Prince Of Darkness

The stereo audio adds much to the fear factor, although one wonders how much better it could have been if an attempt was made to remaster it into 5.1 surround sound. With the exception of one early scene, where the picture quality is noticeably poorer than the rest, the DVD looks appropriately gloomy, with the candlelight and swirling green cannister shining through. There are a few almost unnoticeable scratches, but these are forgivable.

There is a plethora of foreign subtitles on offer (German, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish and Danish). The English ones, in themselves, are flawless, although deaf people are likely to want to know that the characters moving their lips aren't actually talking.

Don't watch the trailer before watching the film, as it includes most of the key scenes, especially the very final moments. Also, it provides a little bit extra from that final scene which didn't make it onto the theatrical release, but may have with the US TV version.

It would have been nice if they had attempted to explain the difference between the theatrical release - the version on this DVD - and the US TV version, which featured a mix of edits and extra scenes. It's a surprise that these weren't included as bonus material, as by all accounts they make for a different film, removing some of the plot and enhancing the (weak) idea that it was all just a dream.

The commentary with John Carpenter and actor Peter Jason makes for interesting listening. Whilst there aren't any earth-shattering insights, it's enjoyable to hear knowledgeable people discussing all aspects of the movie. Carpenter has no more explanation for the holes in the plot than we do and both of them begin to run out of things to say towards the end, but, all in all, it's one of the better commentary tracks I've come across. Yah boo sucks to all the Americans, who didn't get it on their Region 1 DVDs.