Crew gives Prince of Darkness an enthusiastic thumbs-up! As of this writing, Prince of Darkness is available VOD from various streaming sources and as a Scream Factory 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray released January 2021.
Every two weeks, Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror 1980s podcast will cover another horror film from the 1980s. The next episode’s film, chosen by Jeff, will be Michele Soavi’s The Church (1989), produced by Dario Argento. But don’t call it Demons 3!
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