History YMMV / PrinceOfDarkness

* WTHCastingAgency: In a good way. Music/AliceCooper plays the lead murderous hobo, who does very little except look creepy and attack the heroes. Why famed musician Alice Cooper? Well, the film's executive producer Shep Gordon (subject of Creator/MikeMyers's documentary ''Supermensch'') was and indeed still is Cooper's manager.

* FridgeBrilliance: The film on its own isn't all that scary. However, the ''implications'' are. This is in keeping with quantum theory, as the implications are more revealing than what's actually observed.
* HarsherInHindsight: Quantum physics and its counter-intuitive nature means a lot of the pseudo-science rubbish in this movie actually is theoretically possible -- SpaceJesus aside.

* UncannyValley: They come in three different flavors here.
** A) Homeless people who [[spoiler:become possessed and act like a collective hive mind, much like the insects. When the evil god is defeated, they get to walk away living]].
** B) Victims who [[spoiler:become possessed by the green liquid from the canister directly. They pass on their influence by spitting liquid into other victims' mouths. They can stand still with no free will of their own and are essential mindless drones for the evil god. Unlike the homeless, it is unclear if they're already dead from the gunk inside them. and several of them receive injuries which would have been fatal before anyone is freed regardless]].
** C) Recently deceased corpses who [[spoiler:become reanimated undead and behave much like the living possessed. They go back to being dead bodies]].

* CompleteMonster: {{Satan}}, though terrifyingly {{eldritch|Abomination}}, is still recognizably evil as the [[AntagonistTitle titular Prince of Darkness]]. Introduced as a LeakingCanOfEvil, Satan possesses dozens of people, from the homeless to college students, and compels them into homicide and insanity for the purpose of freeing him from his seal. Satan uses some of the only moments it has for dialogue for mock the heroes on their impending doom at the hands of its apocalyptic father, TheAntiGod, gloating that "you will not be saved!"

* FridgeBrilliance: The film on its own isn't all that scary. However, the ''implications'' are. This is in keeping with quantum theory, as the implications are more revealing that what's actually observed.
* HarsherInHindsight: Quantum physics and its counter-intuitive nature means a lot of the pseudo-science rubbish in this movie actually is theoretically possible--SpaceJesus aside.

** One of the characters gets impaled on a bike, a death which stuck out to many as bizarre and a little [[{{Narm}} amusing even when it wasn't meant to]]. One has to wonder if this is where [[Videogame/AlphaProtocol Steven Heck]] got the idea.

** The last words on the main page when you know that [[spoiler:Caca is also a French word for poop]]

** A) Homeless people who [[spoiler: become possessed and act like a collective hive mind, much like the insects. When the evil god is defeated, they get to walk away living.]]
** B) Victims who [[spoiler: become possessed by the green liquid from the canister directly. They pass on their influence by spitting liquid into other victims' mouths. They can stand still with no free will of their own and are essential mindless drones for the evil god. Unlike the homeless, it is unclear if they're already dead already from the gunk inside them and several of them receive injuries which would have been fatal before anyone is freed regardlessly.]]
** C) Recently deceased corpses who [[spoiler: become reanimated undead and behave much like the living possessed. They go back to being dead bodies.]]

* VindicatedByHistory: Like most of Carpenter's films it has amassed quite the following. Getting a Collector's Edition release by Scream Factory certainly helps.

* WhatAnIdiot:
** While hiding in a closet, Walter idly sits around snarking for hours while his friends try to bust down the wall and free him, instead of using his large, heavy flashlight to help by knocking the wall out from his end. By the time is does occur to him to try it, his possessed cohorts are within moments of breaking into the closet and grabbing him.
*** Possibly justified by the fact that using the flashlight as a hammer would surely break it, and Walter wanted to preserve it for its primary use until Satan telekinetically broke it and made the issue moot.
** Catherine throws herself in the mirror dimension in order to take the Satan-possessed Chosen One with her. The problem is that, given that the Chosen One was giving her back and just slowly reaching into the mirror, Catherine could have simply pushed her into it without having to enter herself too.

* EndingAversion: The best parts of the film tend to be considered the beginning to middle, with the creepy atmosphere, scientific and philosophcal discussion leading to a build-up towards a NothingIsScarier Lovecraftian evil. Once the story gets boiled down to possessed people chasing non-possessed people around a empty Church in the third act, the critics and the audience tend to agree the story becomes much less interesting.

* NarmCharm: [[spoiler:Calder continuously LaughingMad after being possessed can be a bit silly given his rather over the top facial expressions, but it’s equally unnerving considering he’s desperately trying to fight back against the mind control.]]

** the Main/FamousLastWords on the main page when you know that [[spoiler:Caca is also a French word for poop]]