John Carpenter Month “Halloween” 40th Anniversary Review Piece

There comes a point when the word classic gets thrown around too much, often times in relation to brand new films branded ‘modern classics.’ Such films pale in comparison to the raw power of the genre giant known as “Halloween.”

Released in 1978, “Halloween” is a simple story of a babysitter terrorized by a masked killer. Forty years later, it still looms large over the genre; a monolith of greatness in what would quickly become a field littered with mediocre rip offs. What makes Halloween great is a confluence of circumstances which all came together to make it one of the most successful independent films ever made and an essential horror film.

Directed by John Carpenter and co-written with Deborah Hill, “Halloween” is a story that many can identify with on some level – that’s what makes it so resonant. Simply put, we’ve all been a babysitter or have been babysat at some point in our lives. The film, at its core, is a simple story of an unsuspecting babysitter being stalked by the boogeyman on Halloween night. Through countless sequels and 40 years of history, it’s become something much larger than that. But this is about winding back the clock and looking at this film by itself and on its own merits and about appreciating its greatness and the influence it has had on the genre, as well as other filmmakers, in the intervening four decades.

While many point to this as the beginning of the slasher genre, I would never make such a mistake (see my earlier review of “Deep Red”). What “Halloween” did do, however, was boil down everything that worked about its precursors and made it perfect and commercially viable. Films such as “Psycho,” “Peeping Tom,” “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “Black Christmas” and the aforementioned “Deep Red” are all seen in the DNA of not only this movie, but the very cellular make up of the genre itself. You would be doing yourself a disservice not seeing these films (especially “Black Christmas”), but you need not see them to understand the simple brilliance of “Halloween.”

From the moment the film begins with the iconic jack o’ lantern on a black background as the opening credits play and camera slowly zooms in on the flickering light within the eye of it’s carved face the mood is immediately and masterfully set. Through the use of the POV camera early on, Carpenter shows the influence of films like “Black Christmas” and “Deep Red,” which incorporate similar techniques when following the killer.

All that can be said about the film’s score has already been said in the past. The theme is iconic and has been both parodied and ripped off countless times over the last forty years. What the score does so effectively is it creates a mood with simple themes – barely 30 minutes of unique music used through the film but the main theme is one that is seldom forgotten.

No film is without its negatives, but many if not all of those found in “Halloween” can be attributed to the low budget nature of the production. It’s easily forgotten, given how successful the brand has become, that this was an independent film and was produced for around $300,000. So, while there are visible errors in the film – green foliage, Carpenter’s cigarette smoke, etc., it is not something that should legitimately detract from the experience of watching the movie.

So how has “Halloween” endured for so long if it’s just a horror movie? It’s because it’s a damn good one. Whatever X –Factor this film possesses is something that no imitator or sequel could quite crack, it truly is “the immortal classic.”

 

Cam.

John Carpenter Month “The Fog” Mini-Review

You’re only as good as your latest movie. It’s always been true in Hollywood and it was certainly true when John Carpenter and his writing/producing partner, Deborah Hill, set out to follow-up “Halloween.”

Conventional knowledge is, often, to try and outdo your previous creative output. Carpenter and Hill attempted here to defy convention and deliver a more low-key film. While not entirely successful, the care and creativity is evident on screen as they deliver a subtle, but no less creepy, ghost story.

Arguably Carpenter’s first ensemble cast film, “The Fog” focuses on multiple characters some who were already regulars in his films and some others who would become Carpenter regulars over the years. Jamie Lee Curtis, Nancy Loomis and Charles Cyphers all return from “Halloween,” joined by Tom Atkins, Adrienne Barbeau and Janet Leigh, among others.

Backed by another excellent musical score by Carpenter and some impressive, but well-hidden visual effects “The Fog” has a lot to offer if you give it a chance to. While not as in your face as the score in “Halloween” or the effects in “The Thing,” there is purity to the simplicity in this film.

“The Fog” tells the story of a centuries old curse returning to the coastal town of Antonio Bay. Vengeful ghosts murdered and robbed by the town’s founders now come back to seek vengeance on those they deem responsible and anyone else who gets in their way. At its core, it is a simple story. Perhaps that is why (especially as it was coming off the heels of “Halloween”) it’s often overlooked as a film, or seen as underwhelming.

After viewing “The Fog,” you can understand why it may be overlooked in comparison to what came before and after, but you would be doing yourself a disservice by not checking out this gem of a horror film.

 

Cam.

John Carpenter Month “Big Trouble In Little China” Mini-Review

 

Movies are often accused of juggling too many plot points, or trying to cram too much into a single movie. While typically that is a negative, these are exactly the things that make “Big Trouble in Little China” work as a film.

The film was released in 1985 and was one of Carpenter’s last major studio films before returning to smaller budget, independently produced films for the majority of the 1980s. The movie is the story of long-haul truck driver Jack Burton, played by Carpenter regular Kurt Russell, who, while visiting a friend in Chinatown, gets drawn into a bizarre and otherworldly confrontation.

What is so unique about this film is that while Jack Burton is indisputably the main character and he believes himself to be the hero of the story, he’s really more of a bumbling sidekick. To disregard this fact would be to fundamentally misunderstand the movie and what it’s trying to convey over the course of its runtime. While it’s not the film’s singular focus, there are a lot of fun creature effects and various other visual effects. One could argue it’s one of Carpenter’s most visually ambitious movies in his entire filmography.

As with any Carpenter film, it sports a truly excellent musical score, composed by Carpenter himself, and it’s amongst his best. There is very little in the way of negatives when it comes to this film. While not necessarily for everyone, there is much to enjoy in this movie if you don’t go into it with any preconceived notions of what a John Carpenter movie has to be. So, to quote old Jack Burton, “Have you paid your dues?”

Cam.

 

 

John Carpenter Month “In The Mouth Of Madness” Mini-Review

Released in 1995 to little success, “In The Mouth Of Madness” is, in its own way, a film out of time – much like the literary work upon which it draws its inspiration.

Inspired by the works of horror author H.P. Lovecraft, the key themes of his work are stitched into every aspect of this movie: insanity, fear of the unknown and a coming doom all loom large over the narrative.

The film stars Sam Neill as John Trent, a private investigator hired to look into the disappearance of horror author Sutter Cane (Jürgen Prochnow) by his publisher. Believing he has disappeared to a fictional town from one of his novels, John Trent and Linda Stiles, played by Julie Carmen, follow a cryptic map to the town of Hobb’s End to find Cane.

While certainly not the creature feature or gore fest that “The Thing” or “Prince of Darkness” are, the movie certainly delivers more than its fair share of both. Handled by the capable hands of KNB, the practical effects are solid. While not as in your face as those seen in “The Thing,” they more than get the job done.

Carpenter again composes the score, this time with the help of Jim Lang, featuring a more prominent guitar sound than previous scores by John Carpenter. This change suits the film quite well and, while slightly dated, is not a detractor.

Widely regarded as the last good film John Carpenter ever directed, “In The Mouth Of Madness” triumphantly concludes the ‘Apocalypse Trilogy’ by being the best Lovecraft adaptation that isn’t directly adapting Lovecraft.

John Carpenter Month “Prince of Darkness” Mini-Review

‘They really don’t make them like this anymore,’ is perhaps the most accurate way to describe this 1987 horror film by director John Carpenter. A story of a secret society, the Catholic Church, the devil and quantum physics – it’s not a typical horror movie by any means.

Carpenter returns here to his low-budget horror roots, directing a script he wrote himself under the pen name Martin Quatermass. After several major studio disappointments, this film and the more widely known “They Live,” serve as a return to form, or course-correction, depending on your perspective.

“Prince of Darkness” fits into the category of Carpenter film that is supported by an ensemble cast as opposed to a small number of central characters. Also considered by Carpenter as the 2nd film in his ‘Apocalypse Trilogy,’ following 1982’s “The Thing.” The films are unconnected, but share thematic similarities – so you don’t need to watch one before the other. The events of the film are put into motion by Donald Pleasance’s unnamed Priest character after he contacts a theoretical physicist, Professor Birack played by Victor Wong. The cast, while not perfect, is a lot of fun to watch interact with one another and is, as expected, perfectly directed by John Carpenter.

To explain the film’s story would do a disservice – much like its inspiration from European horror films of the 70s and 80s, this movie is more about atmosphere than plot. It is an experience, rather than exercise in storytelling.

Carpenter and Alan Howarth again compose the music. Instead of his more noticeable work in films like “Halloween,” the music in “Prince of Darkness” lays under the picture complementing the film, rather than distracting you from it.

While not for everyone and understandably divisive, “Prince of Darkness” is still a creepy and engrossing gem of 80s horror from a true master of the genre.

Cam.