The Best of John Carpenter
September 4th 2008 16:05
Yes, director John Carpenter, the king of B Grade horror/sci-fi of the '80s. Forgot that appalling Ghosts of Mars from 2001, and the horrendous Escape from LA from 1996 (surfing anyone?). Below is Carpenter in all his glory...
5. Prince of Darkness (1987)
Starring: Donald Pleasence, Victor Wong, Jameson Parker, Lisa Blount.
Plot: A group of cellege students must stop the son of the Devil from releasing dear old dad from the confines of hell. Sounds simple enough.
Brief: Probably Carpenter's most under-rated movie. The typical low-budget B-grade horror that has an A-grade chill factor. There is an overwhelming sense of doom that builds to a genuinly creepy finale involving a mirror and the hand of Satan.
Best line: `"No prison can hold him now.'' - Father Loomis (Pleasance).
4. Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
Starring: Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrell, James Hong, Dennis Dun.
Plot: A wise-cracking All-American truck driver gets caught up in an ancient battle between good and evil in present-day Little Chine. Should've kept driving.
Brief: A change of pace for Carpenter whose earlier films were flat-out scary and dark. Big Trouble was a pure fun action-comedy. What a ride!
Best line: "Okay. You people sit tight, hold the fort and keep the home fires burning. And if we're not back by dawn... call the president" - Jack Burton (Russell) .
3. The Thing (1982)
Starring: Kurt Russell, Wilfred Brimley, Keith David, Richard Dysart.
Plot: Thing from outer space looks for a warm place to hide at an American scientific research outpost in Antarctica - and at the same time wipe out the team. Research that.
Brief: On the surface just a really scary bloody movie. Deep down though an intelligent, if a little far-fetched look at what isolation can do to you, no matter which planet you come from.
Best line: "That's right, Garry. They dig it up, they cart it back to their base. Somehow it gets thawed, it wakes up, probaly not the best of moods, and... I don't know, I wasn't there!"
2. Escape from New York (1981)
Starring: Kurt Russell (who else), Donald Pleasance, Lee Van Cleef.
Plot: A war hero turned criminal is sent into 1998 Manhattan Island, now a maximum security prison, to save the US president who is being held hostage.
I'm leaving today, New York, New York.
Brief: Darkness abounds, there's really cool sounds, and has one of the best lead action heroes to grace the big screen.
Best line: Hauk (Van Cleef) - "Plissken? Plissken, what are you doing?" Snake Plissken(Russell) - "Playing with myself! I'm going in".
1. Halloween (1978)
Starring: Donald Pleasance (him again), Jamie Lee Curtis, Nancy Kyes.
Plot: Psychotic murderer goes on a murderous rampage (funnily enough) murdering people - in the 'burbs as teenagers try stay alive long enough to get laid.
Brief: Sounds like pretty typical slasher movie sort of stuff, only this movie was The Original. It also had a 'killer' score by the great man himself, Carpenter.
Best line: "I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply... evil" - Dr Loomis (Pleasance).
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