John Carpenter

"Prince of Darkness" (1987)

John Carpenter engineered a head-on collision between religion, superstition and theoretical physics in this underrated chiller, which now has a cult following among horror fans. A group of professors and students are invited to an abandoned church... more by priest Donald Pleasence, where they discover that an ancient canister contains the Anti-Christ in liquid form. His goal: to break out and open a gateway to another dimension, where his father the Anti-God awaits. While the script comes up short, the mood is relentlessly unsettling, and transmissions from the future disguised as dreams always send goose bumps up and down my arms.

Goes well with: "The Legend of Hell House" (1973), "Pi" (1998)

('Prince of Darkness'/Everett Collection)