‘While cleaning the basement in his church, Father Loomis comes across a canister filled with a volatile green substance. With help from Professor Birack, he realises that the liquid is Satan's spirit.’ Just your average Satan as a green liquid movie. The concept of this movie is amazing. Carpenter expands the minds of his audience …
Continue reading John Carpenter Reviewed- Day 12- Prince of Darkness (1987)
‘Jack Burton, a truck driver, gets dragged into the mysterious underworld beneath Chinatown where he faces an ancient sorcerer named Lo Pan.’ Big Trouble in Little China was one of my most rented videos in the late 80’s. I loved it. On rewatching it now it retains the charm, brilliant vision and amazing special effects …
Continue reading John Carpenter Reviewed- Day 11- Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
Wow. This film. I first saw this on BBC2 in the 80's when I was a kid and loved it. But would I still love it when watching it again today. The answer is a resounding YES! The emotional pull of this film is unlike any other John Carpenter film with it having one of …
Continue reading John Carpenter Reviewed- Day 10- Starman (1984)
Stephen King's brilliant novel about a possessed Plymouth Fury named Christine, a nerdy teenager and how he changes after the car seemingly takes over his life. John Carpenter directs one of King's novels for the first time (he was due to direct Firestarter but lost the gig as The Thing had tanked at the box …
Continue reading John Carpenter Reviewed- Day 9- Christine (1983)
In 1982, American audiences wanted only one alien. He wasn’t the shape-shifting evil alien in John Carpenter’s The Thing; he was the cute alien who wanted to ‘phone home’ in Steven Spielberg’s E.T. A dog who is being shot at by the crew of a helicopter flying overhead is taken in by an American compound …
Continue reading John Carpenter Reviewed- Day 8- The Thing (1982)
It’s 1997 (!) Air Force One has gone down in New York which is now a maximum security prison. But the powers that be have a man who may be able to get the President out in one piece- war hero turned convict, Snake Plissken. There’s plenty to love about Escape From New York, whether …
Continue reading John Carpenter Reviewed- Day 7- Escape From New York (1981)
Whilst Elvis was made by Carpenter for TV in 1979, it was actually later granted a UK cinema release the next year. With the running being nearly three hours long, that made for many aching buttocks in cinemas up and down the country. But, fortunately, Elvis is anything but a chore. Yes, some of Carpenter’s …
Continue reading John Carpenter Reviewed- Day 6- Elvis (1980)
I remember being traumatised by the poster for The Fog before I actually saw the film. We had driven past The Odeon in York and I briefly glanced at it. As this was just a glance I thought I saw a woman lying in bed with a ghostly hand reaching out to grab her. I …
Continue reading John Carpenter Reviewed- Day 5- The Fog (1980)
‘After moving in a new apartment, Leigh Michaels receives mysterious phone calls and gifts. She approaches the police but unsatisfied with their investigation, she decides to tackle the matter herself.’ I remember watching this on TV and it scaring the crap out of me. On rewatching it, it still had the same effect. This was …
Continue reading John Carpenter Reviewed- Day 4- Someone’s Watching Me! (1978)
I remember the first time I saw Halloween on VHS in the late 80’s here in the UK. It was in pan-and-scan, and hence not the perfect format to watch a film that used the frame so brilliantly. But I’d learn that as the film would be released in widescreen on VHS, then DVD, then …
Continue reading John Carpenter Reviewed- Day 3- Halloween (1978)
Meathook Cinema 