Prince of Darkness

If you want a drama that takes its characters as seriously as its plot, Prince of Darkness is available in Australia on MUBI, and in the US on History Vault right now. The length is exactly right for the story it is telling — nothing rushed, nothing dragged out. 1,161 people have weighed in on TMDB, and the verdict leans heavily positive. Donald Pleasence anchors it with a performance that rewards close attention. Available now on MUBI — press play and find out why people keep recommending it.

Prince of Darkness arrived without much fanfare and built its audience the hard way — through word of mouth. Prince of Darkness takes its time building the world its characters inhabit, and the patience pays off. 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. Donald Pleasence and Lisa Blount lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 1987. What elevates Prince of Darkness is a refusal to let any character off the hook too easily. There is real craft here, even in the moments that do not fully land.

Viewers drawn to character-driven storytelling will find plenty to sit with in Prince of Darkness. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. Best experienced as a single, sustained watch from start to finish. Donald Pleasence's work here is the kind that gets referenced in career retrospectives. It makes everything else feel thin by comparison.