The defence The Arthouse Gremlin
“Its refusal to behave is the point.”
The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.
Back to trending 
Prince of Darkness
Horror · 1987
A priest discovers an ancient canister containing a strange liquid in an abandoned church. When a group of graduate students and scientists are tasked with studying it, they unknowingly unleash an evil force waiting to destroy all of humanity.
Movie details
Prince of Darkness
“Before man walked the earth...It slept for centuries. It is evil. It is real. It is awakening.”
1987 Horror 1h 42m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.8 / 10
Community rating
A priest discovers an ancient canister containing a strange liquid in an abandoned church. When a group of graduate students and scientists are tasked with studying it, they unknowingly unleash an evil force waiting to destroy all of humanity.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Prince of Darkness?
For the defence
The Arthouse Gremlin
“The stranger, the better.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
The First Omen
Horror · 2024
When a young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church, she encounters a darkness that causes her to question her own faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate.
Anything for Jackson
Horror · 2020
A bereaved Satanist couple kidnap a pregnant woman so they can use an ancient spellbook to put their dead grandson's spirit into her unborn child, but they end up summoning more than they bargained for.
The Nun II
Horror · 2023
In 1956 France, a priest is violently murdered, and Sister Irene begins to investigate. She once again comes face-to-face with a powerful evil.
Diabolic
Horror · 2025
A woman's hope for a miracle cure turns into a nightmare when she confronts the vengeful spirit of a cursed witch, determined to claim her as a vessel for her evil power.
Saint Catherine
Horror · 2024
An orphaned girl is rescued from a satanic ritual and taken to Saint Catherine Institute for homeless youth. There she will learn new skills while facing demons that stalk her.
Apostle
Horror · 2018
In 1905, a man travels to a remote island in search of his missing sister who has been kidnapped by a mysterious religious cult.
House of 1000 Corpses
Horror · 2003
Two teenage couples traveling across the backwoods of Texas searching for urban legends of serial killers end up as prisoners of a bizarre and sadistic backwater family of serial killers.
Psycho Killer
Crime · 2026
Following the brutal murder of her husband, a Kansas highway patrol officer sets out on a journey to track down the perpetrator. As the hunt progresses, she comes to realize the man responsible is a sadistic serial killer, and the depth of his mental depravity and his sinister agenda is more twisted than anyone could have imagined.
It Follows
Horror · 2015
A young woman is followed by an unknown supernatural force after a sexual encounter.
The Ninth Gate
Mystery · 1999
A rare book dealer finds himself at the heart of a string of paranormal events when he is hired to find the last two copies of a text, The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows, capable of summoning the Devil.
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
John Carpenter
Written by
John Carpenter
Donald Pleasence
Priest
Lisa Blount
Catherine Danforth
Victor Wong
Prof. Howard Birack
Jameson Parker
Brian Marsh
Dennis Dun
Walter
Susan Blanchard
Kelly
Anne Marie Howard
Susan Cabot
Court is in session
Put Prince of Darkness on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Oddness is not depth.”
A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.