Tag Archives: John Carpenter

My Top 5 John Carpenter Films

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This year, director John Carpenter and the horror community are celebrating the 35th anniversary of the 1978 horror masterpiece “Halloween.” The immortal slasher film that inspired dozens of rip offs and wannabes, horror fans get their reward this year with a new edition of the film that would help close out the seventies. In honor of Carpenter, and “Halloween,” here are our five favorite John Carpenter directed films.

What are you favorites from Carpenter?

5. In the Mouth of Madness (1995)
One of the most interesting and demented explorations of rabid fandom, “In the Mouth of Madness” takes on a world where a popular author has bred a legion of fans so anxious for his work they’ll murder to get to it. John Carpenter creates the sentient villain Sutter Cane in homage of Stephen King whose based most of his works around Lovecraftian novels that have garnered an immense and violent fan base. When a book agent is sent to a mysterious town to meet Cane, he learns that Cane himself is not just a creator of his world, but most likely lost complete control and now has invented our world. There may be two realities, one of which Cane’s, and it’s the one we see in “In the Mouth of Madness.”

And in essence Cane likely invented himself. Things go from bad to worse when studios decide to begin turning his novels in to movies. Filled with an array of Easter eggs, wonderful in-jokes, subtle meta-jokes that only the keen observer will notice and an array of excellent performances from people like Sam Neill and Jürgen Prochnow, “In the Mouth of Madness” is an excellent meta horror film that builds a world within a world within a world to where we can never be sure if anything on-screen is human or just the cognizant creation of their God also known as the author. Do you read Sutter Cane?

4. Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)
Carpenter’s version of a contemporary Western that doubles as a remake of “Rio Bravo,” the 1976 action thriller is a frantic and relentless roller coaster that is never lets up in its energy. When a man’s young daughter is murdered in the middle of a crime infested neighborhood he strikes down the gang that left her to die. Retreating from them, he ends up at a local precinct about to be closed down, and the shit hits the fan. Caught in the crossfire, literally everyone in the precinct are marked by an endless horde of violent gang members, all of whom want in to the precinct and intend on murdering the civilians as horribly as possible.

Now a few beat cops, a secretary, and a ruthless convict have to fend off against the gang members using their wits, their endurance, and only a few fire arms at hand. It’s a ridiculously exciting and fantastic action picture, that Carpenter could never quite duplicate again. And he tried with “Ghosts of Mars.” Speaking of which, let’s be honest: It’s not that bad a film.

3. Halloween (1978)
Originally known as the Babysitter Murders, “Halloween” is the metaphorical gun that started the marathon of a thousand slasher films that would storm theaters in the eighties in search of the almighty dollar. Carpenter’s film is a slasher masterpiece second only to Bob Clark’s “Black Christmas.” Set years after a baffling murder conducted by a young boy named Michael Myers, his therapist travels to his mental asylum horrified to discover Michael has broken out. Now on the way back to his old town of Haddonfield, he builds an odd obsession with local teen Laurie, and seeks to destroy everything around her.

Viciously murdering her friends, Michael is a merciless and shapeless monster who meets his match with young Laurie on Halloween night. “Halloween” is still a very effective and engrossing slasher thriller that introduces an iconic new monster that would haunt the holiday as long as he lived. Ending on the horrifying breaths of its maniac, “Halloween” is a spooky horror film that makes you proud to be a horror fanatic.

2. John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982)
Initially a flop and critically lambasted, John Carpenter treats his audience with his own version of the short story “Who Goes There?” Considered a remake of Howard Hawk’s “The Thing,” John Carpenter side steps the monster movie and offers up a cerebral and deeply horrifying tale of survival as he creates a faceless, formless, and grotesque alien capable of becoming us. It will do anything to survive, even taking on the perverse and gruesome forms of its victims.

Kurt Russell leads a cast of seasoned veterans as RJ MacReady, a helicopter pilot who save a stray dog after thwarting its owners attempts to murder it. When they take it in, they realize too late that they’ve invited in an alien presence that uses humans as a vessel for safety. Soon begins the fight for survival as RJ struggles to find out who is the Thing. As the crew’s numbers dwindle, the blood soaked fight for dominance balances action, horror, science fiction and dark comedy, all topped off with a brilliant and immortal eerie closing scene. “The Thing” is the remake to end all remakes.

1. They Live (1988)
John Carpenter’s science fiction actioner is a brilliant and still widely relevant alien invasion film that sets its sights on society. The aliens are the yuppies and consumers, while the bad guys are the lower class and working man. The aliens, in an effort to gradually destroy the common man, subliminally program them to consume, reproduce, buy, and watch television. Oblivious to their pre-destined world that’s now under rule of the bug eyed aliens that camouflage as normal humans, the only hope is Nada.

A mysterious drifter seeking work, he ends up the only chance mankind has of re-gaining control as he infiltrates the alien operation thanks to enigmatic black shades that help him see through the alien facade. Roddy Piper is unconventional casting as the film’s hero who is at first a reluctant bystander, and then decides he has to spearhead this take down of this sentient alien society or else life as we know it will continues to be owned by our alien overlords.

Featuring a great supporting performance by Carpenter regular Keith David, “They Live” packs a punch with intellect, humor, social commentary, great action set pieces, and a kick ass hero we can get behind. Piper is at his best under the wing of Carpenter and really goes to town on the alien establishment. “They Live” is a consistent favorite and one of the films that will achieve immortality from Carpenter’s repertoire.

Our Top 10 John Carpenter Characters

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This year, the film world is celebrating the 35th anniversary of John Carpenter’s iconic horror film “Halloween” with a year long exploration of the movie, as well as the release of a special edition that promises new looks at the 1978 masterpiece that shot the gun for hundreds of copycats, wannabes, and unofficial remakes that would storm the theaters in the eighties looking for their own piece of the pie. With that, we sound off on our top ten John Carpenter characters.

Who are some of your favorite John Carpenter characters? Let us Know Below!

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The Fog (1980) (Collector's Edition) [Blu-ray]

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Director John Carpenter’s “The Fog” prides itself in being steeped in folklore, and takes on many of the classic traits we know as urban legends. Every urban legend has some source of truth to it and harbors a moral for its audience. “The Fog” creates a new urban legend from a horrific act of betrayal and human greed. Hence why the opening of the film begins with an old seaman regaling local citizens of Antonio Bay with the tale of the spirits on the sea.

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Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

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big-troubleJohn Carpenter takes Clint Eastwood from “Any Which Way But Loose” and drops him smack dab in to the middle of a chopsocky film. The results are not only ingenious, but entertaining, funny, and the movie many movie geeks adore known as “Big Trouble in Little China.” One of the many fish out of water films about inadvertent heroes stumbling in to an extraordinary situation, Carpenter turns to his veteran collaborator Kurt Russell to lead the charge. Even for a film made in 1986, “Big Trouble” is such a resonant and inherently clever film that it’s barely shown its age at all.

Director Carpenter inherently avoids any and all clues that we’re in the middle of the eighties, and brings us in to a time where we’re shifting in between a seventies trucker era, and mystical China. Kurt Russell has a blast the infinitely charming and dashing All American hero Jack Burton. He’s a drifter and lone wolf who happens to find a purpose in the middle of his humdrum life with his big rigs. When his best friend’s wife is kidnapped by a local Chinese gang for the intent of being sold to sex slavery, Jack and friend Wang intend to come to her rescue. In the midst of their mission, they find themselves in a tug of war between two Chinese gangs that have been battling for decades.

“Big Trouble” is never content with just being an action film, and reaches in to the depths of fantasy to deliver one hell of a surreal picture. Carpenter introduces the three magical warriors known as “The Three Storms,” all of whom are servants of the dreaded sorcerer Lo Pan, an evil snake of a man who wields his magic with long sharp nails and a Charlie Chan mustache. With the sacrifice of a beautiful green eyed girl, Lo Pan plans to break an ancient curse and make Wang’s hostage wife his new mate. Russell approaches the role in his usual charisma and charm, as a man who seems awestruck by the world he’s in, even when he’s in extreme danger.

But while Russell takes center stage, he’s more a spectator while director Carpenter allows the seasoned cast of Asian actors to stage the battle of good and evil, and the fight for the souls of their women. James Hong is fantastic as Lo Pan and Disappears in to the serpentine make up, while Dennis Dun and Victor Wong offer stand out performances as the heroic men who battle Lo Pan and his monsters. Much of the special effects still hold up well, since they’re not the primary focus of the film. Much of “Big Trouble” gives way to wonderful martial arts scenes and great choreography, paired with the sensibility of a classic movie serial that never takes itself seriously. “Big Trouble” is one of the many daring and wonky Carpenter films, and one of his few dark comedies that will provide action fans a good laugh, and fun action sequences alike.

It’s a shame we never saw a sequel with the continuing adventures of Jack Burton, but “Big Trouble” works as a stand alone classic that features John Carpenter at his best.

Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)

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assault-on-precinct-13-postJohn Carpenter is perhaps one of my favorite task masters of the cinematic realm. He’s a man who can change form and tone on a dime, and loves film so much he creates his own tribute to certain genre tropes without relying on them as a crutch. Much as I love Quentin Tarantino, he can force much of his inspiration for his films down audiences throats. Carpenter has always been so much more subtle in his love for the classic films he adored. He never quite had the budget to make westerns nor the studio backing, so he opted to make his own Westerns but in their contemporary settings. Hence, Snake Plissken. John Carpenter is the type of director I’d love to be should I ever lens a film someday. His films garner a style all their own and deliver in action and entertainment.

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They Live (Collector’s Edition) [Blu-ray]

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Roddy Piper always seemed like an unusual choice for the role of Nada in John Carpenter’s “The Live” to me. Especially considering the film itself is less an action thriller, and more of a science fiction film that slowly elevates its horror when you consider how much this world reflects our own. The aliens themselves aren’t so much extra terrestrials, but are just us. They’re unrecognizable because they’ve submitted themselves to the decadence and subliminal commands of their overlords. The people that have chosen to act with them are akin to the Jews who chose to ally themselves with the Nazis. They’re slimy, but they’re acting on survival. The aliens have found a way to destroy society from the inside out, and we don’t actually realize it until we break the status quo and put on sunglasses.

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Our Cinematic Favorites of the 80's!

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I’m in the minority opinion that about most of what came out of the eighties was utter dreck. Movies, music, fashion, and television, a good portion of it is dreck that has remained in the public consciousness based solely around nostalgia and people still muddled by their own fond memories of the decade. Since I’m in an eighties mood I thought I’d finally settle our top ten movies of the 80’s, a decade that gave us mind rotting MTV, and Mr. T only to name a few of its crimes, of course. Rounding out our top ten of the decade was not an easy task since it was a decade consisting primarily of disposable fare in the way of comedies and horror films, while the dramas were basically mostly middling fare.

I was, however, up to the challenge. I did set some guidelines of course. Since the 80’s were all about the slasher film, about every slasher film made in the decade is off the table since this list would be filled with them and ruin the purpose. I’m a heavy fan of the “Friday the 13th” series and the like, so it wouldn’t be an interesting list. We also left out most of the Nightmare on Elm Street films, Critters, Gremlins, and most horror films from the decade altogether. We give enough respect to them, here are ten films from the ten years that I thought were the absolute best.

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