This week's "Five Favorites" focuses on John Carpenter. Carpenter is one of the very few director's to have a track record that spans over ten years of classics. Every movie that Carpenter made from 1974 to 1988 is regarded as a classic in some form. Name another director that has been able to do that.
5: Prince of Darkness (1987) This has to be John Carpenter's darkest movie. This is the first time that he has dealt with religion too. This movie was not liked by the critics at the time of it's release, but now it is regarded as one of his movies. I happen to agree.
4. The Fog (1980) After making the horror classic Halloween, Carpenter decided to tell an equally scary but different kind of story. This time his focus is a group a dead pirates out for revenge. Trust me, the movie is way better than it sounds.
3. Assault on Precinct 13 (1974) I know this isn't a horror movie, but it is one of my favorite Carpenter films. This is like an urban western. I still remember the first time I saw it. When the little girl goes to complain about her ice cream shocked the hell out of me the first time.
2. Halloween (1978) This is one of the scariest movies ever made because it is so realistic. The "pure evil" of Michael Myers has been copied countless times, but never has it been replicated, not even by Carpenter himself (see Body Bags)
1. The Thing (1982) This is one of the best alien movies ever made and is made all the better because we never see what the thing really is. The closing shot of the movie pissed a lot of people off upon its release, but it works perfectly, given what has proceeded it.
John Carpenter is one of my favorite directors and he has made a few movies that didn't make the cut. I'm pretty sure that he will show up on future lists.
No comments:
Post a Comment