WEBVTT - Weirdhouse Cinema Rewind: Prince of Darkness 0:00:04.360 --> 0:00:06.960 Hey, you welcome to Weird House Cinema. Rewind. This is 0:00:07.080 --> 0:00:10.360 Rob Lamb. Today we are reairing our episode that originally 0:00:10.360 --> 0:00:14.400 published eleven one, twenty twenty four. It is our episode 0:00:14.680 --> 0:00:18.440 on John Carpenter's nineteen eighty seven film Prince of Darkness. 0:00:19.120 --> 0:00:21.120 This one is a lot of fun. Love this movie. 0:00:21.320 --> 0:00:22.200 Let's jump right in. 0:00:23.000 --> 0:00:33.760 Welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio. 0:00:31.720 --> 0:00:38.840 Hey, welcome to Weird House Cinema. This is Rob Lamb. 0:00:39.120 --> 0:00:42.400 And this is Joe McCormick. And hey, if everything is 0:00:42.440 --> 0:00:45.560 going according to plan, this should have published the moment 0:00:45.760 --> 0:00:50.520 after midnight on the night of Halloween. So so happy Halloween, everybody. 0:00:50.720 --> 0:00:54.160 We are bringing you horror accordingly. Today we're going to 0:00:54.240 --> 0:00:58.080 be talking about the nineteen eighty seven John Carpenter horror 0:00:58.080 --> 0:01:01.960 film Prince of Darkness. And somehow I think this is 0:01:02.040 --> 0:01:03.840 our first John Carpenter movie. 0:01:04.520 --> 0:01:07.360 It is, And we did talk about the Carpenter produced 0:01:07.400 --> 0:01:11.440 and Carpenter scored Halloween three a while back, but this 0:01:11.640 --> 0:01:13.760 is the very first time we're actually going to be 0:01:13.800 --> 0:01:17.760 talking about a John Carpenter directed film. And we managed 0:01:17.760 --> 0:01:20.120 to wait until our one hundred and eightieth Weird House 0:01:20.120 --> 0:01:23.680 cinema selection to do this, so some of you might 0:01:23.920 --> 0:01:25.440 find that a little surprising. I kind of find it 0:01:25.440 --> 0:01:28.800 a little surprising, I guess in retrospect, because obviously you 0:01:28.840 --> 0:01:31.200 and I are both big John Carpenter fans. Some of 0:01:31.200 --> 0:01:34.160 his films are among our favorites, and we keep talking 0:01:34.160 --> 0:01:36.440 about them on the show. Anytime there's a John Carpenter 0:01:36.440 --> 0:01:39.640 connection in a movie or in a core episode of 0:01:39.640 --> 0:01:42.880 Stuff to Blow Your Mind, we'll talk about it. Lord knows, 0:01:42.880 --> 0:01:46.959 we'll talk about it. Why did it take us so long, though, 0:01:48.520 --> 0:01:51.640 you know, I despite the fact that obviously we really 0:01:51.720 --> 0:01:54.160 like John Carpenter films, and we also have listeners writing 0:01:54.160 --> 0:01:57.760 and suggesting John Carpenter films a lot. I'll have to 0:01:57.920 --> 0:02:01.280 get your thoughts on this, Joe. But for my own part, 0:02:01.680 --> 0:02:05.080 I feel like I've always kind of been reluctant to 0:02:05.200 --> 0:02:09.600 tackle one of the all time great favorite John Carpenter films, 0:02:09.639 --> 0:02:11.600 you know, something like The Thing or Big Trouble in 0:02:11.639 --> 0:02:15.480 Little China, because they're just so well known, they're beloved 0:02:15.800 --> 0:02:18.600 and in some respects kind of perfect in their own way. 0:02:19.280 --> 0:02:21.959 And on the other hand, I've been perhaps more tempted 0:02:21.960 --> 0:02:24.440 to cover something like Ghosts of Mars one of his 0:02:24.600 --> 0:02:28.160 late period pictures, but it also felt wrong for our 0:02:28.240 --> 0:02:31.400 first Carpenter selection to be one of his less well 0:02:31.440 --> 0:02:35.280 received movies. So I think nineteen eighty seven's Prince of 0:02:35.360 --> 0:02:39.560 Darkness is perhaps the perfect pick. It's Carpenter during his 0:02:39.600 --> 0:02:44.240 heyday and also Carpenter at peak creative control. It's also 0:02:44.320 --> 0:02:47.360 one of his truly weirdest films, I think, and it 0:02:47.400 --> 0:02:48.640 has a strong cult following. 0:02:49.120 --> 0:02:53.160 Yeah, this is a Carpenter sleeper the sleeper awakens. In fact, 0:02:55.280 --> 0:02:59.200 even some people who are fans probably haven't seen this one. 0:03:00.000 --> 0:03:01.720 It took me a long time after you know, I 0:03:01.800 --> 0:03:04.600 first started watching Halloween, An Escape from New York and 0:03:04.639 --> 0:03:07.720 all the big ones everybody sees first to get around 0:03:07.760 --> 0:03:09.760 to Prince of Darkness, and when I did, I was 0:03:09.880 --> 0:03:13.200 quite wowed by it. It remains very much in the 0:03:13.240 --> 0:03:18.400 top tier of horror movies for me, especially in you know. 0:03:18.600 --> 0:03:21.919 It's a great example of a concept we've talked about 0:03:21.919 --> 0:03:24.960 on the show that I think maybe applies more to 0:03:25.080 --> 0:03:27.880 John Carpenter films than to anything else, and that is 0:03:27.919 --> 0:03:31.280 a rub the fur movie. Prince of Darkness is a 0:03:31.360 --> 0:03:35.680 rub the fur movie. It is about a textural experience 0:03:36.160 --> 0:03:40.160 an experience of sights and sounds that conjures a mood. 0:03:40.400 --> 0:03:46.200 This movie is absolutely amazing at creating a feeling and 0:03:46.240 --> 0:03:49.240 a mood through its use of music, through its use 0:03:49.280 --> 0:03:54.000 of imagery, through its use of interesting ideas. And I 0:03:54.040 --> 0:03:58.720 really like the way that it throws different themes together. 0:03:58.960 --> 0:04:01.400 So one of the things that I think must have 0:04:01.480 --> 0:04:05.840 been behind John Carpenter's like creative process for Prince of 0:04:05.920 --> 0:04:08.560 Darkness is he must have read like a pop physics 0:04:08.560 --> 0:04:13.240 book or like watched a documentary about quantum mechanics, Because 0:04:13.280 --> 0:04:18.200 this movie is full of ideas about both science and religion. 0:04:18.320 --> 0:04:21.839 He was trying to do some kind of sort of 0:04:22.480 --> 0:04:27.200 sort of Christian infused but also sort of maybe Lovecraftian 0:04:27.360 --> 0:04:32.080 or Eldrich demonic awakening idea, but then also mixing that 0:04:32.160 --> 0:04:38.039 with ideas about quantum weirdness, some stuff about astronomy. He's 0:04:38.080 --> 0:04:41.120 clearly like trying to put a bunch of different kinds 0:04:41.120 --> 0:04:44.600 of themes that are usually kept separate into the blender. 0:04:44.640 --> 0:04:47.320 And that's an impulse I really like. And I think 0:04:47.360 --> 0:04:50.560 if you don't look too close at the way he 0:04:50.640 --> 0:04:53.960 uses the scientific ideas, it really works if you start 0:04:54.360 --> 0:04:57.320 if you actually know what he's talking about and start like, 0:04:57.800 --> 0:05:00.320 you know, reading between the lines too much kind of 0:05:00.320 --> 0:05:03.520 falls apart. But if you just lean back, you kind 0:05:03.520 --> 0:05:05.720 of you kind of tune out just a little bit 0:05:05.839 --> 0:05:09.320 during the scientific parts. I think it is super nice. 0:05:10.040 --> 0:05:12.320 Yeah, yeah, I mean this this is ultimately a pretty 0:05:12.320 --> 0:05:15.760 ambitious film, right, I mean, it's from a number of standpoints. 0:05:15.760 --> 0:05:17.880 It's like it was a three million dollar picture, it 0:05:17.960 --> 0:05:21.560 was an independent picture coming off of a lot of 0:05:21.560 --> 0:05:24.320 studio work for Carpenter, and it attempts to weave in 0:05:24.400 --> 0:05:28.599 all of these quantum physics and quantum mechanics ideas that 0:05:28.760 --> 0:05:31.320 the Carpenter, you know, says that he'd been reading a 0:05:31.360 --> 0:05:33.719 lot of this kind of thing. He'd read several books 0:05:33.760 --> 0:05:36.880 about quantum mechanics, and that it had kind of like 0:05:37.080 --> 0:05:39.520 a profound impact on him. Like he described it as 0:05:39.560 --> 0:05:42.200 kind of like a shift in worldview based on what 0:05:42.320 --> 0:05:45.560 he was reading. So you have that going on, and 0:05:45.600 --> 0:05:47.640 then at the same time, this is something that really 0:05:47.720 --> 0:05:50.920 came out when I was listening to the the commentary 0:05:51.120 --> 0:05:54.839 track for this film, which I'll discuss more about that 0:05:54.880 --> 0:05:56.599 in a bit. But he's talking with one of the 0:05:56.600 --> 0:06:01.200 actors in the picture, Peter Jason, and it's neat because Jason, 0:06:01.240 --> 0:06:03.560 of course is coming at it with a very actor's 0:06:03.640 --> 0:06:07.120 standpoint when it comes to the questions, he's asking Carpenter 0:06:07.160 --> 0:06:11.360 about the production and the process, and Carpenter of course 0:06:11.440 --> 0:06:13.320 is approaching it from the view of the director and 0:06:13.360 --> 0:06:16.560 the writer, but especially from the standpoint of the director. 0:06:17.279 --> 0:06:20.840 And I think one detail that kind of from the 0:06:20.880 --> 0:06:24.800 commentary track that kind of highlights these different views is 0:06:24.800 --> 0:06:26.839 when they're talking about the scenes where they're first going 0:06:26.839 --> 0:06:28.719 down into the basement. We'll get to the basement and 0:06:28.720 --> 0:06:31.600 all this as you know, this sort of ruinous basement 0:06:31.839 --> 0:06:35.880 that has lit by like hundreds of candles, and you know, 0:06:35.880 --> 0:06:38.000 they're kind of having fun with the picture, riffing almost 0:06:38.000 --> 0:06:40.640 a certain extent, and Jason's like, who who let all 0:06:40.680 --> 0:06:43.520 these candles? And you know, Carpenter's like, well, you know, 0:06:43.760 --> 0:06:45.599 this is just this is just great lighting. You know, 0:06:45.680 --> 0:06:47.960 this just it just looks really cool, you know, And 0:06:48.480 --> 0:06:50.440 I think that gets to the rub the fur aspect 0:06:50.480 --> 0:06:52.960 of the picture. And then rub the fur, you know, 0:06:53.080 --> 0:06:55.200 you can talk about again, you can definitely think about 0:06:55.200 --> 0:06:57.080 it in terms of just sights and sounds, but it's 0:06:57.080 --> 0:06:59.640 also there in the ideas, you know, in the way 0:06:59.680 --> 0:07:03.200 ideas are sprinkled through it. And it's not only about 0:07:03.240 --> 0:07:06.159 like what is given to you, but oh also what's 0:07:06.200 --> 0:07:07.839 not given to you. There are a number of scenes 0:07:07.880 --> 0:07:12.080 in this picture where we get audio free clips of 0:07:12.240 --> 0:07:16.600 characters clearly discussing the implications of whatever is going on. 0:07:16.760 --> 0:07:19.080 So we don't even have all the details. We just 0:07:19.160 --> 0:07:24.600 have various nuggets of quantum physics and theology thrown at us. 0:07:25.040 --> 0:07:27.640 And you know, again, yeah, if you lean back into 0:07:27.640 --> 0:07:30.520 the chair and you let them wash over you, it's 0:07:30.520 --> 0:07:31.600 a pretty great experience. 0:07:31.880 --> 0:07:35.440 I agree. I think that's exactly right, and I would 0:07:35.440 --> 0:07:39.280 phrase it this way. I think the use of both 0:07:39.320 --> 0:07:42.640 science and religion, the scientific and religious themes in the 0:07:42.640 --> 0:07:47.720 movie is primarily esthetic. It is not primarily about how 0:07:47.880 --> 0:07:52.040 either one actually works or what is actually true. It's 0:07:52.080 --> 0:07:55.440 to create an aesthetic effect. And that's not a bad thing. 0:07:55.520 --> 0:07:57.880 I mean, like, I think it is used quite well 0:07:58.200 --> 0:08:01.680 as another type of texture. It's an idea texture, a 0:08:01.680 --> 0:08:05.200 theme texture that fits in with the sights and sounds 0:08:05.240 --> 0:08:08.560 and ultimately the whole it's all adding up to a feeling, 0:08:08.680 --> 0:08:12.160 a mood, and it is a powerful, powerful mood. 0:08:12.520 --> 0:08:14.200 Well, I'll tell you what I have an elevator pitch 0:08:14.280 --> 0:08:16.840 for this movie, and it is the following The Devil's 0:08:16.840 --> 0:08:19.520 in the details and also in a big cylinder of 0:08:19.560 --> 0:08:20.200 green liquid. 0:08:21.000 --> 0:08:24.200 Yeah, you know, it's an idea that works better in 0:08:24.320 --> 0:08:26.360 practice than it does in theory. If you were to 0:08:26.400 --> 0:08:30.360 actually explain the concept here that, yeah, Satan is physically 0:08:30.400 --> 0:08:34.120 real and he is a volume of green liquid inside 0:08:34.120 --> 0:08:37.319 a jar. I don't know. That just doesn't sound as 0:08:37.679 --> 0:08:39.320 effective as the movie actually is. 0:08:39.679 --> 0:08:42.120 Yeah. I think in one of our most recent episodes 0:08:42.120 --> 0:08:44.000 of Weird House, or maybe it was a core episode 0:08:44.040 --> 0:08:47.080 I mentioned in Passing like movies that talk about evil 0:08:47.240 --> 0:08:52.360 as an actual physical presence or substance, and this movie 0:08:52.440 --> 0:08:55.280 kind of gets into that territory, but also ultimately I 0:08:55.280 --> 0:08:57.360 think makes it work within the context of the film 0:08:57.360 --> 0:08:58.920 in ways that it maybe doesn't in others. 0:08:59.120 --> 0:09:01.000 Yeah, we were talking about this in the House of 0:09:01.080 --> 0:09:01.760 Ushare episode. 0:09:01.840 --> 0:09:04.079 Yeah, all right, Well, let's go ahead and listen to 0:09:04.160 --> 0:09:07.240 a little bit of trailer audio here, which is we're 0:09:07.240 --> 0:09:09.160 not gonna listen to the whole trailer, but hopefully we'll 0:09:09.160 --> 0:09:11.080 get just a little splash of some of the dialogue 0:09:11.120 --> 0:09:14.160 from it and a little taste of that excellent John 0:09:14.200 --> 0:09:30.760 Carpenter Alan Howarth score that we're gonna be talking about. 0:10:13.720 --> 0:10:16.160 All right, So hey, if you want to go see 0:10:16.200 --> 0:10:19.720 Prince of Darkness before we proceed here. It is widely available. 0:10:20.400 --> 0:10:22.199 You can stream it, you can rent it, you can 0:10:22.240 --> 0:10:25.120 buy it physically. I watched it on the Shout Factory 0:10:25.160 --> 0:10:28.319 Blu ray, which is pretty great, complete with three bonus 0:10:28.320 --> 0:10:32.480 interviews and a full audio commentary track from Carpenter and 0:10:32.600 --> 0:10:35.559 actor Peter Jason, who has a minor part here but 0:10:35.880 --> 0:10:38.720 is a friend and frequent Carpenter cast member. This was 0:10:38.760 --> 0:10:43.000 his first Carpenter film. Carpenter's audio commentaries with folks are 0:10:43.000 --> 0:10:46.480 always entertaining and insightful. This one's no exception. I actually 0:10:46.720 --> 0:10:49.559 I generally say I don't have time for audio commentaries 0:10:49.640 --> 0:10:52.960 on movies anymore, and that's mostly true. And yet somehow 0:10:52.960 --> 0:10:54.560 I ended up watching this movie all the way through, 0:10:54.559 --> 0:10:57.720 and then watching half of it again with the commentary track. 0:10:57.760 --> 0:11:00.840 It's just that good. I remember listening to Way Carpenter 0:11:00.880 --> 0:11:04.599 and Jamie Lee Curtis commentary track somewhere that was adorable. 0:11:04.679 --> 0:11:05.199 It was great. 0:11:05.480 --> 0:11:07.960 Oh yeah I haven't. I haven't done that one. But yeah, 0:11:08.240 --> 0:11:10.560 they're they're generally very well regarded. You know, it's just 0:11:10.840 --> 0:11:14.480 very cool to hear Carpenter, you know, shoot the ball 0:11:14.920 --> 0:11:17.600 with people that clearly he you know, pre picks knowing 0:11:17.640 --> 0:11:19.439 that this is somebody that he has a rapport with 0:11:19.480 --> 0:11:20.839 and can chat with about the film. 0:11:21.160 --> 0:11:24.400 I think Peter Jason does he play the He's like 0:11:24.440 --> 0:11:28.079 a chemistry professor in this movie who spends a significant 0:11:28.080 --> 0:11:31.240 amount of time walking around doing like kazoo noises with 0:11:31.360 --> 0:11:35.040 his mouth. Yes, yeah, that's the one, Peter, I've got 0:11:35.040 --> 0:11:48.720 the perfect part for you. All right, Well, let's let's 0:11:48.720 --> 0:11:51.840 talk about the folks involved here, starting of course with 0:11:51.960 --> 0:11:56.160 John Carpenter. He directed it. He wrote it under a pseudonym, 0:11:57.000 --> 0:11:59.640 but it's pretty obvious that you know, everyone knows this 0:11:59.679 --> 0:12:02.200 is a On Carpenter scripted film. Did he call himself 0:12:02.280 --> 0:12:04.080 Martin quator Mass. 0:12:03.880 --> 0:12:08.000 Yes, yes, a reference to the films that he was 0:12:08.040 --> 0:12:11.079 inspired by. That also, you know, have some direct inspiration 0:12:11.240 --> 0:12:13.800 on the plot of this picture, you know, ancient evil 0:12:13.840 --> 0:12:18.560 buried beneath the ground, that sort of thing. Nice And 0:12:18.600 --> 0:12:21.360 of course yes see he did the score as well. 0:12:21.920 --> 0:12:25.079 Born nineteen forty eight, living legend director of some of 0:12:25.120 --> 0:12:27.200 the most iconic horror and sci fi films. Of the 0:12:27.240 --> 0:12:31.199 late seventies and the entire nineteen eighties, who also played 0:12:31.240 --> 0:12:33.920 a very key role in the birth of an entire dark, 0:12:33.960 --> 0:12:37.560 ambient synth wave sound like There's just you know, there 0:12:37.559 --> 0:12:40.080 are other important influences on that kind of sound out 0:12:40.080 --> 0:12:45.080 there from horror and sci fi soundtrack, but John Carpenter 0:12:45.280 --> 0:12:48.000 is a very important part of that equation. 0:12:48.559 --> 0:12:50.560 I had some plans to talk about this later, but 0:12:50.600 --> 0:12:53.240 I might as well mention it now. I think that 0:12:54.600 --> 0:12:59.280 John Carpenter not only creates great scores electronic scores for 0:12:59.360 --> 0:13:02.880 his own movie. I think in many cases the movie 0:13:03.080 --> 0:13:06.920 is only as effective as it is with his score. 0:13:07.600 --> 0:13:09.640 Not to take away from the rest of the movie. 0:13:09.679 --> 0:13:11.280 I mean, like, you know, he's got a great sense 0:13:11.280 --> 0:13:13.360 of where to put the camera. You know, he's got 0:13:13.400 --> 0:13:16.520 a good photographic style, and I like the stories he 0:13:16.559 --> 0:13:20.560 writes and all that. So other filmmaking elements are strong 0:13:20.600 --> 0:13:23.720 as well, But it is the score he creates for 0:13:23.800 --> 0:13:27.040 the film that locks it all into place, that creates 0:13:27.080 --> 0:13:30.640 the feeling that you associate with the movie. Try to 0:13:30.760 --> 0:13:34.520 imagine Halloween without the John Carpenter score just sub in 0:13:34.600 --> 0:13:37.960 what you would imagine for some other generic horror movie score. 0:13:38.640 --> 0:13:41.520 It would still be, I think, a pretty good movie, 0:13:41.559 --> 0:13:43.960 but it would not be anything like what it is. 0:13:44.400 --> 0:13:46.400 And I think the same is true for all of 0:13:46.440 --> 0:13:49.800 the movies that Carpenter scores himself. It's definitely the case here. 0:13:50.200 --> 0:13:54.200 Yeah, absolutely, So we really don't have to tell most 0:13:54.200 --> 0:13:56.319 of you who John Carpenter is. You know, he's responsible 0:13:56.360 --> 0:13:59.240 for such iconic films as seventy eight, Halloween, eighty on's 0:13:59.320 --> 0:14:01.959 Escape from Me Go, eighty two is The Thing, eighty 0:14:02.000 --> 0:14:04.480 six is, Big Trouble in Little China in nineteen ninety 0:14:04.480 --> 0:14:06.679 four is in the Mouth of Madness, just to name 0:14:06.720 --> 0:14:09.520 a few. He came out of the USC School of 0:14:09.559 --> 0:14:13.520 Cinematic Arts in the late sixties and ultimately skyrocketed with 0:14:13.559 --> 0:14:17.280 the success of Halloween. This film, eighty seven's Prince of 0:14:17.360 --> 0:14:21.000 Darkness is notable for being his first independent film after 0:14:21.040 --> 0:14:26.040 a string of big studio commercial movies, coming immediately on 0:14:26.120 --> 0:14:29.280 the heels of the box office disappointment of Big Trouble 0:14:29.280 --> 0:14:31.560 in Little China, which of course has gone on to 0:14:31.600 --> 0:14:36.080 become a much loved cult classic, but at the time 0:14:36.800 --> 0:14:37.800 it did not succeed. 0:14:38.080 --> 0:14:39.680 I think a lot of people didn't get it when 0:14:39.720 --> 0:14:41.680 it came out. It was only kind of looking back 0:14:41.760 --> 0:14:44.600 that people started to realize the genius. 0:14:44.920 --> 0:14:47.720 Yeah, so he's coming off of that. Carpenter has said 0:14:47.760 --> 0:14:50.120 in interviews that he was worn out by the big 0:14:50.160 --> 0:14:54.040 studio process and really wanted to make a lower budget 0:14:54.040 --> 0:14:57.320 film that was completely on his own terms. And that's 0:14:57.320 --> 0:15:00.720 what Prince of Darkness is. It's a weird, doomy contemplation 0:15:00.880 --> 0:15:04.960 on religion and quantum mechanics, which Carpenter, you know, always 0:15:04.960 --> 0:15:08.120 a science nerd, had been reading about leading up to 0:15:08.160 --> 0:15:12.120 this production. And it's also a film that may comment 0:15:12.240 --> 0:15:15.880 to some degree, maybe even almost subconsciously or subliminally on 0:15:15.920 --> 0:15:18.600 the on his desire to break free from the tyrannical 0:15:18.720 --> 0:15:21.720 order of big studio productions, you know, like you can 0:15:21.760 --> 0:15:23.680 you can maybe pick up on a little sort of 0:15:23.720 --> 0:15:28.200 like post studio angst in the in the way that 0:15:28.280 --> 0:15:29.680 he's formulating things. 0:15:29.920 --> 0:15:32.640 Oh, there is a great part where they're discussing the 0:15:32.680 --> 0:15:35.800 secrets kept by the Brotherhood of Sleep and Donald Pleasant 0:15:35.880 --> 0:15:38.400 starts talking about how, you know, we we fed the 0:15:38.440 --> 0:15:41.080 people what we thought they wanted a lie. It was 0:15:41.120 --> 0:15:43.600 all a lie. I want to tell them the truth now. 0:15:44.400 --> 0:15:47.480 Yeah. Yeah, so it's it's in a way, this movie's 0:15:47.560 --> 0:15:51.400 kind of. It has a meanness and you know, also 0:15:51.480 --> 0:15:54.080 kind of a graphicness that you don't see in a 0:15:54.120 --> 0:15:56.280 lot of other Carpenter films. I mean not to say, yeah, 0:15:56.480 --> 0:15:59.200 you can look at the Thing and it's grotesque, but 0:15:59.280 --> 0:16:01.800 this movie is also pretty violent and grotesque in its 0:16:01.840 --> 0:16:05.440 own way. It's often situated with the Thing and in 0:16:05.520 --> 0:16:09.640 the mouth of madness as being part of his Apocalypse trilogy. Yeah, 0:16:09.640 --> 0:16:12.680 it's one of the bloodier ones. It also is clearly 0:16:12.720 --> 0:16:15.240 a siege film, which he's quick to point out. And 0:16:15.440 --> 0:16:20.000 it has a Howard Hawksian ensemble cast featuring several actors 0:16:20.000 --> 0:16:22.960 that Carpenter handpicked to work with. Again, you know, mostly 0:16:23.240 --> 0:16:25.560 people he liked working with and was excited to have 0:16:25.640 --> 0:16:28.600 on a production like this. It made a reported fourteen 0:16:28.640 --> 0:16:31.200 point two million off of a budget of three million, 0:16:31.600 --> 0:16:33.680 and so he followed it up with They Live, which 0:16:33.760 --> 0:16:36.560 was nearly identical in terms of creative control, budget and 0:16:36.640 --> 0:16:40.840 box office. Carpenter's last full length director oorial effort was 0:16:41.000 --> 0:16:44.160 twenty tens The Ward, but he's remained active, of course 0:16:44.200 --> 0:16:46.800 as a composer, often working with his son Cody. 0:16:47.360 --> 0:16:49.280 Now, did you say in one of the commentaries you 0:16:49.320 --> 0:16:54.120 were listening to that, Carpenter admitted to his obsession with 0:16:54.240 --> 0:16:57.000 video games because I don't remember where I came across this, 0:16:57.120 --> 0:17:00.600 but I generally had it in my head that is 0:17:00.680 --> 0:17:04.320 like obsessed with playing like I don't know, NBA JAM, 0:17:04.520 --> 0:17:08.120 like like sports, video games for the PlayStation and stuff. 0:17:08.359 --> 0:17:10.919 Oh yeah, I mean numerous interviews will bring up video games. 0:17:11.119 --> 0:17:13.280 And even in this commentary track, which was I think, 0:17:13.359 --> 0:17:16.080 you know, over a decade ago that it was recorded, 0:17:16.720 --> 0:17:18.480 you know, he's mostly like, yeah, I'm not as tuned 0:17:18.520 --> 0:17:21.000 into the you know what people, you know, what's going 0:17:21.040 --> 0:17:22.840 on with horror movies these days, and mostly just do 0:17:22.960 --> 0:17:25.240 sports and video games. And I've seen other interviews where 0:17:25.280 --> 0:17:27.280 people ask him with what he's playing, and there's always 0:17:27.280 --> 0:17:29.879 some sort of like shooter sports game I guess that 0:17:29.960 --> 0:17:33.200 he's into. So, you know, you know, more power to him. 0:17:33.200 --> 0:17:33.879 He's a big gamer. 0:17:34.200 --> 0:17:36.880 Yeah, fair enough, John. You know, you made a bunch 0:17:36.920 --> 0:17:38.560 of good ones. You don't have to keep up with 0:17:38.600 --> 0:17:41.320 what's what's great this year. Yeah, play video games. 0:17:42.080 --> 0:17:46.000 I should also point out Carpenter points to several influences 0:17:46.119 --> 0:17:47.960 on the plot of this picture, one of them being 0:17:48.040 --> 0:17:52.399 Gregory Benford's novel Timescape from nineteen eighty. That's a I 0:17:52.440 --> 0:17:54.560 haven't read it, but apparent it's a novel that involves 0:17:54.600 --> 0:17:58.240 messages from the future sent via hypothetical faster than lie 0:17:58.320 --> 0:17:59.359 Tachyon particles. 0:17:59.720 --> 0:18:02.080 Oh, this ties into one of my favorite things in 0:18:02.119 --> 0:18:04.760 the movie, The Dreams and from the Future. I guess 0:18:04.760 --> 0:18:06.960 we'll get into that in the plot section. But I 0:18:07.000 --> 0:18:10.400 love that convention here and the way it's realized as 0:18:10.400 --> 0:18:15.000 a kind of staticky like you know, third generation VHS 0:18:15.000 --> 0:18:17.560 copy video message is so good. 0:18:18.000 --> 0:18:22.200 Yeah. Now, again, this is a fairly expansive ensemble cast, 0:18:22.600 --> 0:18:25.000 and we can't cover everyone here or do go into 0:18:25.000 --> 0:18:26.600 great detail, so I'm probably gonna have to be a 0:18:26.600 --> 0:18:29.840 little briefer than usual. All right, First of all, top billing, 0:18:29.840 --> 0:18:33.679 we have Donald Pleasants playing an unnamed priest. He's just 0:18:33.720 --> 0:18:34.760 credited as priest. 0:18:35.160 --> 0:18:38.080 Yeah, I was trying to so some sources I found 0:18:38.080 --> 0:18:42.560 online called him. I think father Loomis. I don't think 0:18:42.600 --> 0:18:44.359 that name is ever said in the movie, and I 0:18:44.359 --> 0:18:46.679 don't see that in anything official. That might just be 0:18:46.760 --> 0:18:47.960 something the Internet made up. 0:18:48.720 --> 0:18:52.280 He's he is very Loomis esque, Like it's impossible not 0:18:52.400 --> 0:18:56.879 to compare this role as a troubled priest fighting against 0:18:56.920 --> 0:19:00.480 evil to the other major role in she played a 0:19:00.480 --> 0:19:04.360 troubled priest fighting against evil as Loomis and Halloween. It's 0:19:04.359 --> 0:19:06.640 also similar to the character he played in The Devil's 0:19:06.680 --> 0:19:08.440 Men that we previously discussed on the show. 0:19:09.000 --> 0:19:11.880 Oh no, the Devil's Man. He's much better in this 0:19:11.960 --> 0:19:14.679 than he was in The Devil's Men. Yeah, but it 0:19:14.760 --> 0:19:17.760 is very similar to his Halloween performance. In both cases, 0:19:17.800 --> 0:19:23.040 he is playing a He is playing a haunted, disturbed 0:19:23.760 --> 0:19:27.439 cleric of sorts who is motivated by a fear of 0:19:27.480 --> 0:19:30.040 what's to come and guilt for what he in some 0:19:30.080 --> 0:19:33.480 small part, played a role in releasing into the world. Yeah. 0:19:33.560 --> 0:19:37.320 Yeah. Pleasants lived nineteen nineteen through nineteen ninety five, and he, 0:19:37.320 --> 0:19:40.159 of course not only appeared in Carpenter's Halloween. He was 0:19:40.160 --> 0:19:42.639 also an Escape from New York, in which he played 0:19:42.840 --> 0:19:44.440 the President of the United States. 0:19:45.040 --> 0:19:47.120 May God have messy on you all. 0:19:48.640 --> 0:19:51.719 He often played these really like, very dry, serious characters, 0:19:51.800 --> 0:19:54.399 but it's said to be quite humorous behind the scenes, 0:19:54.480 --> 0:19:56.360 and you know, everybody seems to have really nice things 0:19:56.400 --> 0:19:58.920 to say about working with him. All Right. Up next, 0:19:58.960 --> 0:20:02.400 we have the actor and character that are essentially positioned 0:20:02.400 --> 0:20:07.600 as the leading man. But again very strong ensemble sensibilities here. 0:20:08.240 --> 0:20:11.760 But this is the character Brian Marsh played by Jamison 0:20:11.840 --> 0:20:13.920 Parker born nineteen forty seven. 0:20:14.560 --> 0:20:17.639 Is this supposed to be our Tom Atkins for the film? 0:20:18.520 --> 0:20:25.520 I think so, our mustachioed, handsome eighties leading man. Sometimes 0:20:25.520 --> 0:20:28.239 he just hangs out like he's working alone in his 0:20:28.600 --> 0:20:31.280 apartment or house at night. He's just he's got his 0:20:31.320 --> 0:20:33.760 shirt open so he can show off his muscles to nobody. 0:20:34.160 --> 0:20:35.720 He's got some muscles, though he does. 0:20:36.320 --> 0:20:39.960 A man's in good shape. Jamison Parker was mostly known 0:20:40.200 --> 0:20:43.479 for playing the Simon without a mustache on TV Simon 0:20:43.520 --> 0:20:46.760 and Simon, so in this movie he's the one with 0:20:46.920 --> 0:20:50.200 the mustache. And he worked several times with Simon and 0:20:50.240 --> 0:20:53.280 Simon co star Gerald McRaney, the dad from The Never 0:20:53.359 --> 0:20:57.120 Ending Story. So I mean this is mostly what he's 0:20:57.160 --> 0:21:00.600 known for, also, of course remembered for this picture. And 0:21:00.800 --> 0:21:03.919 you know he's perfectly fine in this no complaints. Again, 0:21:03.960 --> 0:21:06.959 He's essentially the leading man that exists mostly within an 0:21:07.119 --> 0:21:08.640 ensemble cast of characters. 0:21:09.160 --> 0:21:12.360 You know, I will say I love love Prince of Darkness, 0:21:12.400 --> 0:21:15.359 but I will say I think deeply developed characters is 0:21:15.480 --> 0:21:19.480 not this movie's strong suit. Instead of having characters that 0:21:19.520 --> 0:21:22.480 we get to know super well and are very well defined, 0:21:22.960 --> 0:21:25.680 we have a lot of characters. I would say the 0:21:25.720 --> 0:21:29.679 most interesting singularly defined character in the movie is the 0:21:29.680 --> 0:21:32.800 physics professor Barak, played by Victor Wong. 0:21:33.520 --> 0:21:36.040 Yes, Victor Wong, who of nineteen twenty seven through two 0:21:36.040 --> 0:21:41.040 thousand and one Chinese American character actor, easily best remembered 0:21:41.040 --> 0:21:43.480 for his role as the wizard egg Shin in Carpenter's 0:21:43.520 --> 0:21:45.840 Big Trouble in Little China, but he also had a 0:21:45.840 --> 0:21:48.880 great role in the cult classic monster film Trimmers, which 0:21:48.880 --> 0:21:51.359 also had a great ensemble cast, and he was also 0:21:51.359 --> 0:21:54.679 in nineteen eighty seven's The Last Emperor. Other credits include 0:21:54.680 --> 0:21:57.280 eighty five's Year of the Dragon, eighty six is Shanghai 0:21:57.320 --> 0:22:01.679 Surprise that as it's a Madonna movie, Memory Serves, and 0:22:01.720 --> 0:22:04.760 also The Golden Child with Eddie Murphy nineteen ninety three, 0:22:04.800 --> 0:22:07.560 is the Joy Luck Club in nineteen ninety seven Seven 0:22:07.640 --> 0:22:08.359 Years in Tibet. 0:22:08.920 --> 0:22:11.440 I always love Victor Wong. Of course I love him 0:22:11.440 --> 0:22:13.720 in Big Trouble in Little China, and I love him 0:22:13.720 --> 0:22:19.000 in this. He has such a strong, like good magic, 0:22:19.560 --> 0:22:23.760 comforting aura. He's almost like the good Witch Glinda when 0:22:23.800 --> 0:22:25.720 he appears, you know, does that make any sense? 0:22:26.000 --> 0:22:28.679 Yeah? Yeah, it's like there's he's able to bring a 0:22:28.680 --> 0:22:32.439 certain wisdom to everything that he's saying, you know. And 0:22:32.560 --> 0:22:34.280 we'll get into when we can do examples from his 0:22:34.359 --> 0:22:38.639 various physics lectures. But I think it's interesting because I 0:22:38.640 --> 0:22:40.679 think you could say the same for Donald Pleasants and 0:22:40.760 --> 0:22:43.879 Victor Wong. Both of them are really great at making 0:22:43.920 --> 0:22:46.359 you believe the things that they're saying, no matter what 0:22:46.440 --> 0:22:49.760 kind of dialogue they're given. You're like, Yeah, this guy 0:22:49.800 --> 0:22:50.720 knows what he's talking. 0:22:50.480 --> 0:22:53.840 About absolutely, And I really like the way he plays 0:22:53.880 --> 0:22:57.080 this character too, So not just in delivering, say, these 0:22:57.520 --> 0:23:01.400 strange physics lectures about you know, the other characters say 0:23:01.400 --> 0:23:04.240 about like the student characters say about him that he 0:23:04.359 --> 0:23:07.320 is a physics professor, but he's almost more interested in 0:23:07.359 --> 0:23:12.520 turning his students into philosophers than scientists, because he's really 0:23:12.560 --> 0:23:17.160 captured by the ideas the implications of the quantum mechanics 0:23:17.160 --> 0:23:20.320 that he teaches, and so he does come out he 0:23:20.520 --> 0:23:23.040 does portray that well as like the man wrapped up 0:23:23.119 --> 0:23:26.560 in not just how the science works, but what it 0:23:26.680 --> 0:23:29.480 means for our lives, and he clearly like he gets 0:23:29.520 --> 0:23:33.080 lost in thought about that and wants other people to 0:23:33.240 --> 0:23:36.119 understand to the extent he does, how strange all this 0:23:36.320 --> 0:23:39.120 is and how much it should shake them to their core. 0:23:39.840 --> 0:23:41.720 But I also like the way that he plays this 0:23:41.840 --> 0:23:46.760 role as as physically feeble but mentally tough. Like he 0:23:46.840 --> 0:23:49.840 sort of plays the character. He's very kind of slow 0:23:49.960 --> 0:23:52.280 moving and almost sort of with a limp or something 0:23:52.280 --> 0:23:56.120 in the way he walks, but he doesn't get as 0:23:56.160 --> 0:23:59.159 easily mentally shaken as a lot of the other characters. 0:23:59.600 --> 0:24:02.720 Yeah, yeah, again, it's you know, it's probably that strong 0:24:02.760 --> 0:24:07.479 wisdom rating for his character. All right, let's see next, 0:24:07.520 --> 0:24:11.160 we have the character Catherine Danforth played by Lisa Blount, 0:24:11.560 --> 0:24:15.920 who lived nineteen fifty seven through twenty ten. Along with 0:24:16.080 --> 0:24:20.160 most of the characters, she's part of the Professor's assembled 0:24:20.200 --> 0:24:23.120 science team, and as we'll see, she's also the love 0:24:23.160 --> 0:24:28.160 interest of the character Brian Marsh. Best known for her 0:24:28.160 --> 0:24:30.719 Golden Globe nominated performance in nineteen eighty two as an 0:24:30.720 --> 0:24:33.600 officer and a Gentleman. Her other credits include nineteen eighty 0:24:33.600 --> 0:24:37.480 one's Dead and Buried, nineteen eighty four's Radioactive Dreams, and 0:24:37.600 --> 0:24:41.240 What Waits Below, eighty seven's Night Flyers and nineteen eighty 0:24:41.320 --> 0:24:46.000 nine Blind Fury. She also produced three projects, including the 0:24:46.040 --> 0:24:49.040 Academy Award winning short film The Accountant in two thousand 0:24:49.080 --> 0:24:52.400 and one that starred and was directed by her husband 0:24:52.680 --> 0:24:56.560 Ray McKinnon and co starred Walton Goggins, both both fine actors. 0:24:56.800 --> 0:25:00.200 Oh Goggins connection. As I said earlier, a lot the 0:25:00.240 --> 0:25:03.600 student characters, maybe including our supposed leading man Brian, are 0:25:03.920 --> 0:25:06.760 not super well defined. I think Catherine is one of 0:25:06.800 --> 0:25:11.840 the slightly more interesting ones. She has there's something unspoken 0:25:11.920 --> 0:25:15.800 about her backstory, Like there are moments she has with 0:25:15.840 --> 0:25:19.080 Brian where they're talking about like why she seems to 0:25:19.119 --> 0:25:22.359 have a kind of pessimistic outlook about say love, or 0:25:23.160 --> 0:25:25.800 about the future. Why she seems to have a lot 0:25:25.800 --> 0:25:29.080 of doubts about herself, and she often doesn't want to 0:25:29.119 --> 0:25:31.480 explain what the cause of that is, and so we're 0:25:31.520 --> 0:25:35.359 just sort of left to fill that in ourselves. But yeah, 0:25:35.400 --> 0:25:39.240 she's presented as this character who has I don't know, 0:25:39.280 --> 0:25:41.719 who has a kind of darkness, who has doubts, but 0:25:41.840 --> 0:25:44.600 she does essentially save the day in the end, the 0:25:44.800 --> 0:25:48.680 bridging into the dark world where the father of Satan resides. 0:25:48.880 --> 0:25:52.959 More on that later is ultimately that is stopped by 0:25:53.000 --> 0:25:54.760 an act of heroism by Catherine. 0:25:55.240 --> 0:25:58.679 Yeah. Yeah, all right. Next we have the character Walter 0:25:58.920 --> 0:26:02.119 played by Dennis Dunne born nineteen fifty two. This is 0:26:02.119 --> 0:26:05.600 another big trouble in Little China alumni. He also appeared 0:26:05.600 --> 0:26:07.560 in nineteen eighty five's A Year of the Dragon and 0:26:07.600 --> 0:26:10.920 eighty seven's The Last Emperor American actor of Chinese descent 0:26:11.000 --> 0:26:14.360 with the credits and TV film and stage. His role 0:26:14.400 --> 0:26:18.679 is interesting because he is the funniest character, but he 0:26:18.760 --> 0:26:22.000 is also it's important to distress, not a comic relief character, 0:26:22.520 --> 0:26:24.840 Like he is not there just to make a few 0:26:24.920 --> 0:26:26.720 jokes and then get killed by a monster or anything 0:26:26.760 --> 0:26:29.840 like that. Like, he has a lot of personality and 0:26:29.920 --> 0:26:32.760 he brings a lot of legitimate humor to the role. 0:26:33.160 --> 0:26:36.199 But he's also a character that you're pretty invested in, 0:26:36.240 --> 0:26:38.280 So I don't know, he feels almost like co male 0:26:38.359 --> 0:26:39.560 lead in the film. 0:26:39.960 --> 0:26:42.239 Yeah, I would say it's not that he functions as 0:26:42.320 --> 0:26:44.800 comic relief within the plot. I would say that the 0:26:45.520 --> 0:26:48.679 character the main characteristic of his character is that he 0:26:48.760 --> 0:26:51.639 is a jokester and he in fact deals with fear 0:26:51.720 --> 0:26:53.760 by making jokes, which is the thing a lot of people. 0:26:53.840 --> 0:26:56.439 Do you know that's a common character, You know, you 0:26:56.440 --> 0:26:58.800 can recognize that character trait in others, the people whose 0:26:59.280 --> 0:27:02.119 impulse when things start getting tense or scary is to 0:27:02.160 --> 0:27:04.639 start trying harder and harder to be funny. 0:27:04.960 --> 0:27:10.359 Yeah, all right. Next we have Kelly. Kelly is played 0:27:10.400 --> 0:27:15.720 by Susan Blanchard born nineteen forty four. She's another member 0:27:15.720 --> 0:27:18.119 of the science team. I don't remember what her discipline 0:27:18.160 --> 0:27:19.639 is off the top of my head. She has a 0:27:19.640 --> 0:27:22.000 bit the physics group by physics. Grip Oh, she's physics. 0:27:22.359 --> 0:27:25.440 She's the blonde member of the team. She becomes really 0:27:25.520 --> 0:27:28.560 important in the final act. So more on that in 0:27:28.600 --> 0:27:31.359 a bet. She also appeared in They Live and was 0:27:31.359 --> 0:27:34.199 on tpe's Policewoman. All right. Then we have the character 0:27:34.440 --> 0:27:38.680 Susan Cabot played by Anne Marie Howard born nineteen sixty 0:27:39.160 --> 0:27:41.640 This is the science team member with the piercing eyes. 0:27:41.720 --> 0:27:43.320 Do you remember what her discipline is? 0:27:43.480 --> 0:27:46.560 Also, I don't remember her discipline. But she's the one 0:27:46.560 --> 0:27:49.760 who's working down in the basement with the cylinder of goo. 0:27:50.720 --> 0:27:54.080 She has the glasses. Multiple characters refer to her by 0:27:54.080 --> 0:27:55.040 saying glasses. 0:27:55.359 --> 0:27:58.280 Yeah, And then of course she becomes the first person 0:27:58.320 --> 0:28:01.879 to be possessed. So minor spoiler there, but hey, and 0:28:01.960 --> 0:28:05.120 she loses the glasses and becomes the creepy possessed woman 0:28:05.160 --> 0:28:06.639 for the rest of the film, which she does a 0:28:06.640 --> 0:28:07.480 great job at. 0:28:07.800 --> 0:28:11.960 She goes around essentially urinating satanic fluid out of her 0:28:12.040 --> 0:28:14.320 mouth into other people's mouths. 0:28:14.560 --> 0:28:17.919 Exactly, which is great. I mean, how many other films 0:28:17.920 --> 0:28:20.960 do you have this sort of like possessed zombie vampire 0:28:21.160 --> 0:28:26.760 that uses like a projectial green liquid to infect others. 0:28:27.359 --> 0:28:30.440 That is pretty great. This is essentially her first film role, 0:28:30.680 --> 0:28:32.399 which she followed up with a stint on Days of 0:28:32.440 --> 0:28:35.320 Our Lives and has had a long career acting in 0:28:35.359 --> 0:28:38.920 mostly television. I think some solid stage credits as well. 0:28:39.040 --> 0:28:41.360 All right, up next, we have the character Lisa played 0:28:41.360 --> 0:28:44.520 by Ann yin one of only a handful of credits 0:28:44.600 --> 0:28:47.800 for her that include According to IMDb, anyway, there's always 0:28:47.840 --> 0:28:51.680 possibility something's crossed here, but they have listed a nineteen 0:28:51.720 --> 0:28:56.000 eighty Chinese film called What Is Love? And then she 0:28:56.000 --> 0:28:57.920 does a few other things. She does this movie and 0:28:57.960 --> 0:29:00.200 then finally has an episode of TVs in a in 0:29:00.240 --> 0:29:03.120 color and then I don't know, well what happened to 0:29:03.160 --> 0:29:05.400 her after that, but I thought she was pretty good. Here. 0:29:05.560 --> 0:29:07.200 She's like a computer person, right. 0:29:07.280 --> 0:29:09.640 No, no, no, she's well, she's using a computer. But no, 0:29:09.840 --> 0:29:14.760 she's brought in as a theology student because they need 0:29:14.800 --> 0:29:18.080 someone to translate the ancient languages in the book that 0:29:18.160 --> 0:29:20.280 is kept by the Brotherhood of Sleep. That's right, So. 0:29:20.240 --> 0:29:22.680 She's doing a lot of translation work on the computers. 0:29:22.840 --> 0:29:25.920 Yes, she's like just looking at the book and apparently 0:29:26.000 --> 0:29:29.040 not needing to use any reference resources or anything. She 0:29:29.160 --> 0:29:31.840 just like looks at the Brotherhood of Sleep book and like, okay, 0:29:31.880 --> 0:29:34.360 that's Coptic, and then just starts typing in English on 0:29:34.440 --> 0:29:36.920 the computer, doing it straight from the head. I mean, 0:29:36.960 --> 0:29:42.440 that's impressive. I think even most professional, you know, language 0:29:42.440 --> 0:29:45.600 scholars probably need to use some reference materials when they're 0:29:45.960 --> 0:29:49.880 translating things. But yeah, so she's the one who's like 0:29:50.000 --> 0:29:52.200 translating the book. So she gives us a lot of 0:29:52.240 --> 0:29:55.440 like creepy statements that are coming from this ancient tone. 0:29:55.520 --> 0:29:58.160 But then also she has one of my favorite scary 0:29:58.200 --> 0:30:01.120 moments in the movie, where after she gets possessed by 0:30:01.120 --> 0:30:04.760 the Satanic fluid, she's sitting at the computer and just 0:30:04.800 --> 0:30:07.160 like staring ahead, not not looking at the screen, but 0:30:07.200 --> 0:30:10.120 like looking off to the side and just typing repeatedly, 0:30:10.200 --> 0:30:12.160 over and over, and then you see the screen and 0:30:12.200 --> 0:30:15.680 it just says I live. I live, like a million times. 0:30:16.760 --> 0:30:19.520 Peter Jason, in the commentary tract did comment that, hey, 0:30:19.600 --> 0:30:23.280 she's like acting and using a computer and it looks believable. 0:30:23.600 --> 0:30:26.440 I can't do that. He's like making a case like 0:30:26.480 --> 0:30:27.880 most actors can't do that. We don't know how to 0:30:27.960 --> 0:30:31.720 use computers. That's why we're acting. So found that amusing. 0:30:32.840 --> 0:30:34.920 So I'm going to skip various members of the science 0:30:34.920 --> 0:30:37.240 team here, but yeah, I'll mention that. Yeah. Peter Jason 0:30:37.280 --> 0:30:39.560 born nineteen forty four appears here in the first of 0:30:39.600 --> 0:30:45.040 seven collaborations with John Carpenter. Alice Cooper the rock Star 0:30:45.200 --> 0:30:47.600 born nineteen forty eight has a small role as a 0:30:47.600 --> 0:30:52.360 possessed man who, as we'll discuss, also essentially brought his 0:30:52.400 --> 0:30:56.720 own special effects with him for one scene, and then 0:30:56.840 --> 0:31:02.240 visual effects supervisor Robert Grasmere is also in it as 0:31:02.280 --> 0:31:04.880 an actor. He has a memorable role in the film 0:31:04.880 --> 0:31:08.280 because he gets to die not once, but twice. This 0:31:08.520 --> 0:31:12.720 was only Grassmere's third movie as a visual effects supervisor, 0:31:12.760 --> 0:31:14.400 but he went on to serve on such films as 0:31:14.440 --> 0:31:17.480 eighty seven is the Running Man, nineteen nineties Predator, two, 0:31:17.600 --> 0:31:21.560 ninety three's Demolition Man, and twenty twenty one's Barb and 0:31:21.640 --> 0:31:23.960 Star go to Vista del mar So in a lot 0:31:23.960 --> 0:31:24.760 of different films. 0:31:24.920 --> 0:31:26.959 Oh, but if we're talking about the scientists, we got 0:31:27.000 --> 0:31:29.680 to talk about one of my favorites, which is Calder 0:31:29.880 --> 0:31:31.760 the Microbiologist. 0:31:31.840 --> 0:31:35.760 I think, yes, he's tremendous. Jesse Lawrence Ferguson, who lived 0:31:35.800 --> 0:31:40.640 nineteen forty one through twenty nineteen. He's kind of forgettable 0:31:40.640 --> 0:31:44.480 early on, you know, he's just one of the scienced crew, 0:31:44.920 --> 0:31:47.760 but he goes on to seemingly just have a blast 0:31:47.880 --> 0:31:51.960 playing a possessed version of his character, engaging in all 0:31:52.000 --> 0:31:55.400 manner of like strange facial expressions, and I think he's 0:31:55.440 --> 0:31:58.000 the only one that laughs. And he has this just 0:31:58.120 --> 0:32:02.800 completely unhinged laugh that he does that really adds to 0:32:02.840 --> 0:32:07.680 the creepiness deering, Like like the final part of the picture. 0:32:07.560 --> 0:32:10.120 It's it's so good, hats off to him. It's like 0:32:10.240 --> 0:32:13.240 I am the devil now and it's hilarious and he's 0:32:13.280 --> 0:32:16.360 it's only but it's a laugh that he's not just 0:32:16.520 --> 0:32:21.120 laughing maniacally like outright laughter. It's like he is trying 0:32:21.200 --> 0:32:24.760 to keep from laughing, but he can't stop himself. And 0:32:24.800 --> 0:32:26.200 that's what makes it so good. 0:32:26.440 --> 0:32:29.840 Demonic laughter like bubbling out of him. It's so good. 0:32:30.160 --> 0:32:30.680 Yeah. 0:32:30.760 --> 0:32:32.360 Now he was a He was an actors stage and 0:32:32.440 --> 0:32:35.680 screen who appeared in a fair number of things, including 0:32:35.720 --> 0:32:39.640 nineteen eighty four's Buckaru Bonzai eighty six is Neon Maniacs. 0:32:39.680 --> 0:32:41.920 I do not remember him from theon MANIAX, but I 0:32:41.960 --> 0:32:45.280 have seen that film, nineteen nineties dark Man, and nineteen 0:32:45.360 --> 0:32:49.080 ninety one's Boys in the Hood. Great voice, great voice, talent, 0:32:49.840 --> 0:32:53.160 let's see of note. Gary B. Kibbi is cinematographer on 0:32:53.200 --> 0:32:55.760 this with nineteen forty one through twenty twenty. He'd previously 0:32:55.800 --> 0:32:58.200 worked as a camera operator on some films, and this 0:32:58.360 --> 0:33:01.200 was his first film as director of photoghography. Followed by 0:33:01.280 --> 0:33:04.160 They Live, he went unto work on several different John 0:33:04.200 --> 0:33:08.320 Carpenter films and then finally Yes the score we already 0:33:08.360 --> 0:33:12.080 credited Carpenter and again this is one of several collaborations 0:33:12.080 --> 0:33:16.200 with musician Alan Howarth. You can find the score wherever 0:33:16.240 --> 0:33:18.680 you get your music streaming or otherwise. But if you 0:33:18.680 --> 0:33:22.560 want something physical, Sacred Bones Records, who have worked extensively 0:33:22.600 --> 0:33:25.800 with John Carpenter, have a really beautiful box set that 0:33:25.840 --> 0:33:28.800 includes a blu ray of the film. Real quick, now 0:33:28.800 --> 0:33:30.880 that I'm looking at the picture of the blu ray, 0:33:31.040 --> 0:33:35.400 I'm again reminded of the box art for this film. 0:33:35.440 --> 0:33:37.680 The poster art for this film with like the screaming 0:33:37.760 --> 0:33:40.560 face and the green lightning stemming from some sort of 0:33:40.600 --> 0:33:45.520 a church. Long before I ever actually watched this picture, 0:33:45.600 --> 0:33:49.520 I do distinctly remember seeing that VHS box art on 0:33:49.600 --> 0:33:53.160 the shelf at VHS rentals stores, and it always kind 0:33:53.200 --> 0:33:55.880 of like scared me and captivated me from a very 0:33:55.920 --> 0:33:59.080 young age. So solid, solid poster. 0:33:59.400 --> 0:34:02.520 Who's face is this? Is this anybody from the movie? 0:34:02.720 --> 0:34:03.480 Not that I recall. 0:34:04.080 --> 0:34:06.640 I don't know for certain that it may Yeah, it 0:34:06.680 --> 0:34:11.040 may just be nobody. It's just an evocative poster, which is, 0:34:11.080 --> 0:34:12.040 you know, sometimes the case. 0:34:12.239 --> 0:34:14.319 Can I say something about the marketing for the movie. 0:34:14.560 --> 0:34:18.240 I am impressed that they managed to resist just putting 0:34:18.360 --> 0:34:19.800 Alice Cooper on the cover. 0:34:20.360 --> 0:34:24.280 Yes. I also think it is very admirable that despite 0:34:24.320 --> 0:34:27.320 the fact that Alice Cooper has a song title Prints 0:34:27.320 --> 0:34:32.120 of Darkness that is like technically on the soundtrack, and 0:34:32.239 --> 0:34:35.279 yet is not the closing credits song, or at least 0:34:35.280 --> 0:34:37.239 I don't. It's not the initial closing credit song. Maybe 0:34:37.239 --> 0:34:39.760 they play it later on after I stop watching the credits. 0:34:40.120 --> 0:34:44.560 But this is a film that has a tremendous music obviously, 0:34:45.160 --> 0:34:49.279 and a tremendous endpoint, like the final shot in the 0:34:49.280 --> 0:34:52.160 film is perfect, and the music matches with it perfectly 0:34:52.200 --> 0:34:56.760 and feeds into the end credit song that is Carpenter 0:34:56.800 --> 0:34:59.799 and Howarth. I wouldn't change that for the world. I'm 0:34:59.840 --> 0:35:02.120 so glad we don't switch over into a rock number 0:35:02.120 --> 0:35:02.680 at that point. 0:35:03.200 --> 0:35:05.400 Yeah, that's right. I mean, as I said earlier, the 0:35:05.520 --> 0:35:08.880 use of music in this movie is perfect and it 0:35:09.080 --> 0:35:12.640 is what makes the film work as well as it does. 0:35:12.680 --> 0:35:14.439 Not that there aren't a lot of other great things 0:35:14.480 --> 0:35:17.480 about the movie, but the music is the glue that 0:35:17.560 --> 0:35:20.680 holds everything together and does the most work of anything 0:35:20.719 --> 0:35:24.560 to establish the intended feeling of the movie. So yeah, 0:35:24.600 --> 0:35:28.400 you couldn't mess with that, I think. Yeah, I totally agree. 0:35:28.440 --> 0:35:30.200 If as soon as you cut to the credits you 0:35:30.239 --> 0:35:32.640 went to a rock song, I think that would be 0:35:32.680 --> 0:35:34.839 a real bummer. That would really spoil it. 0:35:42.320 --> 0:35:45.520 All, right, Well, let's dive into the plot proper here. 0:35:45.960 --> 0:35:49.480 So the action opens with that ominous theme music. It 0:35:49.680 --> 0:35:54.000 consists of a deep electronic pulse that bounces kind of 0:35:54.000 --> 0:35:58.080 like a hammer on a harpsichord string. But then it 0:35:58.120 --> 0:36:02.120 also has these high synthesized tones that sound kind of 0:36:02.160 --> 0:36:06.719 like choirs, but not so much singing but sighing. I 0:36:06.760 --> 0:36:10.440 love that sighing voice they've created there. I don't know 0:36:10.480 --> 0:36:14.000 exactly what that is, but this music keeps playing as 0:36:14.040 --> 0:36:17.400 we go through the opening shots of the movie, and 0:36:17.480 --> 0:36:19.960 the first I would say the first ten minutes or 0:36:20.000 --> 0:36:24.000 so of the movie function kind of like a montage 0:36:24.120 --> 0:36:30.160 where we don't follow any individual character character all that long. Instead, 0:36:30.200 --> 0:36:32.839 it's more like a montage where we cut back and 0:36:32.880 --> 0:36:38.000 forth between credits and then different characters, settings, and important props. 0:36:38.080 --> 0:36:40.719 So it's kind of like a survey of the game 0:36:40.840 --> 0:36:43.920 pieces being laid out on the board, except it is 0:36:44.080 --> 0:36:49.880 charged with this incredibly strong combination of dread, anticipation, and 0:36:50.200 --> 0:36:54.400 unstoppable forward momentum, all created by the music. And I 0:36:54.400 --> 0:36:58.200 think somewhat famously, this opening credits montage goes on for 0:36:58.239 --> 0:36:59.520 like nine or ten minutes. 0:37:00.120 --> 0:37:02.760 Yeah, Yeah, it's a good one though. It really brings 0:37:02.760 --> 0:37:06.319 the intrigue following these characters around, establishing who they are 0:37:06.440 --> 0:37:07.920 and what's happening in this world. 0:37:08.520 --> 0:37:10.920 So the first thing we see is the full moon 0:37:11.239 --> 0:37:14.960 in a black sky with reflected moonlight almost a shade 0:37:15.000 --> 0:37:15.480 of pink. 0:37:16.000 --> 0:37:18.200 Yeah, this is one of many great mate paintings in 0:37:18.200 --> 0:37:21.200 the film by Jan Dan Janfirth Here. Anytime you see 0:37:21.239 --> 0:37:23.280 characters looking up at the sky and there's something weird 0:37:23.320 --> 0:37:25.400 going on with the sky, it's a great mat painting. 0:37:25.880 --> 0:37:27.840 And by the way, I'm going to describe this opening 0:37:27.840 --> 0:37:30.120 montage in a good bit of detail to kind of 0:37:30.160 --> 0:37:33.640 help create the feeling. But then, so after we see 0:37:33.680 --> 0:37:36.480 the moon, we see inside a room and the moonlight 0:37:36.520 --> 0:37:40.040 falls through a circular window that's criss crossed with bars. 0:37:40.640 --> 0:37:44.280 Underneath the window, an old an old man lies alone 0:37:44.440 --> 0:37:47.680 in a small bed. Across from him, there's a heavy 0:37:47.719 --> 0:37:51.799 black wooden door on the far wall, a crucifix, a candlestick, 0:37:52.200 --> 0:37:54.600 and a framed image of a saint, so we think 0:37:54.640 --> 0:37:58.040 this guy's probably a priest. Then we close on his face. 0:37:58.440 --> 0:38:01.680 He seems to be struggling, drawing his last breath, and 0:38:01.719 --> 0:38:04.200 then his hand falls away. From something that he has 0:38:04.200 --> 0:38:08.200 been clutching. It is a tiny silver box. Then we 0:38:08.239 --> 0:38:12.440 get the title John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness. Next, we 0:38:12.560 --> 0:38:15.759 open on daylight on a university campus and there are 0:38:15.800 --> 0:38:19.800 students gathered under shady green trees. They're walking along paved 0:38:19.840 --> 0:38:23.200 pathways between the buildings and we fall in with one 0:38:23.200 --> 0:38:25.880 of our main characters. This is Brian Marsh played by 0:38:25.960 --> 0:38:30.200 Jamison Parker. He's fit, blonde with a mustache, wearing a 0:38:30.239 --> 0:38:34.279 neatly tucked red polo shirt, carrying a leather satchel, and 0:38:34.360 --> 0:38:36.520 he walks to the foreground of the shot and pauses 0:38:36.560 --> 0:38:38.759 while the music kind of pulls you along, and this 0:38:38.840 --> 0:38:42.480 is the camera getting to know him. Across the courtyard, 0:38:42.520 --> 0:38:46.360 he sees another major character, Catherine Danforth played by Lisa Blount, 0:38:46.800 --> 0:38:50.880 talking to another woman before class. Catherine is red haired, 0:38:51.040 --> 0:38:54.160 dressed casually in a denim jacket, holding a stack of 0:38:54.200 --> 0:38:56.920 books and binders in the crook of her arm. She 0:38:56.960 --> 0:39:01.200 looks she's like a good natured nerd. Then back to 0:39:01.239 --> 0:39:03.200 the room of the priest in the morning, a nun 0:39:03.280 --> 0:39:06.320 knocks on the door, comes inside and finds him dead 0:39:06.400 --> 0:39:09.960 with the silver box resting on his midsection. Later, we 0:39:10.000 --> 0:39:13.160 see the nun talking to Donald Pleasants also a priest 0:39:13.280 --> 0:39:15.239 dressed as a priest. Don't know if that needs to 0:39:15.239 --> 0:39:19.000 be said, but yeah, we established he's a priest. She's 0:39:19.040 --> 0:39:21.120 talking to him about the fact that she found this 0:39:21.200 --> 0:39:24.680 other priest unconscious. His name was Father Carlton, and he 0:39:24.760 --> 0:39:27.360 was taken to the hospital, but he never woke up again. 0:39:28.200 --> 0:39:31.040 Donald Pleasant asks why Father Carlton was here in the 0:39:31.040 --> 0:39:33.560 first place. Where are they? Well, they appear to be 0:39:33.600 --> 0:39:37.640 in some kind of headquarters of the Catholic hierarchy, because 0:39:37.680 --> 0:39:40.200 the nun says he had an appointment with his Imminence 0:39:40.239 --> 0:39:44.080 this afternoon. Oh, his Eminence, so important business going on 0:39:44.160 --> 0:39:49.880 within the church. Donald Pleasance sits down and begins investigating 0:39:49.920 --> 0:39:53.719 what happened here by reading doctor Carlton's handwritten journals, and 0:39:53.760 --> 0:39:57.239 the header on this handwritten journal entry is the Brotherhood 0:39:57.360 --> 0:40:00.239 of Sleep. Now it cuts away before you can read 0:40:00.320 --> 0:40:04.239 everything on the page. I actually did stop to see 0:40:04.239 --> 0:40:07.000 what it actually says and take down everything. It's actually 0:40:07.000 --> 0:40:09.319 not as interesting as they didn't intend for you to 0:40:09.360 --> 0:40:11.000 read this whole part. It starts with like I can 0:40:11.040 --> 0:40:14.040 no longer keep silent as to this dreadful secret. We'll 0:40:14.040 --> 0:40:17.160 get more intriguing Brotherhood of Sleep stuff as we go along. 0:40:17.880 --> 0:40:21.200 It does eventually zoom in on one particular part that 0:40:21.320 --> 0:40:25.400 says says the sleeper awakens, I have witnessed his stirrings, 0:40:25.440 --> 0:40:29.680 felt the cold, hellish blast. Now next, we're going to 0:40:29.760 --> 0:40:33.960 meet the character of the physics professor Howard Barrack played 0:40:33.960 --> 0:40:37.400 by Victor Wong. He is walking class with the heavy briefcase, 0:40:37.520 --> 0:40:40.800 dressed in a wool blazer with at least five pins 0:40:40.840 --> 0:40:43.000 in his shirt pocket, so he is a professor, but 0:40:43.080 --> 0:40:48.440 he's also dressed very classically professorially, and he comes off 0:40:48.480 --> 0:40:52.799 as preoccupied with his obscure curiosities and research questions. And 0:40:52.840 --> 0:40:55.560 as he heads to class, something gets his attention in 0:40:55.640 --> 0:40:58.840 the sky, so he puts things down and he crosses 0:40:58.880 --> 0:41:01.480 his fingers over his eyes to block the light, and 0:41:01.480 --> 0:41:04.320 then looks up toward the sun. We see the sun 0:41:04.440 --> 0:41:07.040 shining through the clouds, and then right next to the 0:41:07.080 --> 0:41:10.080 sun in the middle of the day is a crescent moon. 0:41:10.760 --> 0:41:13.120 And then the camera shows us he doesn't see this, 0:41:13.239 --> 0:41:16.480 but the camera shows us nearby on the ground, red 0:41:16.680 --> 0:41:21.120 ants swarming ferociously over a mound in the grass, and 0:41:21.160 --> 0:41:23.480 this will establish a theme that happens a lot in 0:41:23.520 --> 0:41:26.600 the movie where characters stop and they kind of look 0:41:26.680 --> 0:41:29.839 up in the sky or look toward the sun as 0:41:29.840 --> 0:41:33.279 if they feel like something is wrong. And then we 0:41:33.400 --> 0:41:35.839 see the sun and it's just sort of hidden by 0:41:35.880 --> 0:41:39.160 the clouds sometimes or partially hidden. It's like shining through 0:41:39.200 --> 0:41:44.280 some thin clouds and music lets It's like the music 0:41:44.400 --> 0:41:47.120 lets us know that there is something wrong with the sky, 0:41:47.360 --> 0:41:50.320 something wrong with the sun, but nobody is ever able 0:41:50.360 --> 0:41:53.000 to say what it is. People don't really talk about it. 0:41:53.000 --> 0:41:57.120 It's just this feeling of unease about the atmosphere. And 0:41:57.160 --> 0:41:57.919 I love this. 0:41:59.000 --> 0:42:01.400 Yeah. Quick note on the bugs. There are a lot 0:42:01.440 --> 0:42:04.520 of bugs in this picture. And there was just one 0:42:04.600 --> 0:42:08.320 really brief moment in the audio commentary where Peter Jason 0:42:08.480 --> 0:42:11.520 asked Carpenter says, like a lot of bugs here, where 0:42:11.680 --> 0:42:13.319 did they come from? And Carpenter's like, oh, you know, 0:42:13.360 --> 0:42:16.480 we had a bug wrangler, And Jason says that sounds expensive, 0:42:16.560 --> 0:42:19.920 and Carpenter says, it's not that bad. I don't know 0:42:19.920 --> 0:42:21.239 why I love that exchange so. 0:42:21.239 --> 0:42:24.600 Much compared to getting Alice Cooper come. 0:42:24.480 --> 0:42:27.399 On Alice Cooper, by the way, that it was kind 0:42:27.400 --> 0:42:29.719 of funny. He was cast in the film because his 0:42:29.880 --> 0:42:33.640 agent was one of the producers of the picture. So 0:42:33.840 --> 0:42:35.680 like that was kind of like the meet up, like 0:42:35.719 --> 0:42:37.399 how they kind of like I think they also met 0:42:37.400 --> 0:42:40.760 at WrestleMania or something Wrestleman. Heir three, I want to say, 0:42:41.920 --> 0:42:43.840 And so he was like, I'd love to be in 0:42:43.840 --> 0:42:45.799 a horror movie a big horror movie fan, and they're like, 0:42:45.880 --> 0:42:49.800 you know, it came together. And then also, as we'll discuss, 0:42:50.760 --> 0:42:53.759 Alice Cooper had a particular impalement gag that he would 0:42:53.840 --> 0:42:56.840 do on stage and they were like, Oh, that's great, 0:42:56.920 --> 0:42:59.000 let's do a version of that in this picture. 0:42:59.080 --> 0:43:02.000 And they do, Oh, is this where he stabs the 0:43:02.360 --> 0:43:04.200 stabs the nerdy guy with a bicycle? 0:43:04.680 --> 0:43:07.920 Yeah? Yeah, I think the stage version is a microphone 0:43:07.920 --> 0:43:11.080 stand and they adapted it for to be a bicycle 0:43:11.080 --> 0:43:13.880 in this Yeah. It's pretty great. Though, more on that 0:43:13.920 --> 0:43:14.600 when it occurs. 0:43:14.960 --> 0:43:16.680 I can't promise more on that because I don't know 0:43:16.680 --> 0:43:19.120 what else to say. He just gets stabbed with the bicycle. 0:43:19.239 --> 0:43:21.319 Well, okay, I'll go ahead and say. What happens is 0:43:21.360 --> 0:43:26.360 Alice Cooper's character, who's zombified, stabs a guy through with 0:43:26.400 --> 0:43:28.920 the bicycle's got half a bicycle with like a you know, 0:43:30.280 --> 0:43:33.080 like a part of the frame sticking out that you 0:43:33.120 --> 0:43:35.799 can pail somebody with. And then that leaves the guy 0:43:35.840 --> 0:43:40.200 to like slump over, impaled over like the bicycle wheel 0:43:40.440 --> 0:43:45.120 and so forth. However, nobody then you kind of expect 0:43:45.120 --> 0:43:47.400 a zombie to then come behind the victim, pick up 0:43:47.400 --> 0:43:50.239 his legs wheelbarrel style, and then turn him into a 0:43:50.280 --> 0:43:54.600 wheelbarrow and wheelbarrow him off. That does not happen. It's 0:43:54.640 --> 0:43:56.000 still a great scene though, all. 0:43:56.000 --> 0:43:59.400 Right, So the montage continues. Oh, we get one I 0:43:59.440 --> 0:44:02.719 thought funny shot of Donald Pleasant standing in the courtyard 0:44:02.760 --> 0:44:07.520 of this church office building dramatically opening the silver box 0:44:07.600 --> 0:44:11.680 and pulling out a comically oversized key. And then we 0:44:11.719 --> 0:44:15.000 get one of these classroom scenes with dialogue. So some 0:44:15.040 --> 0:44:19.160 of these scenes are silent, some talking in them. In 0:44:19.200 --> 0:44:22.600 this one, we hear Professor Barak delivering a lecture on 0:44:22.680 --> 0:44:26.280 quantum physics to a classroom of graduate students, including Brian 0:44:26.360 --> 0:44:29.120 and Catherine, the characters we saw earlier, and a bunch 0:44:29.160 --> 0:44:31.400 of the other characters that we'll see get possessed by 0:44:31.400 --> 0:44:34.000 the devil or killed later. And I'm just going to 0:44:34.080 --> 0:44:37.600 read the quote what Professor Barack says. He says, let's 0:44:37.600 --> 0:44:40.200 talk about our beliefs and what we can learn about them. 0:44:40.480 --> 0:44:44.160 We believe nature is solid and time a constant. Matter 0:44:44.239 --> 0:44:47.560 has substance and time a direction. There is truth in 0:44:47.680 --> 0:44:51.080 flesh and the solid ground. The wind may be invisible, 0:44:51.120 --> 0:44:55.640 but it's real. Smoke, fire, water, light. They're different, not 0:44:55.760 --> 0:44:58.759 as to stone or steal, but they're tangible. And we 0:44:58.800 --> 0:45:01.920 assume time has an because it is as a clock. 0:45:02.320 --> 0:45:06.040 One second is one second for everyone. Cause precedes effect, 0:45:06.400 --> 0:45:11.239 fruit rots, water flows downstream. We're born, we age, we die. 0:45:11.600 --> 0:45:15.879 The reverse never happens. None of this is true. Say 0:45:15.920 --> 0:45:19.440 goodbye to classical reality because our logic collapses at the 0:45:19.480 --> 0:45:22.560 sub atomic level into ghosts and shadows. 0:45:23.080 --> 0:45:25.719 That's pretty great, especially the way it's punctuated there, and 0:45:25.800 --> 0:45:27.440 it ties into one of the basic themes of the 0:45:27.440 --> 0:45:31.120 film that everything you thought you knew about science, religion, 0:45:31.120 --> 0:45:34.440 and the universe is wrong. So you know, some strong 0:45:34.560 --> 0:45:38.800 cosmic horror elements there, like the safety net that you 0:45:38.880 --> 0:45:41.040 thought was there is not there at all, and the 0:45:41.360 --> 0:45:45.040 yawning cosmos is more terrifying than previously assumed. 0:45:45.600 --> 0:45:49.200 Yes, it's cosmic in that sense. In that the threatening, 0:45:49.880 --> 0:45:52.319 the threatening malevolence in this movie is not just like 0:45:52.360 --> 0:45:55.520 a single embodied entity that's coming in to attack us, 0:45:55.560 --> 0:45:58.320 but it is threaded through the very physics and fabric 0:45:58.400 --> 0:46:02.279 of the universe. There's something in the laws of physics, 0:46:02.320 --> 0:46:04.920 in all of the atoms and particles and bits of 0:46:05.040 --> 0:46:09.600 energy in the universe that contains bits of this malevolence 0:46:09.600 --> 0:46:15.040 and evil. It's just waiting for us in the universe itself. Now, 0:46:15.040 --> 0:46:18.239 after this, we get our first establishing shot of the 0:46:18.360 --> 0:46:21.239 church where most of the movie will take place. This 0:46:21.280 --> 0:46:25.120 is a church called Saint Goddard's in the film. It's 0:46:25.160 --> 0:46:28.800 a stately old brick chapel topped with an ornamental cross, 0:46:28.840 --> 0:46:31.520 with columns on the front and a fire escape leading 0:46:31.560 --> 0:46:35.239 down the side. It's situated on a kind of run 0:46:35.280 --> 0:46:38.239 down looking city block. Actually, when you get some other angles, 0:46:39.000 --> 0:46:42.000 you see more activity going on sort of across the 0:46:42.000 --> 0:46:44.440 street or further down the street. But I think just 0:46:44.480 --> 0:46:47.160 by showing a tighter shot they create the feeling that 0:46:47.480 --> 0:46:49.440 maybe not much is going on here. We see a 0:46:49.480 --> 0:46:53.520 building with some shuttered windows, there's trash piled up on 0:46:53.560 --> 0:46:56.640 the sidewalk, So I think the idea is that this 0:46:56.719 --> 0:47:00.000 is in. It's on a disused city block. Maybe nobody 0:47:00.120 --> 0:47:03.480 goes to this church anymore. And the church is surrounded 0:47:03.520 --> 0:47:07.680 by a white iron fence with an extremely creepy bronze 0:47:07.719 --> 0:47:10.680 statue of a cloaked figure out front. Is that supposed 0:47:10.680 --> 0:47:12.640 to be the Virgin Mary? I can't quite tell. 0:47:13.520 --> 0:47:15.560 This is a real church in LA, by the way. 0:47:15.920 --> 0:47:19.000 At the time it was the abandoned former Japanese Union 0:47:19.080 --> 0:47:22.320 Church of Los Angeles, and today it's the Union Center 0:47:22.360 --> 0:47:24.880 for the Arts. You can visit it in LA's Little 0:47:24.880 --> 0:47:27.680 Tokyo district. And I was reading a little bit about it, 0:47:27.719 --> 0:47:33.760 like it also has an important role in Japanese American history. 0:47:35.239 --> 0:47:39.480 I believe this is a place during Japanese Internment that 0:47:39.560 --> 0:47:44.200 a lot of people's affected people's possessions were stored. And 0:47:44.239 --> 0:47:46.560 of course, you know, the people affected by this often 0:47:46.719 --> 0:47:50.480 lost a great deal of what they previously owned, you know, 0:47:50.560 --> 0:47:54.479 real estate or otherwise. But yeah, it's currently the Union 0:47:54.520 --> 0:47:56.359 Center for the Arts, and you can visit it, get 0:47:56.400 --> 0:47:58.040 your picture taken in front of it. Just you know, 0:47:58.160 --> 0:48:01.319 be respectful, obviously, spit any green stuff out of your 0:48:01.360 --> 0:48:02.560 mouth at it, and so forth. 0:48:03.040 --> 0:48:04.919 So we zoom in here in front of the church 0:48:04.960 --> 0:48:07.920 and see Donald Pleasant standing out front on the sidewalk, 0:48:07.920 --> 0:48:11.480 and he looks filled with worry and doubt. He goes inside, 0:48:11.600 --> 0:48:15.280 walks down a long hall and finds that the silver 0:48:15.400 --> 0:48:19.000 key from the box he opened it unlocks a heavy 0:48:19.120 --> 0:48:22.120 iron door marked with a sign of the Cross. He 0:48:22.200 --> 0:48:25.799 pushes open the door and goes inside. Later we see 0:48:25.840 --> 0:48:28.880 him typing out a letter to Professor Barak, saying he 0:48:29.040 --> 0:48:32.319 has discovered a most unusual phenomenon that should be of 0:48:32.360 --> 0:48:35.080 interest to him, and it's urgent that they meet it once. 0:48:35.840 --> 0:48:38.680 And then we pop in on another one of Barak's lectures. 0:48:39.040 --> 0:48:42.759 This time he's saying from Job's friends, insisting that the 0:48:42.760 --> 0:48:45.840 good are rewarded and the wicked punished, to the scientists 0:48:45.880 --> 0:48:48.600 of the nineteen thirties, proving to their horror the theorem 0:48:48.640 --> 0:48:52.400 that not everything can be proved. We've sought to impose 0:48:52.560 --> 0:48:56.000 order on the universe, but we've discovered something very surprising. 0:48:56.400 --> 0:48:59.080 While order does exist in the universe, it is not 0:48:59.280 --> 0:49:03.359 at all what we had in mind. And then after 0:49:03.440 --> 0:49:07.440 class we see a conversation between Brian and another student. 0:49:07.480 --> 0:49:10.440 This is Walter played by Dennis Dunn. They see a 0:49:10.520 --> 0:49:15.200 nun delivering Donald Pleasance's letter to their professor, and they're like, oh, none, 0:49:15.280 --> 0:49:19.440 that's interesting, and then they remember, well, apparently Professor Barack 0:49:19.520 --> 0:49:23.560 participated in a series of televised debates on the BBC. 0:49:23.920 --> 0:49:29.560 I think with Donald Pleasance. I wonder what they were debating. 0:49:31.280 --> 0:49:35.760 I mean, I don't know, evolution, free will. I'm guessing 0:49:35.760 --> 0:49:38.520 it's something a little headier like free will. That's gonna 0:49:38.520 --> 0:49:40.919 be my inclination here. 0:49:41.400 --> 0:49:44.560 But apparently were they were good natured debates because they 0:49:45.040 --> 0:49:47.560 have something of a friendship now, and you know that 0:49:47.840 --> 0:49:51.000 Donald Pleasance can call upon Barack for help. So they 0:49:51.040 --> 0:49:54.040 meet up in this ornately decorated room and Donald Pleasance 0:49:54.080 --> 0:49:57.800 gives the diary to him to read, imploring him for help. 0:49:59.480 --> 0:50:02.200 Now we get one of these scenes where just like 0:50:02.280 --> 0:50:06.360 the ominous tension is mounting because we see Brian alone 0:50:06.400 --> 0:50:10.320 in his apartment, playing solitaire and watching a TV news 0:50:10.320 --> 0:50:14.120 report about a recently detected super nova five hundred million 0:50:14.200 --> 0:50:17.200 light years away, the light from which is just now 0:50:17.280 --> 0:50:21.319 reaching us. And then also on Brian can't see this, 0:50:21.440 --> 0:50:24.640 but we see that red ants are massing inside the 0:50:24.640 --> 0:50:28.719 back panel of his television seto. This is funny because 0:50:28.719 --> 0:50:33.320 We've done episodes in the past about ants getting inside 0:50:33.320 --> 0:50:37.000 of electronics devices. Did we talk about Prince of Darkness 0:50:37.000 --> 0:50:37.239 in that. 0:50:37.480 --> 0:50:39.640 I don't think we did. I'd kind of forgotten about 0:50:39.800 --> 0:50:43.719 this element of the picture. Ants going into the television set. Yeah, 0:50:43.760 --> 0:50:46.600 but it is. It is not just something you've seen 0:50:46.640 --> 0:50:49.160 in horror movies. I forget the details. I think the 0:50:49.160 --> 0:50:52.239 crazy ant was one of the main ones that has 0:50:52.239 --> 0:50:54.680 been recognized as a TV crawler. But in general, you 0:50:54.719 --> 0:50:57.160 want you want your insects to stay out of your 0:50:57.200 --> 0:50:58.000 television sets. 0:50:58.480 --> 0:51:00.240 Raspberry crazy Ants was that. 0:51:00.120 --> 0:51:01.600 It sounds delicious. 0:51:01.680 --> 0:51:04.480 Yeah, okay, but what's this all working up to? Our 0:51:04.560 --> 0:51:07.960 cleric and our wizard. Donald Pleasance and Victor Wong have 0:51:08.080 --> 0:51:12.040 to visit the dungeon together. So they arrived by limousine 0:51:12.040 --> 0:51:14.840 and they head into Saint Godard's I like this idea 0:51:14.880 --> 0:51:18.640 that like professors and priests travel by limousine, do they? 0:51:21.320 --> 0:51:24.000 But they arrive at the church and they go in. 0:51:24.760 --> 0:51:27.360 Of course, we learned that the priests who died earlier, 0:51:27.400 --> 0:51:29.719 he was the guardian of this church. This is where 0:51:29.760 --> 0:51:33.279 he lived, and he was tasked with keeping watch over 0:51:33.320 --> 0:51:37.120 something in the basement below. Pleasance unlocks the heavy iron 0:51:37.160 --> 0:51:40.280 door and leads the professor down into the underground chambers, 0:51:40.880 --> 0:51:43.600 which we learn were built in the fifteen hundreds by 0:51:43.600 --> 0:51:47.279 the Spanish. And as they move along we get some 0:51:47.400 --> 0:51:51.000 exposition on the Brotherhood of Sleep. They have existed for 0:51:51.680 --> 0:51:55.279 going back a couple thousand years in secret, not even 0:51:55.360 --> 0:51:59.640 known to the Vatican, though through hidden mechanisms they wielded 0:51:59.680 --> 0:52:02.600 an orm power within the church. And finally the two 0:52:02.640 --> 0:52:06.839 men arrive at their destination, a subterranean stone cathedral lit 0:52:06.880 --> 0:52:10.480 by hundreds of candles, and at the far end the 0:52:10.520 --> 0:52:13.480 goo oh boy, this is this is what it's all about. 0:52:14.200 --> 0:52:16.400 Yeah, And this is a great set piece, you know, 0:52:16.440 --> 0:52:18.560 and it's it is just about like all the feelings 0:52:18.560 --> 0:52:22.080 that it invokes. Because you have like tons of crucifixes 0:52:22.120 --> 0:52:26.280 on the wall, so it's like holiness established religion, Catholicism. 0:52:26.800 --> 0:52:28.920 You have all the candles as well as part of 0:52:28.920 --> 0:52:34.879 this like sacred scene that you're greeted with. But then 0:52:34.920 --> 0:52:39.760 in the center this unholy cylinder, a swirling with green 0:52:40.040 --> 0:52:44.560 liquid slime or energy that's dripping in corrosion. And next 0:52:44.560 --> 0:52:47.279 to it you have computer equipment with that wonderful like 0:52:47.440 --> 0:52:52.200 black and green screen that you know, sinks nicely with 0:52:52.280 --> 0:52:55.640 the green glow of the cylinder, and so you have 0:52:55.719 --> 0:52:58.200 all the key elements of the picture kind of merged together, 0:52:58.360 --> 0:53:03.640 you know, science, religion, unholy terror from beyond realms that 0:53:03.680 --> 0:53:05.520 can be touched by our sanity, and so forth. 0:53:05.800 --> 0:53:08.400 Yeah, the green screen matching the green of the ouze 0:53:08.440 --> 0:53:12.520 almost implies that the essence of the devil is already 0:53:12.600 --> 0:53:14.440 in what makes the computer work. 0:53:15.040 --> 0:53:17.279 You know, it's probably too late for this year, but 0:53:17.320 --> 0:53:21.440 if you need a head start on next year's Halloween costume, 0:53:22.000 --> 0:53:25.160 somebody please dresses the cylinder of green liquid from Prince 0:53:25.239 --> 0:53:28.320 of Darkness. You can just be straight up the cylinder 0:53:28.400 --> 0:53:30.160 from Prince of Darkness, or you could be the sexy 0:53:30.200 --> 0:53:32.920 cylinder from Prince of Darkness. You could be this is 0:53:32.960 --> 0:53:36.640 a great toddler outfit as well, So please somebody make 0:53:36.719 --> 0:53:39.359 this happen and send us photographs. 0:53:40.000 --> 0:53:42.920 All my favorite Halloween costume ideas are things that nobody 0:53:42.960 --> 0:53:43.399 would get. 0:53:45.000 --> 0:53:47.920 Yeah, this one would pre one of those where I 0:53:47.920 --> 0:53:50.319 would get really excited about it and then nobody would 0:53:50.320 --> 0:53:52.000 guess it. Like maybe it would be like, are you 0:53:52.040 --> 0:53:54.640 the ooze from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? And I'd be 0:53:54.800 --> 0:53:56.480 just like, yeah, fine, that's what. 0:53:56.480 --> 0:54:00.360 I There's a line about this later in the movie 0:54:00.400 --> 0:54:03.840 that Victor Wong says that made me laugh, where he's 0:54:03.880 --> 0:54:06.000 talking about the devil and he's like, there could be 0:54:06.040 --> 0:54:08.000 a limit as to what he can do as a 0:54:08.080 --> 0:54:09.080 volume of liquid. 0:54:11.000 --> 0:54:12.480 That's true. He's got to he's got to get out 0:54:12.520 --> 0:54:12.759 of there. 0:54:13.120 --> 0:54:13.719 Yeah. 0:54:13.760 --> 0:54:13.960 You know. 0:54:14.040 --> 0:54:16.160 Another bit of imagery here that I would like to 0:54:16.200 --> 0:54:19.239 point to rob is on the walls in this room 0:54:19.239 --> 0:54:22.960 with all the candles. There's also this swarm of crucifixes, 0:54:23.239 --> 0:54:27.640 multiplicity of apotropaic crucifixes, which kind of reminds me of 0:54:27.960 --> 0:54:28.880 in the Mouth of Madness. 0:54:28.920 --> 0:54:33.680 Yes, yeah, in the padded cell that the John Trent 0:54:33.800 --> 0:54:37.120 occupies in that picture. Yeah, he's he's put he's drawn 0:54:37.200 --> 0:54:41.640 crucifixes over everything and also all over his his clothing 0:54:41.719 --> 0:54:44.680 and over himself. I'm speaking of Halloween costumes. I did 0:54:44.800 --> 0:54:48.759 dresses him for Halloween one year, and virtually nobody got it. 0:54:49.080 --> 0:54:51.880 I got it, You got it, Yes, a few people 0:54:51.920 --> 0:54:54.239 got it. But when I just walk around on the street, 0:54:54.280 --> 0:54:57.200 people are like, huh, I guess he likes Jesus and 0:54:57.400 --> 0:54:57.640 was No. 0:54:58.280 --> 0:55:00.360 We ran into you guys at the Halloween for and 0:55:00.400 --> 0:55:02.239 I got I think that was Was that the year 0:55:02.360 --> 0:55:04.680 that Rachel and I were dressed up as Jack and 0:55:04.680 --> 0:55:05.440 Wendy Torrence? 0:55:05.640 --> 0:55:08.640 Yes, I believe. So yeah, yeah, some people got the 0:55:08.640 --> 0:55:10.000 people who got it loved it. 0:55:10.040 --> 0:55:11.600 Only some people got that one as well. 0:55:11.920 --> 0:55:15.440 Yeah, but it is a great part of the scene. 0:55:15.480 --> 0:55:17.439 It's kind of like this idea that this is how 0:55:17.520 --> 0:55:20.880 much just insistent faith has We've had to muster to 0:55:20.960 --> 0:55:23.719 keep this thing in check for so long, and it 0:55:23.840 --> 0:55:29.040 no longer is working. The fail safes are failing, and 0:55:29.360 --> 0:55:32.040 stuff is beginning to corrode and leak out. 0:55:32.520 --> 0:55:37.640 Yeah. So right next to this volume of liquid there 0:55:37.760 --> 0:55:41.239 is a huge ancient book on a lectern, So, like, 0:55:41.360 --> 0:55:43.400 what is this book? Is it the Diary of the 0:55:43.480 --> 0:55:46.319 Keepers of the Ooze? I think the answer is yes, Yes, 0:55:46.360 --> 0:55:49.040 that is what it is. It's it's this extremely old 0:55:49.120 --> 0:55:52.160 tome written in many different languages. They say it's full 0:55:52.160 --> 0:55:55.840 of over writing and emendation, attempts to erase certain parts. 0:55:56.560 --> 0:56:00.399 And so the professor is asking what is it, and 0:56:00.520 --> 0:56:03.000 Donald Pleasant says, it's a secret that can no longer 0:56:03.040 --> 0:56:05.439 be kept. Do you feel it? It was never here 0:56:05.520 --> 0:56:08.400 before it started a month ago, a change in the 0:56:08.440 --> 0:56:14.360 Earth and the sky his power. Okay, so that's the religion. 0:56:14.360 --> 0:56:16.319 But we got to check back in with the science again. 0:56:17.160 --> 0:56:19.520 So we go back and there's a funny scene between 0:56:19.560 --> 0:56:22.560 Lisa Blount and Dennis Dunn where they are walking across 0:56:22.600 --> 0:56:26.919 campus and they're talking. They're wrestling with the weird implications 0:56:26.920 --> 0:56:30.400 of the quantum mechanics they're studying. Specifically, they're talking about 0:56:31.200 --> 0:56:35.440 Shredinger's cat. Now, note that this is one of the 0:56:35.800 --> 0:56:39.200 mini pop invocations of quantum physics that just takes the 0:56:39.239 --> 0:56:42.879 Copenhagen interpretation as a given. It is not the only interpretation, 0:56:43.040 --> 0:56:45.839 so you don't have to go with that. But they're 0:56:45.880 --> 0:56:48.200 talking about, like, wait, why am I even studying this? 0:56:48.320 --> 0:56:51.200 And one of them makes the joke says, particle beam 0:56:51.239 --> 0:56:55.640 weapons research grants being a millionaire by the time I'm forty. Ah, yeah, 0:56:55.680 --> 0:56:58.120 that's what it is. And again I was like, is 0:56:58.160 --> 0:57:01.000 that a normal outlook for physics grad students? 0:57:01.360 --> 0:57:03.759 I don't know. That's how Walter sees it. 0:57:04.080 --> 0:57:07.080 Okay, that's right. I mean he's at least a maybe 0:57:07.120 --> 0:57:10.719 he's a he's joking, he's a jokester. But so they 0:57:11.160 --> 0:57:14.120 find that a group of they go to class to 0:57:14.280 --> 0:57:17.280 find like a posted note that indicates a number of 0:57:17.320 --> 0:57:20.760 physics grad students have been recruited by Professor Barack for 0:57:20.840 --> 0:57:23.640 a special project that's going to take their take up 0:57:23.640 --> 0:57:26.720 their weekend, So all their weekend plans are canceled now. 0:57:27.960 --> 0:57:31.400 And this leads to scenes where Catherine and Brian are 0:57:31.440 --> 0:57:33.800 getting to know one another better as well. So remember 0:57:33.840 --> 0:57:35.880 Brian is sort of the tom Atkins guy, he's the 0:57:36.160 --> 0:57:40.520 blonde mustache, and they're talking about the counterintuitiveness of quantum 0:57:40.560 --> 0:57:44.440 mechanics and Catherine says, I want the clockwork back, and 0:57:44.480 --> 0:57:47.400 then Brian goes on to make a sexist comment about 0:57:47.440 --> 0:57:50.600 how women as beautiful as her don't usually work in 0:57:50.640 --> 0:57:53.960 physics departments, and she reacts bluntly. She's like, that is 0:57:54.000 --> 0:57:56.720 a stupid and sexist thing to say, and then he 0:57:56.760 --> 0:57:59.040 goes for the classic Oh, I was just joking, don't 0:57:59.080 --> 0:58:02.720 get offended, and then she's the one who apologizes to him. 0:58:02.800 --> 0:58:05.600 I can't believe he got away with that one. Also, 0:58:05.680 --> 0:58:08.160 if it's the joke, what's the funny part. It didn't 0:58:08.160 --> 0:58:09.280 seem like a joke anyway. 0:58:09.600 --> 0:58:11.960 He's not the funny one. Walter's the funny one, though 0:58:11.960 --> 0:58:14.480 he makes some bad jokes too, but at least there's 0:58:14.600 --> 0:58:15.560 charm in the delivery. 0:58:15.840 --> 0:58:19.920 Yeah, but then he sort of at least euphemistically apologizes 0:58:20.000 --> 0:58:22.480 by saying something like, you know, this wasn't the way 0:58:22.480 --> 0:58:25.640 I'm in for our conversation to go, and all eventually 0:58:25.680 --> 0:58:28.400 gets smoothed over because it does seem that they like 0:58:28.440 --> 0:58:30.760 one another and they end up agreeing to go on 0:58:30.800 --> 0:58:33.560 a date later. But I think there is something kind 0:58:33.560 --> 0:58:38.400 of revealed about Catherine's character here in that, like, they 0:58:38.400 --> 0:58:40.720 have this little tense moment, and it seems to me 0:58:40.880 --> 0:58:43.400 she's in the right, like what he said was dumb, 0:58:43.880 --> 0:58:46.760 and then she's the one who ends up apologizing. So 0:58:46.800 --> 0:58:49.280 it seems like it's something about her character here that, 0:58:49.280 --> 0:58:52.680 at least at the beginning of the story, she's capitulating 0:58:52.720 --> 0:58:53.720 when she doesn't need to. 0:58:54.600 --> 0:58:56.840 Yeah. Yeah, it is interesting to think about this scene 0:58:56.920 --> 0:59:00.560 in terms of the ultimate trajectory for both of these characters. 0:59:00.800 --> 0:59:11.200 Yeah, we do get a scene of like a briefing 0:59:11.280 --> 0:59:14.160 from Professor Barack in front of the grad students where 0:59:14.640 --> 0:59:17.160 we learn that okay, you've all been drafted to become 0:59:17.280 --> 0:59:21.080 live in researchers for a special project at this abandoned church. 0:59:21.400 --> 0:59:23.280 They're all going to go to Saint Goddard's and live 0:59:23.360 --> 0:59:26.240 there at least for the weekend to do research. They 0:59:26.280 --> 0:59:28.920 will receive class credit, and he can't tell them what 0:59:28.960 --> 0:59:32.360 they're going to be researching. So we go on to 0:59:32.360 --> 0:59:36.160 see Professor Barack arriving at the church to begin the project. 0:59:36.200 --> 0:59:38.240 And when he gets there, he he looks down the 0:59:38.280 --> 0:59:41.440 sidewalk and he sees a woman standing in the distance 0:59:41.520 --> 0:59:43.680 as if in a trance, looking up at the sun, 0:59:44.120 --> 0:59:46.920 and she has ants crawling on her face. And this 0:59:47.000 --> 0:59:50.480 will become the beginning of a theme where we see 0:59:50.520 --> 0:59:52.880 a lot of visions like this. I'll explain more as 0:59:52.880 --> 0:59:56.560 we go along. But we also get a conversation between 0:59:56.640 --> 1:00:01.560 Barack and the priest played by Donald Pleasants where they're 1:00:01.560 --> 1:00:05.200 talking about like what all of this means, and Donald 1:00:05.200 --> 1:00:07.840 Pleasant says that they must translate the book of the 1:00:07.920 --> 1:00:11.880 Brotherhood of Sleep and Barack must quote prove it scientifically, 1:00:12.200 --> 1:00:15.320 prove what they don't say yet. But as the weekend approaches, 1:00:15.360 --> 1:00:19.040 we get a few storylines further developing. So Brian and 1:00:19.080 --> 1:00:21.880 Catherine's romance deepens, they go on a date, they get 1:00:21.880 --> 1:00:23.840 to know each other better, and they appear to be 1:00:23.880 --> 1:00:26.720 falling in love. But at the same time as that 1:00:26.880 --> 1:00:30.640 sort of positive storyline is developing, there's a negative one too. 1:00:31.040 --> 1:00:34.600 We get more ominous signs from the atmosphere, something about 1:00:34.600 --> 1:00:38.520 the sunshine feels wrong and hostile. And then around Saint 1:00:38.520 --> 1:00:42.439 Goddard's people begin to gather. There is like a conclave 1:00:42.600 --> 1:00:47.120 of silent entrance to drifters, led by a disheveled Alice Cooper, 1:00:47.680 --> 1:00:50.640 and they wander slowly around the streets and the alleys 1:00:50.680 --> 1:00:53.800 around the church, sometimes staring up at the sun, sometimes 1:00:53.840 --> 1:00:57.160 staring down at the ground, maybe looking at insects, and 1:00:57.560 --> 1:01:00.160 one of them at one point approaches Donald Plum and 1:01:00.240 --> 1:01:03.200 says he's entering the building, and she says, it's so 1:01:03.440 --> 1:01:07.600 wonderful what you're doing, father, opening the church again. And 1:01:07.640 --> 1:01:10.040 then Donald Pleasance looks down and sees that she is 1:01:10.080 --> 1:01:12.520 holding like a coffee cup full of maggots. 1:01:14.200 --> 1:01:16.960 The bug wrangler really just did have. They had a 1:01:17.000 --> 1:01:22.160 lot to do on this picture. Maggots, beatles, earthworms, you 1:01:22.240 --> 1:01:23.640 name it, ants. 1:01:24.040 --> 1:01:27.800 Yes, So the students and professors arrive and begin their 1:01:27.800 --> 1:01:31.280 weekend of work. They unload their equipment and introduce themselves. 1:01:31.320 --> 1:01:33.400 So it's not only people from the physics department, but 1:01:33.440 --> 1:01:38.440 also biochemists to microbiologists, theologians, and classicists. To translate the book, 1:01:38.560 --> 1:01:40.520 there are a lot of characters. As we said earlier, 1:01:40.760 --> 1:01:43.000 we can't really spend time talking about all of them, 1:01:43.400 --> 1:01:45.960 but we'll mention a few individuals as we go along 1:01:46.000 --> 1:01:49.120 for certain scenes. One thing that often bugs me in 1:01:49.200 --> 1:01:51.800 storytelling does happen here. Doesn't bug me as much here 1:01:51.840 --> 1:01:55.720 as it often does, but it's that situation where, like, 1:01:56.000 --> 1:01:59.880 many specialists are assembled for a project or mission, but 1:02:00.080 --> 1:02:02.200 they are not told what it's about or what they're 1:02:02.240 --> 1:02:05.520 going to be doing until after they get there. So like, 1:02:05.600 --> 1:02:08.120 in this situation, it's like, why did they agree to 1:02:08.120 --> 1:02:11.760 do it in the first place. It often feels implausible. 1:02:12.080 --> 1:02:14.240 So we get those kind of scenes where the characters 1:02:14.360 --> 1:02:16.000 arrive here and they're like, what are we going to 1:02:16.040 --> 1:02:17.920 be studying? What are we doing? And they're like, I 1:02:17.920 --> 1:02:19.800 don't know, you know, I'll tell you when I know. 1:02:21.000 --> 1:02:22.920 I could be wrong, But I seem to recall a 1:02:22.960 --> 1:02:26.840 particularly egregious example of this in the movie Prometheus, because 1:02:27.680 --> 1:02:29.520 they do this, but they also they don't get the 1:02:29.560 --> 1:02:32.440 briefing until they're like literally light years away from Earth. 1:02:33.880 --> 1:02:37.760 Yeah, I guess I'd cut Promethea some slack personally, because 1:02:38.120 --> 1:02:41.040 the experts in that film were recruited to board a 1:02:41.120 --> 1:02:44.200 state of the art exploration space vessel funded by the 1:02:44.200 --> 1:02:47.840 world's pre eminent innovator and visionary. In Prince of Darkness, 1:02:48.200 --> 1:02:51.240 a local physics professor has just invited students to sleep 1:02:51.360 --> 1:02:55.320 in the basement of a condemned church. But I mean, 1:02:55.920 --> 1:02:58.080 all in all, you know, I guess you have to 1:02:58.120 --> 1:03:00.400 sort of think of it again from a story telling 1:03:01.400 --> 1:03:04.960 choice standpoint, and you know, I venture to guess. I 1:03:04.960 --> 1:03:08.120 don't know for certain on this, but I've ad ventured 1:03:08.160 --> 1:03:10.400 to guess that this is perhaps a storytelling trope with 1:03:10.480 --> 1:03:14.000 roots and military movies where the characters are gonna have 1:03:14.400 --> 1:03:18.000 more limited choice about showing up for that secret mission 1:03:18.040 --> 1:03:21.120 with that last minute debriefing. Carpenter has always been pretty 1:03:21.120 --> 1:03:23.760 open about his use of like classic Western structure his 1:03:23.880 --> 1:03:26.880 inspiration for his film, so I would not be surprised 1:03:26.880 --> 1:03:29.919 if he and other filmmakers are drawing on stuff like that. 1:03:29.920 --> 1:03:32.280 That's a good insight. That makes a lot of sense. 1:03:32.480 --> 1:03:36.480 This works in a military situation because the characters are 1:03:36.480 --> 1:03:38.400 just supposed to follow orders. They don't have to know 1:03:38.400 --> 1:03:41.080 what they're gonna do. You know, they're told when they're told. 1:03:41.800 --> 1:03:45.320 It makes less sense for like movies about scientists or 1:03:45.360 --> 1:03:47.560 something where normally you would like you would know what 1:03:47.600 --> 1:03:50.040 you're gonna do before you start doing it. But yeah, 1:03:50.080 --> 1:03:51.840 that makes a lot of sense to me. So it's 1:03:51.920 --> 1:03:54.600 just like the same kind of storytelling structure is pourted 1:03:54.640 --> 1:03:57.000 onto different types of characters and situations. 1:03:57.280 --> 1:04:01.480 Yeah, and then all that aside from the standpoint of 1:04:02.040 --> 1:04:05.360 giving the audience more about you know, providing some exposition, 1:04:05.480 --> 1:04:08.760 but also some little character moments. A debriefing scene like 1:04:08.800 --> 1:04:11.880 that can be very useful. You know. Obviously it can 1:04:11.920 --> 1:04:13.840 work well with characters being like, well, now, why are 1:04:13.880 --> 1:04:17.160 we here because I'm a doctor and you're a lawyer. 1:04:17.200 --> 1:04:18.760 What do we possibly have in common? 1:04:19.080 --> 1:04:19.280 One? 1:04:19.360 --> 1:04:21.480 Why are we in this church basement? That sort of thing. 1:04:21.880 --> 1:04:24.200 Oh yeah, totally. I mean it's absolutely clear, like why 1:04:24.240 --> 1:04:27.000 it happens from a storytelling and efficiency point of view, 1:04:27.040 --> 1:04:29.440 because it's like you can explain it to the audience 1:04:29.440 --> 1:04:31.280 at the same time that the characters find out. You 1:04:31.320 --> 1:04:34.160 can see them react all at once. You can string 1:04:34.200 --> 1:04:37.200 the mystery or the tension along before that moment of 1:04:37.240 --> 1:04:39.680 the reveal. What everybody's doing. Yeah, I mean it's clear 1:04:39.720 --> 1:04:42.360 why it works from from the storyteller's point of view. 1:04:42.400 --> 1:04:44.440 It's just one of those where like that clashes with 1:04:44.480 --> 1:04:45.280 the plausibility. 1:04:46.840 --> 1:04:49.919 All right, so we got the team is assembled, right, 1:04:49.960 --> 1:04:51.960 and now they're being told what's up. 1:04:52.320 --> 1:04:55.720 Right, So we're going to start making some discoveries. First 1:04:55.760 --> 1:04:58.400 of all, there's the character Lisa I mentioned earlier. This 1:04:58.520 --> 1:05:01.920 is the theology ste udent who studies ancient languages. She 1:05:02.120 --> 1:05:04.800 just like looks at the Brotherhood of Sleep book. She's like, Okay, 1:05:04.800 --> 1:05:08.960 I'm gonna start typing out the translation. So she's typing 1:05:09.000 --> 1:05:11.080 on the computer, and we keep cutting back to her 1:05:11.160 --> 1:05:14.520 at different times, like seeing the sentences as she types them. 1:05:14.880 --> 1:05:18.280 They're things like, I Jesus have sent mine angel to 1:05:18.360 --> 1:05:21.920 testify unto you this thing which shall be unleashed, and 1:05:22.000 --> 1:05:25.360 the Prince of Darkness was himself sealed that old life 1:05:25.400 --> 1:05:28.440 called the Devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world. 1:05:29.160 --> 1:05:33.040 So kind of biblical type stuff, except it's interesting. This 1:05:33.320 --> 1:05:37.400 text seems to have a quality that none of the 1:05:37.760 --> 1:05:41.360 canonical texts of the Bible have, which is it claims 1:05:41.400 --> 1:05:45.120 to be written by Jesus. You know in the Bible, 1:05:45.160 --> 1:05:47.440 we don't have that. We only hear about Jesus from others. 1:05:47.800 --> 1:05:51.040 That's kind of interesting, So this would be all read text. Yeah, 1:05:51.080 --> 1:05:55.040 I guess so. So the team all they gather in 1:05:55.080 --> 1:05:58.160 the basement and they're finally shown the cylinder of green goo. 1:05:58.440 --> 1:06:01.440 So it's like swirling around really good in the cylinder. 1:06:01.480 --> 1:06:04.880 They're watching it churn and Donald Pleasant says, I can 1:06:04.920 --> 1:06:08.080 feel it getting stronger. And some of the scientists are 1:06:08.120 --> 1:06:11.240 not amused. They're like, wait a minute, we're here for what, 1:06:11.920 --> 1:06:14.320 and they think it's a waste of their time. Others 1:06:14.360 --> 1:06:17.680 are more interested. But as the research begins, we get 1:06:18.040 --> 1:06:21.480 different scenes where like findings emerge. So I'm going to 1:06:21.640 --> 1:06:25.560 list off some of the things they discover. First of all, 1:06:25.880 --> 1:06:29.280 they discovered the ancient book describes a long series of 1:06:29.480 --> 1:06:34.600 differential equations mathematical instruments that had not been invented at 1:06:34.600 --> 1:06:36.960 the time the book was written, So huh, how is 1:06:37.000 --> 1:06:40.600 that possible. They also find that the lid on the 1:06:40.640 --> 1:06:44.440 cylinder is sealed shut with a strange locking mechanism so 1:06:44.520 --> 1:06:47.680 that it can only be opened from the inside, and 1:06:47.760 --> 1:06:50.880 the corrosion on the lid is carbon dated to seven 1:06:50.960 --> 1:06:54.200 million years ago. By the way, just pedantic note. Carbon 1:06:54.240 --> 1:06:56.560 dating is not useful for things that old. You would 1:06:56.600 --> 1:07:00.360 need to use a different radiometric method for that. Is 1:07:00.480 --> 1:07:03.600 inside the cylinder, what is it? What is the green goo? Well, 1:07:03.680 --> 1:07:07.680 they do some tests and Brian reports to Barak. He says, quote, 1:07:08.080 --> 1:07:11.800 a life form is growing out of prebiotic fluids. It's 1:07:11.840 --> 1:07:17.720 not winding down into disorder. It's self organizing. It's becoming something. 1:07:18.280 --> 1:07:21.920 What that This is one of those where I'm like, Okay, 1:07:22.000 --> 1:07:24.840 I don't know how what did they detect? What tests 1:07:24.960 --> 1:07:26.240 did they do to determine that? 1:07:26.960 --> 1:07:31.720 Well, you know, yeah, it's it's it's it's technobabble. But yeah, 1:07:31.800 --> 1:07:33.880 the important thing is we know there's something growing inside 1:07:33.920 --> 1:07:36.240 this cylinder that can only be open from the inside. 1:07:36.360 --> 1:07:38.520 But if they can't they can't get inside the cylinder. 1:07:38.520 --> 1:07:43.520 How did they test it? Hm, well, okay, I'm not complaining. 1:07:43.600 --> 1:07:44.400 I'm just saying, like. 1:07:44.440 --> 1:07:47.400 There are some containment issues going on as well. See. 1:07:48.080 --> 1:07:50.040 I think this is a great example of what I 1:07:50.080 --> 1:07:52.840 was saying earlier that I think the science stuff in 1:07:52.880 --> 1:07:56.240 this movie it works. I think it works great if 1:07:56.280 --> 1:07:58.880 you don't pay too close attention, If you just take 1:07:58.920 --> 1:08:02.320 it esthetically and you don't try to like analyze it substantively. 1:08:02.760 --> 1:08:05.760 If you just like let it happen as an aesthetic experience, 1:08:05.800 --> 1:08:06.520 it's beautiful. 1:08:06.800 --> 1:08:10.520 Yeah. Also, trust scientists, Joe, trust them, they're professionals. 1:08:11.440 --> 1:08:13.479 Somewhere in here we get the scene where one dude 1:08:13.480 --> 1:08:16.880 tries to leave the church at night. Oh, this is 1:08:16.920 --> 1:08:19.120 the guy who's going to get stabbed with a bicycle 1:08:19.200 --> 1:08:22.880 by Alice Cooper. And he finds a crucified pigeon in 1:08:22.920 --> 1:08:25.280 the alley when he's going out, So that's not a 1:08:25.280 --> 1:08:28.360 good sign. That's never good. And then he like runs 1:08:28.400 --> 1:08:30.559 into Alice Cooper in the alley and and all of 1:08:30.600 --> 1:08:33.000 his and all of his band you know, they're they're 1:08:33.000 --> 1:08:35.000 hanging out down there, and he gets he gets impaled 1:08:35.000 --> 1:08:38.240 with the bicycle. Uh, and nobody seems to notice this. 1:08:38.240 --> 1:08:40.639 This just like happens off to the side while nobody's looking. 1:08:41.800 --> 1:08:46.120 And then finally we get a scene where Lisa reveals 1:08:46.280 --> 1:08:49.800 the translation of the book and sort of summarizes its 1:08:49.880 --> 1:08:50.720 main teachings. 1:08:51.479 --> 1:08:54.000 Oh yeah, we got we got a real doozy come 1:08:54.040 --> 1:08:54.720 in here. 1:08:54.680 --> 1:08:57.840 Are you ready? Obviously we've had lots of spoilers so far, 1:08:57.880 --> 1:08:59.800 but like if you know, if you don't want to 1:08:59.800 --> 1:09:02.320 have everything spoiled, you could stop now and watch the 1:09:02.360 --> 1:09:05.080 movie yourself. But here we go. This is like the 1:09:05.080 --> 1:09:08.040 big reveal, she says, And this is a quote with 1:09:08.080 --> 1:09:11.719 some abridgments. The container was buried somewhere in the Middle 1:09:11.720 --> 1:09:16.639 East eons ago by the father of Satan, a god 1:09:16.720 --> 1:09:20.200 who once walked the earth before man, but was somehow 1:09:20.280 --> 1:09:24.680 banished to the dark side. Apparently the father buried his 1:09:24.920 --> 1:09:29.280 son inside the container. Now later on here Christ comes 1:09:29.320 --> 1:09:33.960 to warn us he was of extraterrestrial ancestry, but a 1:09:34.040 --> 1:09:38.360 human like race. Finally, they determine Christ as crazy, but 1:09:38.439 --> 1:09:41.640 he's gaining power, converting a lot of people to his beliefs, 1:09:41.720 --> 1:09:45.040 so they kill him. But his disciples keep the secret 1:09:45.080 --> 1:09:48.760 and hide it from civilization until man could develop a 1:09:48.840 --> 1:09:53.679 science sophisticated enough to prove what Christ was saying. And 1:09:53.720 --> 1:09:56.479 then Donald Pleasance goes on to surmise from that that 1:09:56.520 --> 1:09:59.679 the Church kept this a secret for the last two millennia, 1:10:00.120 --> 1:10:03.680 thinking it better to characterize evil as an abstract spiritual 1:10:03.760 --> 1:10:07.800 force rather than as a volume of liquid buried in 1:10:07.840 --> 1:10:12.400 a jar. But I, oh, my God, I love this reveal. 1:10:12.479 --> 1:10:16.720 So the idea is that all of Christian history is 1:10:16.760 --> 1:10:20.200 sort of a facade to cover up the reality, which 1:10:20.280 --> 1:10:23.400 is that Jesus was an alien who came to warn 1:10:23.520 --> 1:10:26.719 us that the father of the Devil buried his son 1:10:26.840 --> 1:10:29.920 the Devil, which is a jar of liquid in the 1:10:29.920 --> 1:10:33.439 desert somewhere and it's been hiding there and we have 1:10:33.520 --> 1:10:34.519 to watch out for it. 1:10:35.120 --> 1:10:40.840 Yeah. Yeah, it's essentially Christianity, if not organized, religion as 1:10:40.880 --> 1:10:44.519 a whole is just a placeholder. It's a band aid 1:10:44.920 --> 1:10:47.759 until science can reach the point where we can actually 1:10:47.800 --> 1:10:50.439 tackle the problem. And you know, now that I say 1:10:50.479 --> 1:10:52.719 it out loud, there are a lot of interesting ways 1:10:52.800 --> 1:10:57.240 to take that apart and look at it. So yeah, 1:10:58.360 --> 1:11:00.120 I like the way it hits in this picture though. 1:11:00.280 --> 1:11:05.080 Oh yeah, yeah, oh another funny like report on findings scene. 1:11:05.600 --> 1:11:07.320 This is one of those like how did they figure 1:11:07.360 --> 1:11:11.360 that out? Moments Brian discovers that the green goo is 1:11:11.439 --> 1:11:17.240 one conscious and two capable of telekinesis a little fuzzy 1:11:17.240 --> 1:11:20.519 on how they detected that with the machines, but they 1:11:20.560 --> 1:11:23.599 put it together. So at some point we start getting 1:11:23.760 --> 1:11:27.120 the leaky cylinder and this is where everything really goes haywire. 1:11:27.840 --> 1:11:32.520 The volume of green goo starts leaking out of the container, 1:11:33.400 --> 1:11:37.280 and it drips upwards so against gravity and forms a 1:11:37.360 --> 1:11:41.519 pool on the ceiling of the room. And then Susan Cabot, 1:11:41.760 --> 1:11:44.519 one of the researchers, notices this. She's like down in 1:11:44.520 --> 1:11:46.040 the room with it. She sees the pool on the 1:11:46.080 --> 1:11:50.040 ceiling and then it sprays into her mouth, turning her 1:11:50.080 --> 1:11:53.519 into a servant of Satan. And this starts a chain 1:11:53.600 --> 1:11:57.000 reaction where from here Susan goes on to start killing 1:11:57.120 --> 1:12:00.639 and converting other people in the church. Sometimes she'll snap 1:12:00.720 --> 1:12:04.400 their necks. Sometimes she will infect them and turn them 1:12:04.400 --> 1:12:07.680 into new thralls of the Satan fluid, often by like 1:12:08.360 --> 1:12:11.799 vomiting a jet of fluid out of her mouth into 1:12:11.840 --> 1:12:14.480 somebody else's mouth and face orifices. 1:12:14.920 --> 1:12:17.679 And even if she does kill you, you'll still come back 1:12:17.720 --> 1:12:19.439 and be a servant. Later we see that with next 1:12:19.479 --> 1:12:20.080 Snap Dude. 1:12:20.360 --> 1:12:23.439 Yes. And then another type of threat begins, which is 1:12:23.479 --> 1:12:26.280 the same thing we saw earlier that people who try 1:12:26.320 --> 1:12:29.599 to leave the church get attacked by the Alice Cooper crew. 1:12:30.560 --> 1:12:32.640 So a lot of the middle of the movie is 1:12:32.760 --> 1:12:35.840 like scary scenes like this, people getting attacked by the 1:12:35.960 --> 1:12:39.120 Satan thralls or by the Alice Cooper crew outside in 1:12:39.200 --> 1:12:41.799 any particular scary scenes you want to talk about rob. 1:12:41.960 --> 1:12:44.800 Ooh, any particular scenes. Oh, I mean there's a lot 1:12:44.840 --> 1:12:48.640 going on here with characters just sort of like you 1:12:49.240 --> 1:12:52.680 wandering off maybe you know, going outside, even which is 1:12:52.720 --> 1:12:55.960 extra dangerous, and or taking little naps in which we 1:12:56.040 --> 1:12:59.519 get the you know, the reveal about the dreams, which 1:12:59.560 --> 1:13:02.080 we'll get to here. But I'm trying to remember if 1:13:02.120 --> 1:13:04.320 there was I pretty much any scene in which a 1:13:04.400 --> 1:13:07.439 character spits a stream of green liquid out of their 1:13:07.439 --> 1:13:12.640 mouth into another character a character's mouth, I'm generally on 1:13:12.720 --> 1:13:15.639 board for. Also, any of the sequences with the cylinder 1:13:15.680 --> 1:13:19.200 are all great, so you know everything's going according to plan. 1:13:19.920 --> 1:13:21.680 Oh wait, one scene does come to mind. This is 1:13:21.720 --> 1:13:24.320 not really a scary scene, but there's a scene where 1:13:24.360 --> 1:13:29.880 Peter Jason's character is moving through like the snack room, 1:13:29.920 --> 1:13:32.479 the break room, the kitchen or whatever. And I just 1:13:32.760 --> 1:13:36.000 both times I watched it, I was very captivated by 1:13:36.000 --> 1:13:38.200 all the things he was grabbing, because I think he 1:13:38.400 --> 1:13:42.080 had a coffee cup, who's smoking a cigarette, also grabbed 1:13:42.080 --> 1:13:46.000 two apples and an entire package of oreos, and I 1:13:46.120 --> 1:13:48.519 was like, this man is going to get down for 1:13:48.600 --> 1:13:51.920 what is his discipline. I guess he's the microbiologist, a 1:13:52.040 --> 1:13:54.479 chemist chemist. I think, yeah, this guy's about to do 1:13:54.560 --> 1:13:55.400 some serious. 1:13:55.160 --> 1:13:59.200 Chemistry, chemistry with all the package of doughnut, several apples 1:13:59.200 --> 1:14:01.280 that he's doing tricks with. He's like popping them up 1:14:01.320 --> 1:14:03.519 in the air and kind of juggling apples while he's 1:14:03.560 --> 1:14:05.880 smoking and doing kazoo songs with his mouth. 1:14:06.280 --> 1:14:10.120 Yeah, yeah, I had noted that. Both times I watch it, 1:14:10.160 --> 1:14:12.880 I remember that over any actual scares that were happening 1:14:12.960 --> 1:14:14.200 during this portion of the picture. 1:14:22.840 --> 1:14:26.479 Oh, there's another great technobabble scene in here where Barak 1:14:26.680 --> 1:14:30.719 and the priest are talking and the thing, and Barack 1:14:30.800 --> 1:14:35.800 starts to hypothesize that, Okay, maybe if there is a 1:14:35.960 --> 1:14:39.479 universal mind, like a god, controlling every single thing in 1:14:39.520 --> 1:14:43.599 the universe, every the movement of every single subatomic particle. 1:14:44.439 --> 1:14:48.760 He says, well, every particle has an anti particle. It's 1:14:48.880 --> 1:14:53.240 mirror image, it's negative side. Maybe this universal mind resides 1:14:53.280 --> 1:14:56.479 in the mirror image instead of in our universe as 1:14:56.520 --> 1:15:01.040 we wanted to believe. Maybe he's anti god, bringing darkness 1:15:01.160 --> 1:15:05.240 instead of light. Once again, I don't know how well 1:15:05.280 --> 1:15:07.639 that works if you engage too closely with the idea 1:15:07.680 --> 1:15:10.519 of an anti particle, but as pure aesthetics, it's great. 1:15:10.600 --> 1:15:14.120 I love this and so that's ultimately the threat here, 1:15:14.240 --> 1:15:16.200 the threat of the coming of the anti God. 1:15:16.520 --> 1:15:19.479 Yes, so you mentioned the idea of the dream, and 1:15:19.560 --> 1:15:22.280 this is one of my favorite things in the whole movie. 1:15:22.720 --> 1:15:26.599 So what the characters start to discover is that every 1:15:26.600 --> 1:15:29.720 time someone goes to sleep in this church, they have 1:15:29.800 --> 1:15:33.080 the same dream. Not just the same dream they had 1:15:33.160 --> 1:15:36.719 last time. All of the different people have the same dream. 1:15:36.760 --> 1:15:39.800 They start comparing notes and realizing they're all dreaming the 1:15:39.840 --> 1:15:43.599 same thing. It's an image of the church seen from 1:15:43.600 --> 1:15:47.800 outside from outfront, with a figure in shadow emerging from 1:15:47.880 --> 1:15:50.840 the front doors of the chapel into the daylight, and 1:15:50.880 --> 1:15:55.000 what sounds like a looping recorded message that begins, this 1:15:55.160 --> 1:15:58.759 is not a dream, not a dream. We are using 1:15:58.800 --> 1:16:03.200 your brain's electrical system as a receiver. And ooh, I 1:16:03.200 --> 1:16:06.200 think of everything in the movie, this was the thing 1:16:06.240 --> 1:16:08.360 the first time I saw it that got me the hardest. 1:16:08.479 --> 1:16:09.920 I love this dream. 1:16:10.400 --> 1:16:13.840 Yeah, this is pretty great. I'm a sucker for any 1:16:13.960 --> 1:16:19.479 kind of like at this point, you know, vintage creepy 1:16:20.280 --> 1:16:23.800 technological transmission stuff like you know, be at the video 1:16:23.880 --> 1:16:29.160 drone transmission in the original video drone film or be 1:16:29.280 --> 1:16:31.760 at the Ring video. I'm on board for all of that, 1:16:31.800 --> 1:16:34.320 and I put this up there with any of those examples. 1:16:34.520 --> 1:16:37.760 Oh it's so good. So we get different snippets of 1:16:37.800 --> 1:16:40.439 the recorded message because characters are often woken up in 1:16:40.479 --> 1:16:42.679 the middle of the dream and they only remember part 1:16:42.680 --> 1:16:45.800 of the message. But like the beginning is what it says, 1:16:45.880 --> 1:16:47.679 this is not a dream. Not a dream. We're using 1:16:47.880 --> 1:16:50.559 your brain's electrical system. And then it says we are 1:16:50.640 --> 1:16:54.439 unable to transmit through conscious neural interference. You are receiving 1:16:54.439 --> 1:16:57.519 this broadcast as a dream. We are transmitting from the 1:16:57.600 --> 1:17:02.400 year one nine nine nine. And then like suddenly, you know, 1:17:02.439 --> 1:17:05.840 the character will snap awake. And so it turns out 1:17:05.840 --> 1:17:09.920 what we learn is that the Brotherhood of Sleep has 1:17:09.960 --> 1:17:16.240 recorded testimony that anyone in close proximity to the church 1:17:16.479 --> 1:17:19.960 has always had this dream, always has the same dream. 1:17:20.880 --> 1:17:24.559 And Brian suggests a theory, what if someone is trying 1:17:24.560 --> 1:17:28.160 to communicate with them, This could be a message beamed 1:17:28.280 --> 1:17:32.760 into their brains from the future by the emission of tachions, 1:17:32.800 --> 1:17:36.960 which are hypothetical particles we've never detected directly, but they 1:17:36.960 --> 1:17:40.160 are proposed to exist that sort of fit with existing 1:17:40.240 --> 1:17:44.639 models of physics hypothetical particles that always move faster than 1:17:44.640 --> 1:17:48.479 the speed of light and thus possibly backwards in time. 1:17:49.200 --> 1:17:52.479 And so the idea is is this is a warning 1:17:52.720 --> 1:17:56.760 scent from the future to our brains as receiver antennas 1:17:56.800 --> 1:17:59.800 in the past, and it's an invitation to change the 1:17:59.800 --> 1:18:04.240 course of history to avert some kind of catastrophic future event. 1:18:05.240 --> 1:18:07.960 Yeah. Yeah, I love pretty much all the descriptions of 1:18:08.000 --> 1:18:09.479 this in the film that I think it's later where 1:18:09.479 --> 1:18:12.559 someone talks about how it's like it's like each time 1:18:12.600 --> 1:18:15.000 it's more intense in your mind, as if it's growing 1:18:15.080 --> 1:18:18.800 and pushing other things out of your sleeping mind to 1:18:18.840 --> 1:18:20.080 make room for itself. 1:18:20.439 --> 1:18:24.000 Yes, yes, I love that. And so while this is 1:18:24.040 --> 1:18:26.240 going on, the characters are like learning about the dream 1:18:26.360 --> 1:18:29.759 and comparing notes about that. We also get Susan running 1:18:29.800 --> 1:18:34.200 around recruiting minions. So she infects Lisa, who's the one 1:18:34.240 --> 1:18:36.559 doing the translation of the book of the Brotherhood of Sleep. 1:18:36.600 --> 1:18:39.720 She vomits satanic juice into her mouth, and then she 1:18:39.760 --> 1:18:43.960 also recruits Calder, the microbiologist, and so we get that 1:18:44.040 --> 1:18:46.760 really creepy scene that I love where Lisa is after 1:18:46.880 --> 1:18:50.759 she's infected. She's sitting at the computer typing, not looking 1:18:50.760 --> 1:18:53.120 at the screen, and like one of the professors tries to, 1:18:53.439 --> 1:18:56.200 you know, pop into the door and be like, hey, Lisa, 1:18:56.240 --> 1:18:58.840 what's going on, But she's just typing over and over. 1:18:59.000 --> 1:19:02.040 I Live, I Live, I Live. And then later you 1:19:02.080 --> 1:19:04.720 see her type on the screen. You will not be 1:19:04.760 --> 1:19:07.439 saved by the Holy Ghost. You will not be saved 1:19:07.479 --> 1:19:11.840 by the God Plutonium. In fact, you will not be saved. 1:19:13.439 --> 1:19:19.479 It is interesting that the the Devil, the son of 1:19:19.680 --> 1:19:23.160 the anti God here as it's communicating with people, its 1:19:23.160 --> 1:19:26.800 main communications increasingly are kind of taunting. They're kind of like, 1:19:27.120 --> 1:19:28.960 you got no chance. It's not like you need to 1:19:28.960 --> 1:19:31.280 fall in line or I can do great things for humanity. 1:19:31.320 --> 1:19:34.360 It's like it's just saying, hey, I'm bringing doom and 1:19:34.360 --> 1:19:35.479 there's nothing you can do about it. 1:19:35.800 --> 1:19:38.080 Yeah. One of the guys who went outside earlier and 1:19:38.520 --> 1:19:41.720 got killed, he starts calling everybody to the window and 1:19:41.800 --> 1:19:44.519 he's like standing there in zombie form in the parking 1:19:44.520 --> 1:19:47.160 lot below, and they're like, hey, what's going on and 1:19:47.240 --> 1:19:50.320 he just yells at them like pray for death. 1:19:50.200 --> 1:19:53.679 Yeah, and then collapses into Beetles. Great great scene. 1:19:54.280 --> 1:19:58.000 So the remaining researchers are increasingly overtly threatened by the 1:19:58.040 --> 1:20:01.400 servants of Satan, and they start finding themselves like they 1:20:01.479 --> 1:20:04.799 first they discovered they're barricaded inside the church. The Alice 1:20:04.800 --> 1:20:07.160 Cooper band has piled up trash and furniture on the 1:20:07.160 --> 1:20:12.479 doors outside. Calder, who has been possessed by the devil. 1:20:12.600 --> 1:20:15.880 He like stabs himself with a steak of wood in 1:20:16.240 --> 1:20:19.839 the throat in front of everyone in a horrifying scene. 1:20:20.080 --> 1:20:23.439 Susan and Lisa end up bringing the cylinder of goop 1:20:23.560 --> 1:20:25.840 up from the basement and they take it to a 1:20:25.920 --> 1:20:29.280 sleeping Kelly where it pools on the ceiling and then 1:20:29.280 --> 1:20:32.439 it drains down from the ceiling into Kelly's mouth and eyes. 1:20:32.720 --> 1:20:35.719 So oops. I think Kelly might be the chosen one. 1:20:36.600 --> 1:20:38.599 And we later learned about like she had a mark 1:20:38.680 --> 1:20:40.599 on her arm that was growing. She didn't know what 1:20:40.640 --> 1:20:42.960 it was, but it takes the form of I think 1:20:42.960 --> 1:20:45.240 they say they call it the magician staff. It's like 1:20:45.280 --> 1:20:48.160 a symbol that is not good news. 1:20:48.560 --> 1:20:51.240 I think that Carpenter said they got the symbol from 1:20:51.240 --> 1:20:54.760 a blue oyster cult alb I mean, and you know 1:20:55.080 --> 1:20:58.720 it likely has I'm sure it has a history pre 1:20:58.840 --> 1:21:01.800 dating Blue Oyster Cult, but there you have it. 1:21:02.439 --> 1:21:05.400 So in the final act we get less reveals about 1:21:05.439 --> 1:21:07.559 the mythos. You know, it's starting to all kind of 1:21:07.560 --> 1:21:12.080 come together, but instead it turns into more action and 1:21:12.200 --> 1:21:15.719 desperate horror. So the final act involves various demon sieges. 1:21:15.760 --> 1:21:18.120 You mentioned there are elements of the Siege movie to this, 1:21:18.280 --> 1:21:21.240 as there certainly are, Like the remaining humans get sort 1:21:21.280 --> 1:21:25.160 of herded into different rooms of the church or defensive positions, 1:21:25.520 --> 1:21:28.280 like there's one part where the character waltered and it's done. 1:21:28.840 --> 1:21:30.960 He gets stuck in a closet where he can like 1:21:31.040 --> 1:21:34.120 look through a sort of a confessional screen out at 1:21:34.360 --> 1:21:37.280 Kelly as she's being transformed into the host of Satan, 1:21:38.040 --> 1:21:41.200 and he's like freaked out and his friends are trying 1:21:41.240 --> 1:21:44.200 to like dig him out through a wall. We also 1:21:44.280 --> 1:21:49.640 get resurrected versions of the dead scientists. Calder especially is 1:21:49.760 --> 1:21:52.280 awesome in this form. He's the one who can't stop 1:21:52.400 --> 1:21:56.799 laughing and he's very creepy. And eventually Kelly gets turned 1:21:56.880 --> 1:22:02.240 into this absolutely horrifying anti god vessel who is like 1:22:03.080 --> 1:22:06.640 she's awake and she's got these wide wild eyes like 1:22:06.680 --> 1:22:10.479 she's thrilled to be in physical form again and just 1:22:10.560 --> 1:22:14.599 like testing her limits, except she's in Kelly's body. She 1:22:14.680 --> 1:22:18.639 has Kelly's original body, but with mangled, burned, bloody flesh. 1:22:18.760 --> 1:22:20.280 Is disgusting to look at. 1:22:20.800 --> 1:22:23.840 Yeah, I've always kind of thought about that. This is 1:22:23.840 --> 1:22:25.679 one of the things I've always noticed about this particular 1:22:25.760 --> 1:22:28.559 character is that she does the effects here are great, 1:22:28.920 --> 1:22:33.519 and she looks disgusting, and I feel like it does 1:22:33.560 --> 1:22:35.920 feel like an intentional choice, like they didn't try to 1:22:36.000 --> 1:22:41.160 make her like horror cool or horror sexy, you know, 1:22:41.320 --> 1:22:46.080 like she's supposed to be just this gross, zombified slab 1:22:46.120 --> 1:22:48.960 of rotting meat. Like the possession is just decaying or 1:22:49.000 --> 1:22:54.519 flash or something. So it's an interesting look, and especially 1:22:54.560 --> 1:22:58.439 with the hair remaining pristine. Likes the blonde hair has 1:22:58.479 --> 1:23:02.400 been untouched by the corruption, but the flesh is all decayed. 1:23:02.400 --> 1:23:04.240 And yeah, the big eyes steering out of. 1:23:04.240 --> 1:23:09.200 It, it's tremendously revolting. Yeah. Now, there are actually some 1:23:09.200 --> 1:23:12.640 more conversations that go on with the remaining human characters. 1:23:14.240 --> 1:23:16.880 There's one thing where they talk about how they believe. 1:23:16.960 --> 1:23:18.600 For some reason, I think there was something about this 1:23:18.640 --> 1:23:21.360 in the Brotherhood of Sleep book that the goal of 1:23:21.400 --> 1:23:25.160 Satan here is to bring back his father from the 1:23:25.240 --> 1:23:29.160 dark side. Somehow, his father, the anti god, was banished 1:23:29.360 --> 1:23:33.040 to the sort of inverse universe, and Satan wants to 1:23:33.080 --> 1:23:37.080 bring his father back. There's an interesting thing where at 1:23:37.160 --> 1:23:41.200 multiple times we notice Donald Pleasance reverts to prayers and 1:23:41.240 --> 1:23:43.439 the Bible, like he's reading from the Bible or saying 1:23:43.520 --> 1:23:47.240 Christian prayers, like he does this at a short funeral 1:23:47.280 --> 1:23:52.000 they hold for Calder and he's also praying and reading 1:23:52.040 --> 1:23:54.680 from some kind of book when he's in danger. And 1:23:54.880 --> 1:23:56.840 I thought this was interesting in that he's doing this 1:23:56.920 --> 1:24:00.240 even though he seems to have been convinced earlier that 1:24:00.320 --> 1:24:03.200 the official doctrine in mythology of the Church is purely 1:24:03.240 --> 1:24:05.720 a fiction to cover up the truth about Christ as 1:24:05.720 --> 1:24:08.400 an alien. But it's like he can't give it up. 1:24:08.439 --> 1:24:09.200 He still needs it. 1:24:09.680 --> 1:24:13.000 Yeah, I mean, when during a stressful situation, you know, 1:24:13.000 --> 1:24:15.599 what are you going to do? You're gonna fall back 1:24:15.640 --> 1:24:19.160 on your faith. There previous models of your faith and 1:24:19.160 --> 1:24:19.639 so forth. 1:24:19.800 --> 1:24:22.519 It's like he's fully convinced that the metaphysics of his 1:24:22.640 --> 1:24:27.280 religion are are untrue, but he still needs the act 1:24:27.439 --> 1:24:29.960 of his religion. He still needs to be able to pray, 1:24:31.400 --> 1:24:34.040 so there are Again there's the Siege movie aspects that 1:24:34.080 --> 1:24:36.320 are like fighting off demon attacks on the rooms. There's 1:24:36.320 --> 1:24:38.720 one part that's funny where the scientists are defending a 1:24:38.800 --> 1:24:42.760 room against a zombie attack and Professor barak U's is 1:24:42.800 --> 1:24:44.559 a shaken up soda can as a weapon. 1:24:44.800 --> 1:24:47.240 Yeah, he's an astrophysics man. You can't mess with him. 1:24:47.360 --> 1:24:50.920 I love that. And they're all like they're dodging streams 1:24:50.960 --> 1:24:56.880 of satan juice vomit while the Satan hosting Kelly oh Man. 1:24:56.960 --> 1:24:59.760 There's a creepy scene where she starts looking into me, 1:25:00.360 --> 1:25:03.240 like she finds a little makeup compact and looks into 1:25:03.240 --> 1:25:08.080 the mirror in it and says, father, it's so creepy. 1:25:08.360 --> 1:25:11.280 And I like that the mirror she's looking into appears 1:25:11.280 --> 1:25:13.320 to be showing static like an old TV. 1:25:14.280 --> 1:25:17.160 Oh yeah, yeah, I love the use of mirrors here. Obviously, 1:25:17.200 --> 1:25:19.280 you know, it's very Alice in Wonderland. 1:25:19.479 --> 1:25:20.840 Very bores as well. 1:25:21.280 --> 1:25:24.360 The idea that the mirror is a gateway to the 1:25:24.479 --> 1:25:28.919 unseen world, to the realm where this ancient being is imprisoned. 1:25:29.000 --> 1:25:30.880 And it's also kind of interesting to think about this 1:25:30.920 --> 1:25:33.680 in terms of Okay, you're you're the son of the 1:25:33.720 --> 1:25:37.800 anti God waking up during the mid nineteen eighties, and 1:25:37.840 --> 1:25:41.439 you have not been privy to any of human history 1:25:41.520 --> 1:25:43.439 really at this point, is that correct? 1:25:44.640 --> 1:25:47.040 So it was buried before, like eons ago? 1:25:47.080 --> 1:25:51.080 They say, yeah, so you've never seen a mirror, not 1:25:51.240 --> 1:25:52.759 like this, I mean, the best. 1:25:52.560 --> 1:25:54.400 You could ever see a human, I guess. 1:25:54.280 --> 1:25:56.839 Never seen a human. Yeah, never never seen a mirror. 1:25:56.880 --> 1:25:58.720 I guess the best you could hope for would have 1:25:58.760 --> 1:26:04.479 been reflection in water. That sort of thing. So very 1:26:04.600 --> 1:26:09.360 very exciting here for ancient evil entities of venturing into 1:26:09.479 --> 1:26:12.759 our reality. And you don't even know how big mirrors 1:26:12.800 --> 1:26:15.360 get become important. 1:26:15.000 --> 1:26:17.960 That's right. So the first attempt to contact the anti 1:26:18.000 --> 1:26:20.920 God through the mirror fails, but then Kelly goes to 1:26:21.000 --> 1:26:23.280 another room, goes to another room with a bigger mirror, 1:26:23.320 --> 1:26:25.040 and this is the room where Donald Pleasance is like 1:26:25.120 --> 1:26:27.960 hiding behind a piece of furniture. So she goes up 1:26:28.000 --> 1:26:31.080 to the mirror and then it starts saying like father, 1:26:31.760 --> 1:26:34.400 and the mirror fills with light and like, oh we 1:26:34.479 --> 1:26:37.720 are tuned in now, baby, It's something is happening. She 1:26:37.840 --> 1:26:40.439 starts reaching in through the mirror. And we see her 1:26:40.520 --> 1:26:44.479 hand emerging on the other side, and it's an underwater shot, 1:26:44.479 --> 1:26:47.439 like a hand reaching under the surface of a liquid. 1:26:48.400 --> 1:26:51.400 Yeah. Yeah, some great effects here with the surface of 1:26:51.439 --> 1:26:54.240 the mirror that I believe they said the use mercury 1:26:54.320 --> 1:26:57.200 here to create this effect. So a bit dangerous but 1:26:57.600 --> 1:26:57.960 worth it. 1:26:58.360 --> 1:27:01.360 Yeah. So Donald pleas since tries to intervene, Like he 1:27:01.520 --> 1:27:04.160 chops off the demon Kelly's arm with an axe, but 1:27:04.200 --> 1:27:06.960 then she immediately grows a new one. Then he chops 1:27:07.000 --> 1:27:09.040 off her head, but she picks it up and puts 1:27:09.040 --> 1:27:11.559 it back on. It seems like there's nothing stopping her. 1:27:12.000 --> 1:27:15.679 But finally, just as she is about to pull her father, 1:27:15.840 --> 1:27:19.440 the anti god, through the mirror from the other side, 1:27:19.640 --> 1:27:24.320 Catherine intervenes. So Kelly is like reaching in grasping a 1:27:24.400 --> 1:27:28.000 shadowy hand on the other side. Catherine sees what's happening. 1:27:28.120 --> 1:27:31.200 In a moment of clarity, she realizes what's about to 1:27:31.240 --> 1:27:35.120 take place, and she runs and tackles the satan possessed 1:27:35.200 --> 1:27:40.640 Kelly tackles her into the mirror, so Catherine also disappears 1:27:40.680 --> 1:27:44.240 into the mirror, and then Donald pleasant smashes the mirror 1:27:44.479 --> 1:27:45.440 with his axe. 1:27:45.800 --> 1:27:47.160 Yeah. Incredible sequence. 1:27:47.479 --> 1:27:49.920 So this causes sort of it cuts the connection to 1:27:49.920 --> 1:27:53.160 the demonic power. The zombies all collapse, They fall down dead. 1:27:53.520 --> 1:27:56.280 Alice Cooper's crew are no longer possessed. They sort of 1:27:56.320 --> 1:27:58.400 go off mission and then just wander off on their 1:27:58.439 --> 1:28:03.920 own business. Kelly and Catherine have vanished, Brian, Walter, Barack, 1:28:04.000 --> 1:28:07.479 and Donald Pleasance have survived. And the next morning we 1:28:07.520 --> 1:28:11.080 see characters sort of being taken to the hospital or 1:28:11.120 --> 1:28:14.439 trying to figure out what this all means, and Donald 1:28:14.439 --> 1:28:17.599 Pleasant says, we stopped it. The future conjured up by 1:28:17.640 --> 1:28:21.639 that vile serpent. It will not happen now, and Barack says, 1:28:21.680 --> 1:28:24.559 we're safe, but he's waiting on the other side. She 1:28:24.720 --> 1:28:27.519 died for us, and so you think it's all over. 1:28:27.680 --> 1:28:31.120 But then somebody starts having the dream again. We go 1:28:31.280 --> 1:28:34.960 back to the dream and it turns out it's Brian 1:28:35.080 --> 1:28:38.040 having the dream, and the recorded message plays and the 1:28:38.120 --> 1:28:40.000 dark figure begins to come out of the church, and 1:28:40.040 --> 1:28:42.200 this time we see a part of the message we've 1:28:42.240 --> 1:28:44.559 never made it to before. We get later and later, 1:28:44.920 --> 1:28:48.160 and it's revealed that the dark figure coming out of 1:28:48.280 --> 1:28:53.439 the doors of the church is Catherine, and Brian suddenly 1:28:53.439 --> 1:28:55.680 wakes up. He wakes from a horrible nightmare. He like 1:28:55.720 --> 1:28:58.880 imagines that she's lying there, bloodied and mangled in the 1:28:58.920 --> 1:29:01.120 same way that that ke he was as the host 1:29:01.120 --> 1:29:05.040 of Satan. But he wakes up and he's alone in 1:29:05.080 --> 1:29:07.639 his room, in his bed, and then the pulsing music 1:29:07.680 --> 1:29:11.640 starts again. Something is wrong with the world still, and 1:29:11.680 --> 1:29:14.520 he looks in the mirror on his wall and slowly 1:29:14.600 --> 1:29:17.840 he reaches out to touch it, and then cut to credits. 1:29:18.840 --> 1:29:21.599 Yeah, right, as the music is building too, Like it's 1:29:22.120 --> 1:29:23.879 so perfect, perfect ending. 1:29:24.080 --> 1:29:28.400 Love the ending, powerful, so good. So yeah, I love 1:29:28.479 --> 1:29:31.799 Prince of Darkness. I think it is such a powerfully moody, 1:29:32.000 --> 1:29:37.840 ominous horror film, just a tremendous menace, and it establishes 1:29:37.880 --> 1:29:41.040 a tone almost like no other film I can think of. 1:29:41.520 --> 1:29:44.720 Yeah, and again, so ambitious too, not only in terms of, 1:29:44.760 --> 1:29:47.960 you know, these themes of quantum mechanics and theology, but 1:29:48.040 --> 1:29:50.760 also just you know, other choices that Carpenter made in 1:29:50.800 --> 1:29:53.080 attempting to make a film that stood out from what 1:29:53.160 --> 1:29:55.839 he perceived as some of the sameness that was present 1:29:55.840 --> 1:29:58.559 in the horror genre at the time, and honestly, as 1:29:58.760 --> 1:30:03.160 there's almost always some like swell of sameness in the 1:30:03.200 --> 1:30:06.679 horror genre at any given point. So kudos to anybody 1:30:06.680 --> 1:30:09.040 who tries to break through that, to push through that, 1:30:09.920 --> 1:30:13.519 almost as if like pushing through that mirror right and 1:30:13.560 --> 1:30:15.160 reaching something on the other side. 1:30:15.840 --> 1:30:18.360 Here's something I wonder about. I wonder what you think. 1:30:19.080 --> 1:30:22.920 This movie has strong themes of science and technology. Most 1:30:22.920 --> 1:30:26.120 of the major characters are scientists. They're doing scientific tests 1:30:26.200 --> 1:30:28.640 for most of the film. And yet I am not 1:30:28.920 --> 1:30:32.599 at all tempted to think of this as a science 1:30:32.640 --> 1:30:37.040 fiction movie. It is definitely horror. Why does my brain 1:30:37.120 --> 1:30:40.240 subconsciously just classify it that way without a second thought? 1:30:41.080 --> 1:30:46.280 Hmmm, Yeah, that's a good question. Is is it ultimately 1:30:47.000 --> 1:30:50.240 any less science fiction than the thing? And yet you know, 1:30:50.479 --> 1:30:54.920 I'm far far more likely to classify the thing, John Carpenter? 1:30:55.000 --> 1:30:59.040 Is the thing as sci fi horror? Yeah? I don't know. 1:30:59.120 --> 1:31:01.840 I don't know exactly what it is. Maybe the degree 1:31:01.880 --> 1:31:07.800 to which like direct technology is employed. Like nobody like 1:31:07.840 --> 1:31:12.200 builds a technology technology based trap. Nobody uses a ray 1:31:12.200 --> 1:31:16.560 gun or a symbol some sort of electroshock device. I 1:31:16.600 --> 1:31:16.960 don't know. 1:31:17.600 --> 1:31:20.560 You know, there are movies where there are mysterious or 1:31:20.600 --> 1:31:24.560 unexplainable phenomena that are first thought of to be supernatural, 1:31:24.640 --> 1:31:27.240 but then it is discovered that they are like physical 1:31:27.280 --> 1:31:30.360 in nature, they have a scientific explanation. And then there 1:31:30.360 --> 1:31:33.840 are movies where there are mysterious phenomena that are first 1:31:33.920 --> 1:31:36.200 thought of to be physical, but they're discovered to have 1:31:36.240 --> 1:31:41.200 a supernatural explanation. In this movie, I can't quite tell 1:31:41.280 --> 1:31:44.800 what they have discovered, Like we sort of get an explanation, 1:31:44.920 --> 1:31:46.960 but I don't know how to classify it is the 1:31:47.040 --> 1:31:51.920 ultimate explanation supernatural or physical? Does that make sense? 1:31:52.160 --> 1:31:54.040 Yeah? I mean I guess some of it kind of 1:31:54.080 --> 1:31:57.000 comes down to the idea that everything kind of collapses 1:31:57.040 --> 1:32:00.600 into and into what like missed and shadow smoking shadows. 1:32:00.640 --> 1:32:04.360 You know that it is you can't tell the difference 1:32:04.400 --> 1:32:09.720 between between the sufficiently powerful and understandable alien presence and 1:32:09.960 --> 1:32:11.919 like a ghost story spirit from beyond. 1:32:12.280 --> 1:32:14.599 Yeah, Like, this is a film where science has failed 1:32:14.680 --> 1:32:17.720 us to a certain extent, and so has religion, and 1:32:18.000 --> 1:32:20.600 these are the consequences of those failures. 1:32:20.400 --> 1:32:24.360 It's beyond science or religion. You can't even understand whether 1:32:24.400 --> 1:32:28.520 what you're dealing with is natural or supernatural. Yeah, yeah, 1:32:28.600 --> 1:32:30.280 that does seem more like horror, I guess. 1:32:30.680 --> 1:32:33.240 Yeah, Yeah, I think it is far easier to say 1:32:33.360 --> 1:32:38.840 Friends of Darkness, solid horror film with science elements to it. Yeah, 1:32:38.920 --> 1:32:41.559 all right, well, there you have it. Happy Halloween, just 1:32:41.640 --> 1:32:43.680 reminded that stuff to blow your mind is primarily a 1:32:43.720 --> 1:32:47.879 science and culture podcast with core episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:32:47.880 --> 1:32:50.280 but on Fridays we set aside most serious concerns to 1:32:50.320 --> 1:32:53.240 just talk about a weird film on weird House Cinema. 1:32:53.640 --> 1:32:55.240 You can find a full list of all the movies 1:32:55.280 --> 1:32:57.960 we've covered over the years at letterbox dot com. This 1:32:58.160 --> 1:33:01.040 L E T T E R bo x D dot com. 1:33:01.120 --> 1:33:03.639 Our user name there is weird House and that's where 1:33:03.640 --> 1:33:06.639 you'll find the list. Hey, go to our tea public 1:33:06.640 --> 1:33:08.439 store if you like. We have a couple of Halloween 1:33:08.479 --> 1:33:11.240 shirts up as well as they rub the fur shirt 1:33:11.360 --> 1:33:14.240 if you want to get in on that. You know, 1:33:14.240 --> 1:33:16.080 those are just for fun, but if you know, if 1:33:16.080 --> 1:33:17.960 you want to stick or a shirt, yeah, check it out. 1:33:18.080 --> 1:33:20.080 It's well, I guess it's a way to sort of 1:33:20.080 --> 1:33:21.200 spread the word about the show. 1:33:21.680 --> 1:33:25.280 Huge thanks as always to our excellent audio producer Jjposway. 1:33:25.560 --> 1:33:27.120 If you would like to get in touch with us 1:33:27.120 --> 1:33:29.599 with feedback on this episode or any other to suggest 1:33:29.640 --> 1:33:31.840 a topic for the future, or just to say hello. 1:33:32.000 --> 1:33:34.559 You can email us at contact at stuff to Blow 1:33:34.560 --> 1:33:42.200 your Mind dot com. 1:33:42.320 --> 1:33:45.280 Stuff to Blow Your Mind is production of iHeartRadio. For 1:33:45.360 --> 1:33:48.160 more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 1:33:48.320 --> 1:33:51.520 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.