The Films Of John Carpenter

"Escape from New York" is to me a classic film, it's memorably dark, seedy, suspenseful and even funny. Alas, "Escape from L.A." is not nearly as memorable - in fact, it plays out as nothing more than a remake of its far more thrilling predecessor.

Both films have essentially the same premise; corrupt government officials send criminal tough guy "Snake" Plissken to infiltrate the ruins of a once-great city and retrieve some MacGuffin for them. In both films, Snake is reluctant to cooperate, but the government secures his compliance by threatening his life. So, Snake duly treks off to an urban wasteland, wasting thugs and meeting a variety of wacky characters on his way to completing his desperate mission.

This sequel is a step down from the original movie. The villain is inferior, the president is inferior, and even the special effects are inferior (note the positively laughable CGI when Snake pilots his submarine to L.A.; the approach to New York in the first film is infinitely classier.)

And, though both films have some very dark humor, I find that the jokes in the first are simply better. In "L.A.," there are some attempts at social satire, but by and large they don't work to well. For instance, the much-praised "plastic surgery" segment feels really isolated and pointless to me. It's a one-joke sequence that goes nowhere and contributes nothing to the plot. Ultimately, I think the first film has the edge in the humor department because it was co-written by Nick Castle, who reportedly lightened up the script and was quite a wit in general (though Castle is credited on this movie, I believe it's only because he wrote the original film.)

One thing I loved about"Escape from L.A." is its social commentary. I agree with some of this film's criticisms of the religious right, some may find the presentation of these criticisms to be superficial, condescending, and obnoxious. To me I guess its just fun satire, even though some aspects of the film hit close to home. Suffice to say, if you're conservative, this movie will annoy you, and who knows even if you're an open-minded liberal, it might annoy you. To each his or her own.

To sum up here Escape From L.A. has got some good cameos, a few decent scenes, but in the end...it just ain't the original. A fun film to watch but not a great film

Almost every John Carpenter flick is cult, or underrated, or a sleeper. It seems that audiences never truly "get" his films until long after their release. Only now are people warming slightly to Escape From L.A.
They Live is no exception.
Taken from a short story, Eight O'Clock In The Morning, the film focuses on John Nada (Roddy Piper), a drifter, who comes to L.A. in search of work. After scrounging a job at a construction site, he stays in a shantytown, run by Gilbert (Peter Jason), and becomes friendly with Frank (Keith David). After a while, he reckons that Gilbert is up to no good, as he is always disappearing into the gospel church across the street, and is reluctant to spill the beans too easily.

Nada gets the feeling that something's not quite right. And so do we. Only we can't figure out what. Then the fuzz show up and lay waste to the shantytown. Nada just stands there and watches, looking totally confused. Next day, he raids the church, only to find boxes of sunglasses. He swipes one and when he wears it, not only does he see in black-and-white, but the world isn't quite the same. Ads and billboards tell him to "Eat", "Sleep" or "Marry And Reproduce". Magazines say nothing but "No Independent Thought" and "Do Not Question Authority". But, most distressingly, some humans do not look human in the least. They have big bulging eyes, with purple skull-heads. Naturally, Nada is freaked out.

Roddy Piper does some good acting work here. Everything rests on his shoulders. He hardly ever speaks, yet the story is told through his eyes. We know what he knows only by reaction and facial expression. It's a difficult role and yet Piper handles is really well.

Obviously, the non-humans are aliens. But, like the tagline says, who are they, and what do they want? It seems like they want to rule the world and exploit the working class, but that's the way things are anyhow. Apparently, they lead ordinary lives. If they weren't around, then someone would still be running the show, probably in the exact same way.

The ending might be a bit abrupt for some, but the director has never been one for indulgence. It's a good ending though and it will make you laugh.

One of my favorite Carpenter films. Well worth checking out.

This review contains some spoilers. *****************************

John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness is a dark, tense, and disturbing journey into philosophy, religion, and man's basic, instinctive fear of the dark.

The film begins with the death of a priest who represents the last member of an ancient, ultra-secret Catholic order that was created to guard the ultimate threat to mankind. With the death of this priest, another priest by the name of Father Loomis (appropriately portrayed by Donald Pleasance), uncovers the first priest's diary and begins to investigate this secret order of priests called "the Brotherhood of Sleep." In the process, he visits the old priest's church and, deep in the basement, discovers the mysterious secret that the Brotherhood was protecting (or rather, protecting the world from). Overwhelmed by this discovery, Loomis seeks out a physics professor by the name of Birack (capably portrayed by the late Victor Wong). Birack is also more than a little intrigued because he, in turn, summons his students for an "extra-credit" project over the weekend at the church.

Once the students arrive at the church, and put their skills and equipment to work on a mysterious canister, the main flow of the story gets underway with results that challenge the viewer's most basic views in regard to the nature of man and the universe, of course you come to find out that the secret that the Brotherhood of Sleep was guarding is nothing less than the physical presence of Satan himself. Through the translation of an ancient text kept by the Brotherhood, Loomis and the science students discover that Satan was the son of the ultimate boogeyman: an "anti-god" who was eventually banished to "the dark side." Prior to his banishment, however, this anti-god reduced his son to a liquid state and placed him in a sophisticated capsule where he has reposed in "sleep" ever since. The goal was that Satan would sleep until the time was right for him to awaken and bring his father back from the dark side to walk the Earth again. This capsule was later discovered and eventually entrusted to the Brotherhood for its sake-keeping and careful monitoring. Prior to his death, the last guardian priest had begun to realize that Satan's spirit was finally reviving within the capsule and the hour of confrontation was drawing near.

This film is vintage John Carpenter. It is dark, tense, and genuinely frightening at times. The film will take some time to get underway, at least for some viewers but once it does, it is well worth the effort. We are also treated to another one of Carpenter's creepy signature scores as it threads its way through the film, greatly contributing to the tension and overall atmosphere. Carpenter's films would simply not be the same without that special touch on the score. Can you imagine "Halloween" without that famous, spine-tingling track? The same holds true for "Prince of Darkness." Also, Carpenter makes use of some video "real-time" footage to create a truly eerie and memorable effect. By the way, turn up the volume during these video sequences and you'll hear confirmation of the students' theory that they are not dreams at all but actually warnings.

a quick side note here, if you are easily offended on religious or philosophical issues, to the point where you cannot accommodate leaps into fantasy for the silver screen, then you might want to avoid this film. I have very strong beliefs in these areas as well, but it does not prevent me from enjoying a venture into film fantasy.

The secondary plot involving the students Brian Marsh (Jameson Parker) and Catherine (Lisa Blount)provides two lead characters for us to identify with and be concerned about. Parker and Blount worked well together without stealing too much away from the main storyline. Donald Pleasance and Victor Wong are both very good as well. Also, look for Dirk Blocker (son of Dan Blocker: "Hoss" from "Bonanza") in a minor role.

There are some great, unforgettable, vintage Carpenter moments in this film. Look for Lisa typing, zombie-like, on the computer, Wyndham's little "I've got a message for you" scene, and of course, the final frightening sequence with Jameson Parker.
A underrated film from John Carpenter. Well worth checking out

Best known for directing the classic independent horror film "Halloween", director John Carpenter works wonders in another of many of his movies that I absolutely love- "Escape From New York".

"Escape From New York" is to give a quick plot rundown about Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell), a former war hero who is now a criminal. He is ordered by Bob Hauk (Lee Van Cleef), the calm, but stubborn U.S. Police Commissioner to go into New York City, now the country's only maximum security prison and rescue the President (Donald Pleasence) in twenty-four hours. Some of the scenes in this movie are terrific such as Snake eluding the Crazies, Snake finds Brain (Harry Dean Stanton), an old friend of his who betrayed him in a robbery, and the car chase across the 69th Street bridge that is mined. To just name a few off hand.

Kurt Russell gives a perfect performance as Snake and the film gets solid supporting performances from Cleef, Stanton, Pleasence, Ernest Borgnine as the last cab driver in the Big Apple, Adrianne Barbeau, Issac Hayes as the vicious Duke, and Frank Doubleday as Romero, who manages to steal some scenes in the movie with just his freaky appearence alone. The story was written by Carpenter and Nick Castle. It is smart and very well detailed. Also, Carpenter makes a terrific musical score that pays off in some of the key scenes. Dean Cundey's cinematography is top notch as usual.

"Escape From New York" is as mentioned before one of my favorite John Carpenter films. I could go on and on about it. In the end even though its dated due to the timeframe its set in ( 1997) the film is a timeless classic

This is one of my top 5 films ever and one of my if not my favorite horror film. I could go on and on about this movie but will try to keep it short and sweet. From the lengthy first tracking shot to the final story twist, this is Carpenter's masterpiece.

Halloween night 1963, little Michael Myers murders his older sister. All-hallows-eve 1978, Michael escapes from Smith's Grove sanitarium. Halloween night, Michael has come home to murder again.

The story is perfectly simple, Michael stalks and kills babysitters. No bells or whistles, just the basics. It's Carpenter's almost over-powering atmosphere of dread that generates the tension. Like any great horror film, events are telegraphed long in advance, yet they still seem to occur at random, never allowing the audience to the chance to second guess the film.

The dark lighting, the long steady-cam shots, and (most importantly) one of the best horror movies scores ever create the most claustrophobic and uncomfortable scenes I have yet to see in film. There is a body count, but compared to the slew of slashers after this it's fairly small. That and most of the murders are nearly bloodless. The fear is not in death, but in not knowing.

The acting is topnotch all the way around. PJ Soles provides much of the films limited humor (and one of the best deaths), Nancy Loomis turns in a very good performance its too bad she dropped out of acting and then there is the young (at the time) Jamie Lee Curtis. Her performance at first seems shy and un-assured, yet you quickly realize that it is perfect for the character, who is herself shy and un-assured and not at all prepared for what she is to face. And of course there is the perfectly cast Donald Pleasence as the determined (perhaps a little unstable) Dr. Sam Loomis. Rest in peace Mr. Pleasence.

If the film has a detrimental flaw for some people I know and I can't disagree with this point of view, it would be the passage of time. Since the release of this film so many years ago nearly countless clones, copies, rip-offs, and imitators have come along and stolen (usually badly) the films best bits until nearly everything about it has become familiar. Combined with the changes for audience expectations and appetites, one might find much of the films raw power diluted. To truly appreciate it in this day and age, it must be viewed as it once was, as something unique.( another film this happened to was Pulp Fiction, so many knockoffs that totally ripped the film off but nothing beats the original)

To sum up here. Skip the remake and watch the classic.

Carpenter's revamp and resurrection of Rio Bravo and Night of the Living Dead is undoubtedly one of the best films of the last 30 years, and unfortunately one of the most overlooked. Low budget, unknown actors, tense, shocking and exciting, witty dialogue, shady characters, Assault is everything you would expect from a classic Carpenter film.

A group of criminals are being transported to another prison when one of them becomes seriously ill. They decide to stop at the local Police Station to lock up the prisoners and see if they can help the man. However, the Station they stop at is closing down and there is only one cop and a couple of secretaries inside. The prisoners are locked up, including Napolean Wilson- a notorious murderer, while the cops decide what to do. The power has been cut off, but people will be coming in the morning to finally close the place. Night has just fallen. Meanwhile a man in a frantic state runs into the station but won't say what has happened, falling into a comatose state. The Station suddenly comes under attack, and looking outside it seems that hundreds of gang members with guns have started a war with the those inside. With no help and only a few weapons, the survivors- cop, criminals, secretaries must work together to stay alive, and perhaps try to find a way out.

The two male leads of Stoker as the cop, and Joston as Napolean are both brilliant in the roles, unknown faces adding the the sense of uncertainty. Joston delivers his few lines with cool and even though he is a bad guy, he naturally becomes our favourite character. Stoker tries to hold everything together as the law, but realises this will not work. Zimmer is also strong as Leigh, delivering her lines almost passively or vacantly, almost as if she isn't there, but we sense the chemistry between her and Napolean. Burton, West, Cyphers and Loomis also do well in smaller parts, and all the cast deserved to go on to bigger parts. Carpenter creates massive tension again, the faceless enemy always outside, innumerable and even though there are cars going past and houses nearby, the gang is silent and deadly in their pursuit, ensuring that help will come. The guns with silencers are used to good effect, with papers spurting up into the air quietly meaning the cops sometimes do not even know they are being shot at.

The dialogue is minimal, every character has little to say as they all seem annoyed with each other, having to work together, dealing with the situation with no time for pointless chatter which fills other movies. The lighting adds to the tone, everything is shaded, we can only catch glimpses of the gang outside and in, and the score by Carpenter is another modern classic along with his Halloween theme. The deaths are both quiet and shocking- we don't see what happens to Loomis, while the ice cream van part would have taken great bravery to even dream of filming- there hasn't really been anything like it since. Once again Carpenter makes a brilliant film, and while he would soon go on to make bigger box-office smashes, this one stands on its own as the benchmark of low-budget film-making.

Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film is just like the book by Adam Rockoff it was based on, fun, entertaining, interesting and a must for all horror fans! I cannot stress how much horror fans will love this film!!

Going to Pieces is a documentary that focuses on the delightful sub-genre of horror, slasher films. It explores early films in the 60s like Peeping Tom and Psycho and 70s films like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Last House on the Left that paved the way for slasher films, which exploded on the scene when Halloween hit theaters in 1978. Halloween gained so much popularity that it soon became a template for other slashers, which soon flooded movie screens across the country. Going to Pieces shows the golden age of slashers in the 80s and how eventually the public became disenchanted with the genre in the late 80s and into the early 90s. That is, until the genre was reinvented and reenergized with Cravens Scream and continued to evolve with new films such as House of 1000 Corpses, Hostel, Saw, The Devils Rejects, etc. Through film clips, still photos, behind-the-scenes and interviews with both the greats of the genre and the more obscure participants, Going to Pieces is pure, unadulterated joy to watch!

The archival footage of classic, obscure and controversial slasher films was a treat to see, as well as interviews with directors Wes Craven, Amy Holden Jones, John Carpenter, Sean Cunningham, Rob Zombie, special effects masters Stan Winston and Tom Savini, actors Felissa Rose and Betsy Palmer, and many, many more familiar (and not so familiar) faces all talking about their craft and love for horror.

Through interviews and footage, the documentary also delves into the socio-political implications of slasher films, including how Vietnam, the Reagan administration, a society of mass consumption and other turmoil in America influenced horror films. Archival footage of parents outrage at the killer Santa flick Silent Night, Deadly Night and a classic Siskel and Ebert show that decries and belittles horror films as misogynistic, sick and nasty are also included. I love this in-depth look at horror films, because, like it or not, horror films usually mirror the fears of a particular time and place in society. These hows and whys of horror reveal that the genre goes much deeper than just hacking and slashing barely clothed co-eds. This aspect of Going to Pieces reminded me of another great horror documentary, American Nightmare, which explores more of the historical turbulence that gave rise to so many horror films in the 70s and onwards.

The interviewees offer some great commentary on their films and what went on behind the scenes, before and after a film was made. You can tell each of them has a real passion for the horror genre and it is so cool to see that spark in their eyes when talking about it. Each and every one of them has great viewpoints and most are pretty humorous! Check out what Rob Zombie has to say about the titles he chose for his films!

One small warning , the documentary does give away some big plot points and endings to several horror films, so if you havent seen many slashers I suggest you catch up with your viewing before checking out Going to Pieces. Other than that, I have no other complaints with this documentary. Its pretty much drool-worthy for fellow horror fans!

If you are a fan of horror, you will dig this documentary and I highly recommend you pick it up. It?s a fun, entertaining and nostalgic look back (and a hopeful look forward) at the slasher film.

Pro-Life was a pretty odd episode. There was a lot of good but sadly some of this was diminished by a few plot holes and scenes that were cut far too short. Perhaps it was due to the time restraint but there were plenty of times when it seemed like big events just ended abruptly and weren't concluded properly. The fate of many characters were left unseen and some seemingly important details regarding the bizarre pregnancy seemed to be missing. In the end, the film actually leaves more questions than answers and this can be slightly frustrating to say the least.

Now I'm not somebody who has to have all the answers spoon fed to him when it comes to movies, nor do I feel like I need to see everything that happens to characters in most films; leaving some things to the imagination is always a welcomed aspect to a certain extent but in Pro-Life I was so involved with everything going on that I had an overwhelming urge to see it all play out. Sadly, many events and fates felts unfinished and there was just too much left to the imagination.

Some vague questions that were left lingering with me (as I'm trying to be as spoiler free as humanly possible here) included: What happened to so-and-so? Did this person actually make it out? What was the role of the baby in the big picture? Etc.

On the positive, those are the only real problems with Pro-Life. Everything else is phenomenal in the grand canon of Masters of Horror. Carpenter yet again delivers on some genuine thrills, vicious scenes of gore, and incredible visual effects. And it's all very, very, very entertaining. As for our villains here, Ron Perlman and his sons are fantastic as the blind, naive, and self-proclaimed righteous hands of God. They are relentless in their attack on the Hospital and show absolutely no wavering in their crusade (well with the exception of one of his sons).

The installment has a strong "take no prisoners" sort of feel to it in that you are never fully certain as to whether or not ANYBODY is going to survive the whole ordeal. This aspect of it is extremely engrossing and tense. Those that deserve whats coming to them, get what's coming to them (or so it can be assumed as this is where some of the frustrations mentioned above come in). And the innocents (for the most part) are left hanging in the balance of life and death all the way through.

To sum up, with the budget involved and time constraints for a TV episode Pro-Life is a fantastic effort for Season 2. Just go into it with an open mind and try as hard as you can to not compare it with Cigarette Burns and I'm sure you'll find a fair deal of enjoyment.

Jack Burton is a trucker in San Fransisco whose friend Wang Chi's girlfriend Miao Yin is kidnapped by a streetgang called the Lords of Death. It transpires she has been chosen as the bride for David Lo Pan, an evil sorcerer who must marry a woman with green eyes to rid himself of an ancient curse. Jack and Wang, with the help of some friends, delve into the underworld of Chinatown to try and rescue her and defeat this evil menace.

John Carpenter's name is hardly synonymous with comedy, but this charming, amusing, silly, action-packed, deliriously goofy movie belies that fact. It's great strength is in never taking itself too seriously but always striving to entertain, through great performances, a wild story, terrific martial arts sequences, gorgeous fantasy sets and costumes, and great characters. Jack Burton is beautifully out of whack; he's completely out of his depth, stumbling around, trying to maintain his facade of bravado, but he's totally lovable because of these faults, so he really is the hero in the end, even if his friends do all the hard work. Russell gives a fearless, hilarious performance in the lead, but the whole cast leap into the lunacy feet first and the result is magical. Wong and Hong in particular have a whale of time as the kindly old sorcerer Egg Shen and his fearsome nemesis Lo Pan respectively. W.D. Richter's script absolutely rockets along, giving the movie a giddying, agreeably disorienting pace, but in Carpenter's skilled hands it flows along evenly, with the fights and the gags timed to perfection. It's full of terrific moments and lines ("A man'd have to be some kind of fool to think we're all alone in this universe !") and I love the way it literally dips gently from present-day San Fransisco to the magical underworld of Lo Pan's domain. It also contains one of Carpenter's richest scores, a wailing, mystical-acoustical electronic tempest which buoys up all the mythic elements and races around the action; the whole wedding / final fight / escaping sequence is just awash in fantastic music, and Carpenter even sings (he's the bass voice) on the end credits ! Sadly, this movie was not a hit on its release - it was much too satirical and wild for mainstream audiences - and was one factor which prompted Carpenter to return to low-budget independent work. However, like so many of his films, it was a big success on video and has become a cult classic. I love its sense of daring by having a goofball of a hero and mixing every genre it can think of into the same movie. It looks fabulous, and it's just so much fun to watch. If you ever need cheering up, and you have an open mind, this picture will do the trick every time. Featuring terrific visual effects by Richard Edlund, and fabulous choreography by Jim Lau and James Lew (who both play Chang Sings). Trivia - after meeting on this film, stuntman/actor Jeff Imada (who plays Needles, the hood with the knives at the airport) has been the stunt co-ordinator on every subsequent picture Carpenter has made. If movies are fundamentally meant to entertain - and make no mistake, they are - this is what so many should aspire to. Check it out.

The small oceanside community of Antonio Bay is celebrating its 100th birthday. However, the foundation of the community in 1880 was based on murder and deception, and now the ghosts of some long-dead mariners are back to exact bloody vengeance.

I would advise any lover of good ghost stories to check out this early John Carpenter gem.

It's absolutely atmospheric and chilling with a minimum of gore and effects and a thick, glowing fog that is as much a star of the movie as the human actors.

I loved the settings in this film - Antonio Bay is well played by Inverness, California, and the actual working lighthouse is impressive to behold. All sights are excellently photographed by the always reliable Dean Cundey. I've always liked the fact that Carpenter's movies are shot in Panavision because you get that nice wide shot.

The other ingredients are here, too - I've never heard a Carpenter music score I didn't like - including a superb ensemble cast (real-life mother and daughter Janet Leigh and Jamie Lee Curtis co-star, although they don't actually play mother and daughter, and share very few scenes); in particular, Oscar-winner John Houseman makes the opening sequence mesmerizing. Adrienne Barbeau, who was once actually married to Carpenter, makes her film debut here and looks great in addition to giving a solid performance. There's also Tom Atkins, Hal Holbrook, Nancy Loomis of "Halloween", and Darwin Joston of "Assault on Precinct 13".

"The Fog" is subtle, intriguing, and spooky - just a great little ghost story, which was also written by Carpenter and Debra Hill

Rob Bottin, the man behind much of the creature effects for "The Thing", had his first association with Carpenter here - providing the film with one brief makeup effect as well as playing the red-eyed phantom Blake.

This is one of Carpenter's very best, right up there with the likes of "Halloween", and "The Thing". If you haven't seen it, check it out and avoid the awful remake.