A Slasher Theater Editorial: The Scariest Movie I Have Ever Seen

As a long time horror fan, I've become a bit jaded towards actual scares in movies. Jump scares don't bother me, I know nothing is in my closet or under my bed and a guy in a mask in the woods is pretty unlikely around here. However, there is one film that actually managed to scare me...really scare me, and I don't even know why.

I, and most of my readers (judging by the poll), believe that John Carpenter is the greatest director in the history of cinema. He is an accomplished film maker in the horror AND action genres who has been around for years and years yet still remains relevant.

It isn't Halloween or even The Thing that truly scared me. In fact, it's one of Carpenters less known films that managed to make me feel uneasy.

In 1987, John Carpenter teamed up with Donald Pleasance once again. However, this time Pleasance was no longer playing Dr. Sam Loomis, he was playing a priest.

Shot in just over 30 days, Prince of Darkness tells the tale of a priest (Pleasance) who discovers a vat of green liquid in the basement of a rotting church. Confused, he calls upon a group of physicists to help him determine what exactly this green junk is. They soon discover that the goo is the essence of Satan himself contained in the tube. Soon, the evil begins seeping out and possessing the scientists. Before long, the priest must discover how to stop Satan from entering the dimension and take over.

The plot sounds a bit...silly, when read. Green goo? Priests? Isn't Alice Cooper in this movie? Yes. But that's not the point. For some odd reason, this movie terrified me when I first saw it, and continues to creep me out now. Certain things just stood out in the film. A computer screen that repeats "I LIVE!" over and over. A grainy video of a figure silhouetted against an open church door. The guy who sings Amazing Grace. That goddamn lady in the bed.

But why!? I still don't even understand myself. I guess that's what's really great about horror movies, sometimes, for some strange reason, one movie will really keep you thinking about it when you go to sleep at night and checking just one more time before turning off the lights.