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Great film, good price. No English subtitles though

Acclaimed director John Carpenter's penultimate end to his phenomenal '80s run (that closed out with the sublime 'They Live') is a wonderful slice of hokum that manages to mix religion and scientific mumbo jumbo in a diverting effort that balances honest to goodness horror with a slight bout of brain matter gymnastics.Following the death of a clergyman, the efficiently monikered 'Priest' (Donald Pleasence) invites quantum physicist Professor Howard Birack (Victor Wong) and his students to join him in his monastery where they plan to investigate the appearance of a mysterious cylinder holding an odd swirling liquid. Priest believes the worst and is dismayed to learn its making its presence increasingly 'felt' by turning the surrounding area's inhabitants... well, a little bit weird. Cue the obligatory butting of heads as religious belief crashes headlong into scientific 'fact' when the group begin to encounter what is hidden within its glass casing. Becoming stronger hour by hour and broadcasting complex streams of ancient data, this mystery box begins to affect the various students (led by Jameson Parker, Lisa Blount and Dennis Dun), leading up to the inevitable release of what (or whom) is hidden within the mysterious swirling green gas...I have to say, this late in the game John Carpenter effort is a real humdinger. Sure, it doesn’t offer the fun ’n frolics of ‘The Thing’, ‘Halloween’ or ‘Big Trouble in Little China’ - but as a low budget back to basics effort, it certainly succeeds more than it fails. From the brooding atmosphere highlighting Gary Kibbes’ cinematography and Carpenters’ precision point framing to the tight as a drum editing from Steve Mirkovich, the movie is given time to breathe but also ensures each shock or jolt is masterfully enhanced - allowing this loose(ish) redux of ‘Assault on Precinct 13’ (but with added devilry!) to become an efficient exercise in horror moviemaking. As is the norm with Carpenter, we don’t simply have to rest on his technical expertise as he fills his movies with great acting talent and in another crowd pleaser - Donald Pleasence adds one more great Carpenter performance to his resume. ‘Ol D-Man holds the movie well and anchors the weirdness around him, ably assisted by Victor Wong and Dennis Dun - who bring up the rear admirably. Lisa Blount too is very good but I was less enamoured by co-lead James Parker who takes the standard Tom Atkins role, but seemingly does little with it. However, its a minor quibble as the movie is so well mounted - its hard to knock.StudioCanal’s UK blu-ray gives the movie a stunning transfer with amazing audio from a recent 4k scan. Carpenter’s movies are genuinely beautiful films and even though this was a low budget studio flick back in ’87, it still looks very stylish with pitch perfect look and feel. A number of special extra features round out the package which include a brand new retrospective documentary featuring many of the cast and crew, an old audio commentary track featuring Carpenter and actor Peter Jason, scene analysis with Carpenter (again an old feature from 2003), a tour of the film’s locations, trailer and photo gallery. All in all, the movie itself is the real prize here but the extras (even some being quite old now) elevate the release that is certainly worth a rediscover for older fans and a genuine delight for newbies arriving at the alter of one of modern cinema’s best fright mongers. Some may find the tone a little dry, but for me this is peak Carpenter at his most thought provoking. Highly recommended.

DP is his usual dependable self. Nice story, well played and builds a decent atmosphere.All the usual John Carpenter tricks on display.Very much of its time but a great horror film.

It was alright. A little predictable and don’t live up to my expectations based on his previous work

The packaging is nice.The extras are worth having.Overall I would say it's worth what I paid for it.The 4K disc is a clear upgrade over the blu ray. There is a noticeable improvement in fine details. The colour maintains realistic tones without looking quite as flat as the blu ray.If you had an older version of this film then this is well worth the purchase price.If you have the latest version of the blu ray this is not a huge upgrade over that version and it may be worth waiting for the price to come down a bit.If you don't have a copy of this film though then this is the version to have.

This is one of Carpenter's best: a glorious hybrid of metaphysics, Lovecraftian cosmic horror, theological mumbo jumbo and zombie slaves.Strange cosmic happenings, insects and derelict human beings converge on a disused Church, which houses a container of green gunk and an ancient book (isn't there always) in it's basement. It is the essence of Satan's son, intent on releasing his father back into the world. All that stands in its way is a nutty priest, an unconventional Scientist and a group of undergrads.Whilst the story itself is pure hokum, what impresses most is the framing, pacing and editing of the piece, gradually racking up the tension as we approach the end of days, all set to Carpenter's superb score.

good for the 80's not so good in 2022

Great horror night with Clive Barker's prince of darkness starting,Then the thing starring Kurt Russell and to finish off the night with hellraiser.The maestro of horror Clive Barker will wow you with range storytelling more scary than the last.