Prince of Darkness
Released by Alan Howarth Incorporated, 2008
28 Tracks with a Total Running Time of 134:50 min.
Music Composed by John Carpenter, in association with Alan Howarth

Back in 1988 when this movie first came out, I saw it opening weekend. I mean, it was a new John Carpenter movie after all. But upon that first viewing, I actually didn’t care for it that much. I did love the music, though, right from the opening queue. So while I didn’t care for the movie itself, I immediately started looking for the soundtrack, only to find it impossible to find. Supposedly, Varèse Sarabande released it in 1987, but I could not find it. Years later, I was able to finally score a copy of it from a German release. And after all those years, the score still kicked ass. I also finally came around to really liking the film. I still have a few issues with it, but it is still a damn good movie.

But that original release was only 43 minutes long. In 2008, Alan Howarth put out a 2-disc released that had the complete score, along with the original album score, running over 2 hours total. If you are a fan of this movie and this score, then this is the one you need to find.

The first track is called This is Not a Dream and is an audio clip of the radio transmission heard in the dream of one of the characters in the film. A very cool way to start off the release, before we get to the famous Opening Credits, which is one of my favorite tracks from Carpenter. Throughout the rest of the score, that sense of dread is so prominent, which fits perfectly with the story.

Carpenter was always so good at coming up with a simple melody, using only a few notes, that make an impact. The track Love at a Distance is a perfect example of this. With only 6 notes, it hooks you, and sets the mood. He then uses these same notes again later in another track, though slightly different sound, adding the darker sounding notes later on, taking the mood somewhere different. With very few notes, Carpenter can always create the mood and atmosphere that he wants, like building tension, as in Hell Breaks Loose, or the use of his little stingers, he always delivers. 

This remains one of my favorites of Carpenter’s scores. Check it out and see if it doesn’t hit you the same way.