Unboxing John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness

What’s in the Box?

Psionic transmissions from the future, multiverse portals, body horror transformations, a capsule of pure evil, Alice Cooper, and a heady dose of weird science—it must be a John Carpenter movie.

And for my money, it’s one of his best.

For last night’s re-watch of Prince of Darkness, I picked up Shout Factory’s box edition containing a vinyl EP of John Carpenter music and a slipcase polybox containing both a Blu-ray and 4K HD disk of this classic horror/sci-fi mashup.

More than the Movie

The package is sure to delight Carpenter fans, even if some won’t have turntables for playing the vinyl EP. More of a collector’s item than anything else, the seven-inch record is a clear-vinyl disk featuring two John Carpenter compositions.

Side A contains the 2017 version of the film’s opening-title theme, while side B serves up a piece titled “Love at a Distance“–a never-before-released composition from 2020. It’s an effective blend of synth and techno bass with a moody, percussive interlude.

Each track clocks in at just over three minutes.

The blood-spattered disk is limited to 500 copies and packed in a slipcase with new art by Carpenter collaborator Chris Bilheimer. And since the spatter pattern looks to have been added randomly during pressing, I suspect no two records are alike.

The Movie Disks

Both disks include a theatrical trailer and audio commentary with Carpenter and actor Peter Jason.

The Blu-ray also features interviews, featurettes, a radio spot, and still gallery.

One-Minute Movie Review

As for the movie, I think it’s one of Carpenter’s best.

Click the player below for my one-minute commentary, and for more one-minute reviews of movies, books, and music, please check out my Vimeo page and Instagram feed.

I’ll meet you there.


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