John Carpenter is a pretty busy guy these days. The horror icon just finished the score for David Gordon Green’sHalloweenand served as an executive producer on the film as well. Additionally, he’s preparing for a European tour and in a recent interview, he let it slip that aPrince of Darkness TV showmight already be in the works. The 1987 low budget horror film has gained a cult following over the years, and many claim that it’s an undervalued gem in Carpenter’s works.
John Carpenterdiscussed the horror streaming service Shudder with an interviewer and revealed that he’s working on a theme for one of their projects. Carpenter wouldn’t say what project he was working on, but he did say that he’s “maybe doing a show for them.” And then asked the interviewer, “What would you think aboutPrince of Darknessas a TV show?” When the interviewer expressed interest, Carpenter said, “Well, maybe. Maybe not. I don’t know. I’m not going to tell you.”
Prince of Darknesswould make for an excellent TV series, so let’s up hope that John Carpenter is really getting ready to make the show forShudder. The whole story could be expanded and then there’s the ever popular science vs. religion debate that could also be explored to great effect. Maybe Carpenter could even get Alice Cooper to come back for a cameo as the murderous homeless zombie from the original film. It’s also safe to assume that Carpenter would compose the score for the new TV series, which means that we get an added bonus of new music from him as well.
Prince of Darknesswas shot in Los Angeles in 30 days afterBig Trouble in Little Chinatanked at the box office. John Carpenter wanted to get back to doing things on a smaller scale, so he wrote, directed, and composed the score forPrince of Darkness. Carpenter used wide a wide angle lens to shoot the majority of the movie and used an unorthodox method to create the eerie dream sequences by filming the scene like normal and then playing it back on a television while filming the screen.
Prince of Darknesswas trashed by critics upon its release, with one critic directly saying, “it stinks.” Other critics were surprised that John Carpenter had made something so “cheesy.” As with nearly everything that Carpenter has done over the years,Prince of Darknessis looked at a lot more fondly now that time has passed. That being said, let’s hope that Shudder and Carpenter reach a deal to get the TV series produced. Carpenter is also in talks with Syfy to create a show based on his comic series Tales For A Halloween Night. You can read the rest of the interview with Carpenter and his thoughts on a potentialPrince of Darknessseries over atConsequence of Sound.
