Some thoughts on John Carpenter films

[Five Years]

SPOILERS FOR THE FOG AND THE HALLOWEEN MOVIES







I recently rewatched all the Halloween films and the Fog. While I enjoyed Halloween 2, 4, and...well just 2 and 4, really, I thought the sequels kind of defeated the purpose of the first one. Think about it: Michael Meyers is pure evil, plain and simple. By giving him a full, deep backstory as they tried to do in the sequels, it takes a lot of that away. He is not evil anymore, he's just a common slasher that doesn't die. Kind of degrading, made me sad.

As for the Fog: as much as I enjoyed it (and I really did enjoy it), does anyone else think the ending with Hal Holbrook, the last 30 seconds of the film, completely go against the logic the film has set? This is a problem that I've been seeing more and more in recent films, but not often in older ones. Just seemed to me that The Fog was so above that ending.
Don't quite know why I'm posting this...for the sake of it I guess.

[rikimaru187]

I kind of disagree with you here on the Halloween's. By giving Michael Myers a background, it intensified and thickened the story. I thought the original was good, but the idea of a human being just one day turning into pure evil didn't make much sense to me. Giving the whole thing surrounding Michael a background gave it more integrety. Just my opinion though. :D

[Hauntedweenpt2]

I love Halloween. to me the whole series a good. We in Bowling Green enjoy watching Halloween and The fog because Carpenter used a lot of streetnames from here. When I saw the fog the first time I instantly wanted to write a sequel but never got around to doing so. But I enjoyed it and the ending, I just wished for more of the ghost.

Be good or be good at it.

[anybodykilla100]

The first was the best but a story had to be there for sequels to be made and i think its great

[BloodMan]

One thing I've noticed when people talk about Carpenter films... is that they always rag on Prince of Darkness. IMO its one of his very best films. A true gem!

Nick

[thirdeye]

I actualy loved Prince of Darkness (The ending is one my favorites ever).

Personaly i loved almost all his movies ( Memoirs of an Invisible Man and the Village of the Damned remake are not so great)

He's one my favorite directors ever.

[ParileseMonster]

I like most of his movies and I thought his idea for Halloween 3 was a good one. Since Michael Myers died in part 2, Carpenter had the idea to make a Halloween movie every year with a different story idea, I think that would have been cool but the fans and the box office receipts did not see it that way. They wanted the whole Michael Myers thing so instead of new and different Halloween movies we got God awful sequels that just got old fast!
I think Halloween 3 is cool, I really like the story and it is sad that we will never know what could have happened if Carpenter was allowed to bring us a different Halloween story every year. I bet they would have been cool!:p

[MotorizedInstinct]

Carpenter is one of Horrors best directors, it is a shame that most of his films don't make any money in theaters and only find there audience in video. If he had a lot of big opening weekend numbers maybe he'de be doing better (or any) films today. Hopefully he makes a come back because he hasn't done a really good film since Escape from LA.

[Hauntedweenpt2]

Hey do you think they could make another Escape movie? perhaps send Snake either to L.A. or Newyork? I would love to see carpenter return with one of his old hits.

[MotorizedInstinct]

There is talk of a Snake animated movie and comic. I heard it at aint-it-cool.com I would love to see him do The Thing 2. The video game is really popular and i heard a rumor about a new movie, but after the recent flops JC has had i doubt a major studio would let him helm a 50+ million dollar movie, which is a damn shame.

[KcMsterpce]

Originally posted by MotorizedInstinct
I would love to see him do The Thing 2. The video game is really popular and i heard a rumor about a new movie...

I heard somewhere that JC said he thought the game had an excellent premise that followed exactly what he considered to be a good follow-up to the original movie, and that the GAME is the only sequal you will see to The Thing.

[Hauntedweenpt2]

KcMsterpce this off the subject for a bit but i was wondering what film is your avatar fom? It seems familiar to me. thanks

Aaron

[The Claw]

Ratings for all the movies he directed.

Ghosts of Mars (2001) 6/10
Vampires (1998) n/a
Escape from L.A. (1996) n/a
Village of the Damned (1995) n/a
In the Mouth of Madness (1995) n/a
Body Bags (1993) (TV) 6/10
Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992) 7/10
They Live (1988) 7/10
Prince of Darkness (1987) 3/10
Big Trouble in Little China (1986) 3/10
Starman (1984) 8/10
Christine (1983) n/a
Thing, The (1982) n/a
Escape from New York (1981) 8/10
Fog, The (1980) 7/10
Elvis (1979) (TV) n/a
Someone's Watching Me! (1978) (TV) n/a
Halloween (1978) 5/10
Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) n/a
Dark Star (1974) n/a
Gorgon, the Space Monster (1969) n/a
Gorgo Versus Godzilla (1969) n/a
Sorceror from Outer Space (1969) n/a
Warrior and the Demon (1969) n/a
Terror from Space (1963) n/a
Revenge of the Colossal Beasts (1962) n/a

OK. I haven't seen anything of his before halloween or any of his TV movies, or Village of The Dammed, In The Mouth Of Madness, or Vampires. It's been to long since I've seen Christine, Escape From L.A. or The Thing, I bearly remember them. Halloween and Big Trouble In Little China are very overrated. Prince of Darkness is underrated but that's because it blows, confusing shit. Ghost Of Mars and Body Bags were okay. Memories Of An Invisble Man, They Live and The Fog were good. I would have to say I enjoyed Starman and Escape From New York (and I'm not even that big on Kurt Russel) the most from him and that is my two cents.

[pyscho dude]

John Carpenter is a great director. He made some really good movies(Assualt on precint 13, Halloween, The Thing, Vampires) Some okay movies(Prince of darkness,Christine) And then made the really bad Ghosts of Mars. He used to be a really good director but he's loosing it.

[Wi$hMastér]

I like Halloween 1-2 they have good atmosphere but 4-5-6 are good too 7-8 are lost the atmosphere in first movies Fog is magnificent movie and it is the 2nd movie in my horror movie list

[Candyman666]

I'm not that big of a fan of the Halloween series, But the Fog and the Thing both make my top 10. Carpenter is a very on-and-off director, quite possibly the most inconsistent director in horror, but when he's on, he's really on. I think both the Thing and the Fog should just stay as stand-alones, because I don't know if I would trust Carpenter to helm a sequel to either.

Hooray for me.

[Boogeyman]

I also dont like how they tried to explain his background in Halloween 6. But that doesnt mean I dont love the series any less.

later

[Ronin22K9]

That's the fun of John Carpenter, You never know if the movie will be good or bad. I personally have liked all of them, some more than others. But, the thing I like most about John Carpenter is he's stuck with Horror instead of "selling out" in my opinion anyway.

[Jason13thh]

I like The Fog for the atmosphere and the great score from Carpenter ( as usual )
However I don't like Jamie Lee Curtis in this film she barely does things, almost nothing.
Great work from the director of photography and the guy who was in charge of the fog effects.

[DeadByDawn]

I have loved or at least liked every Carpenter's movie I've seen (except the remake of Village Of The Damned, it felt a little dumb and boring). WHat's the real point of this post, is to say that I think Prince Of Darkness is HIGHLY underrated. I love that movie, but I don't understand why so many doesn't. Does anyone agree with me?

[J.Sledge]

I do Dead, Prince of Darkness was a great movie, it had a sense of atmosphere & tension. Yes it can be slow at times but that's the beauty of it. Carpenter is taking is time to unravel the mystery of the piece. John Carpenter is my favorite director as well, I like all of his movies(even the flops) for one reason or another. & I stand by his films cause like it was said before, he didn't sell out like alot of these directors seem to do.

[Dehydrator]

I'll support any claims that HALLOWEEN is perhaps the most overrated movie in horrormovie history. None of it is too original and the years have been VERY unkind to it. It's prime example of how quikly a movie can loose all effectiveness it once might have when what makes it effective is interchangeable so easily. There are some movies in the series that I like (*ducks and covers* - Part 6 was kinda neat) though, I could never warm up to the original.


However, I dig THE THING (10/10), kick ass movie all around. THE FOG (9/10) is great too. I barely remember PRINCE OF DARKNESS at all, exept that Alice Cooper was in it and that I wasn't exactly blown away. IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS is the same, I kept (and keep) hearing lots of great things about it but when I checked it out I thought it was far from great. Oh yeah and I like CHRISTINE (8/10), good adaption.

[studlyhorrorbuf]

John Carpenter is a basically a two hit wonder in my opnion. I have only liked "The Thing" and "Halloween." Everything else has reallly been so so, unscary and mediocre. It seems "Halloween" was his only big hit. Thanks to that film he started the slasher sub-genre. Escept for "Halloween," none of his films have done well at the box office. His films over the past seven years just get more weaker and forgetable. Most notable the film "Ghost of Mars." I think he should call it a career before he makes himself look really bad by putting more crappy films out,

[J.Sledge]

As I said in another thread, I think Carpenter makes movies for himself & if other like it great if not then he moves on. Cause alot of his movies have alot of influences of directors he grew up with & I think that his films are little tributes to these people. But that's just my opinion.