80's John Carpenter Part One

THE FOG

(1980)

Overall: GOOD

 

After revolutionizing the slasher film with Halloween, John Carpenter was given the chance to stick within the horror genre in a more overtly supernatural manner with The Fog.  The premise is plenty creepy, the score is the usual Carpenter-level excellence, and the slow, moody build to our ghostly visitor’s arrival is expertly done. Yet things also get a bit clunky along the way.  There is a little too much backstory which is only problematic since the characters are rather droll.  Even with this being the case, Jamie Lee Curtis still comes off as underwritten and rather useless.  While the final confrontation that bounces between church and lighthouse does have some impressively eerie visuals, it does not quite hold up compared to the earlier tension Carpenter had been building towards.  A bit underwhelming perhaps, but far from a failure with memorable set pieces and spooky atmosphere in spades.

 

ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK

(1981)

Overall: GOOD

One of John Carpenter's dream projects for several years before it was finally made, Escape from New York arguably remains his most well-regarded non-horror film.  It was initially written in 1976 after the Watergate scandal pushed much of the country towards more cynicism regarding their elected officials than ever before.  After the success of Halloween, Carpenter eventually got around to developing the project further with Nick Castle, (the original Michael Myers), contributing to the script.  Shot in part in East St. Louis with a relatively small budget, the dank, post-apocalyptic world is convincing despite the meager production values.  The whole film balances its contemptuous premise with plenty of humor and has a fun, knowingly B-movie tone.  It also stands as Kurt Russell's first foray into action and he does a solid, deliberately humorous Clint Eastwood anti-hero impression as the now iconic Snake Plissken.  The cast is entirely recognizable from top to bottom, with voice work from Jamie Lee Curtis and matte paintings from James Cameron as well.  As always, Carpenter and Alan Howorth's score is excellent and underplays the action quite deliberately which contributes to the movie's overall, somewhat oddball charm.

 

THEY LIVE

(1988)

Overall: GOOD

 

The bubblegum line, the epic, five-plus minute, South Park inspiring Keith Davis vs. Roddy Piper brawl, the quite iconic monster design of "they"...  As a follow-up to the quite sinisterly toned Prince of Darkness, John Carpenter keeps things pretty much on the sly, humorous side with They Live; another in a slew of the director's memorable works from the decade.  Though it has a heavy-handed, anti-commercialism theme unmistakably apparent, the tone balances the laugh-out-loud satire quite well with something like Piper first putting on the subliminal, X-ray messages glasses and wondering from street, to store, to bank.  Just as Big Trouble in Little China had that perfect blend between fun, 80s action and comedy, They Live replaces all the mystical kung-fu with social commentary.  Carpenter's script cleverly plays its messages just serious enough to notice while keeping the atmosphere from getting too heavy.  Another of the director's hallmarks is the excellent synth score between he and collaborator Alan Howarth, which further gives the film its auteur style.