|
|
|
Discovering Life in Lost Avenues: The Films of John
Carpenter
reviewed by Dan heaton
This is the first in a series of essays, covering a wide variety of
directors and stretching across many different genres and
countries. The primary goal is to delve into the films
of the great minds of cinema and discover some
lesser-known works. The movies discussed will range
from classics that almost everyone knows to smaller
works that have disappeared onto video shelves over
the years. The one common factor is that I will have
seen none of the films before conducting this study.
Hopefully, that element will maintain a freshness to
each piece that might dissipate with preconceived
notions. I will usually try to cover different time
periods within the director's career for comparison,
but it will vary with each one chosen.
Introduction
John Carpenter has crafted some of the most
entertaining horror and science films of the past
three decades. Without the aid of gigantic budgets,
considerable digital effects, or major stars, this
writer/director creates chilling stories that remain
in the mind long after their conclusion. He also has
served as the composer for all of his films, which
gives him even greater control over their
effectiveness. His ultimate classic is Halloween
(1978), one of the first "slasher" films and an
inspiration on numerous directors, including Wes
Craven. He also created Big Trouble in Little China
(1986), a delightful martial arts fantasy that
injected tremendous silliness into the subject matter.
Carpenter's other notable works include Escape From
New York (1981), Starman (1984), In the
Mouth of Madness (1995), and Vampires
(1998).
(Please note: Carpenter's films often include "John
Carpenter's" before the actual title. For instance,
Ghosts of Mars is usually called John
Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars. I've ignored these
extra words since they're unnecessary in recognizing
the films and would become repetitive.)
Films
Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)
Starring Austin Stoker, Darwin Joston, Laurie Zimmer,
Martin West, Tony Burton, and Nancy Kyes. Directed and written by John Carpenter
In only his second feature film, John Carpenter
constructed one of his most effective and intense
thrillers. The plot is fairly straightforward, and the
characters lack much depth, but it still conveys a
spellbinding experience. Lt. Ethan Bishop (Austin
Stoker) has arrived at a discontinued police station
to oversee its final night of existence. Through an
unfortunate series of events, an incoherent man
stumbles into the precinct with a countless group of
young gang members on his trail. With only a few
employees and several prisoners to help him, Bishop
must defend the building from a horde of armed
villains. As the night progress, they are quickly
running out of bullets, and no easy opportunities
exist for an escape.
Reportedly created with a shoestring budget of only
$100,000, Assault on Precinct 13 provides
plenty of exciting and chilling moments. Borrowing
considerably from westerns like Howard Hawks' Rio
Bravo and horror pictures like George Romero's
Night of the Living Dead, Carpenter enacts a
tense siege out of the most basic of elements. The
enemies are faceless automatons whose only goal is the
destruction of everything in the precinct. Once the
action begins, we rarely see their faces, and they
become machines of death. The simplistic score
(composed by Carpenter) effectively generates an
atmosphere of impending dread with just a few basic
notes. The other prominent sounds are silencer bullets
that only emit a quick pop when they strike their
victims. Another reason for this film's effectiveness
is the nearly complete lack of sentimentality
displayed by Carpenter. In one instance, a young girl
is brutally murdered for no apparent reason, and the
violence occurs quickly and without warning. The
mournful tone actually heightens the realism, as we
quickly realize that the conventions of the usual
action film mean little here. Assault on Precinct
13 mixes several genres and keeps you enthralled
until the last shot is fired.
The Thing (1982)
Starring Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, T.K. Carter,
David Clennon, and Keith David. Directed by John Carpenter. Screenplay by Bill Lancaster, based on the story "Who
Goes There?" by John W. Campbell
A strange alien being invades a small group of
scientists working in Antarctica, and no one is safe
from its infective force. This "thing" from another
world possesses the ability to absorb its prey and
assume their form with little noticeable differences.
At the proper opportunity, it discards the body in a
mass of slimy blood and tackles another individual.
Kurt Russell stars as MacReady, a grizzled helicopter
pilot who recognizes the threat and tries to fight it.
Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to battle a
presence that can take over anyone through brief
contact. Much of the primary conflict exists between
the humans who now cannot trust their own comrades.
Wilford Brimley is especially effective in portraying
the growing insanity of Dr. Blair, who realizes the
dire ramifications of the alien's survival. His
eventual breakdown is one of the highlights of this
bone-chilling, effective thriller.
The Thing showcases John Carpenter at his best
in terms of its alarming suspense and grotesque
nature. The unforgettable creature is a disturbing
mass of tentacles, wolf and human heads, and other
unrecognizable features. Surprisingly, it appears for
only a short amount of screen time, and the most
graphic violence occurs away from the camera.
Carpenter utilizes inventive sound and reaction shots
to heighten our terror without dwelling on the
carnage. The character development is pretty thin
here, but this is not a surprise to fans of the cult
director. He relies on actors like Russell, Brimley,
and Keith David to create interesting personas without
much background. They succeed for the most part, but
this omission does slightly disassociate the audience
from the action. Nevertheless, The Thing stands
as one of the better science-fiction films of the '80s
and is a must-see for fans of the genre.
Prince of Darkness (1987)
Starring Donald Pleasance, Jameson Parker, Victor
Wong, Lisa Blount, Dennis Dun, Susan Blanchard, and
Alice Cooper. Directed and written by John Carpenter.
For many centuries, the Catholic Church has been
hiding a terrifying secret within the depths of an old
Spanish mission. The Prince of Darkness does
exist in the form of a strange green liquid, and it
wants out of the confining prison. A group of young
students and scientists have joined Father Loomis
(Donald Pleasance) to discover the true nature of this
mysterious force. In predictable fashion, few will
survive the night as the evil being quickly infects
them and enacts its devious plans. Big Trouble in
Little China standouts Victor Wong and Dennis Dun
join mostly unrecognizable faces to battle Satan, and
the result is an oddball mix of suspense and gore.
Along with the problems inside, a group of apparently
homeless drones skulk around the building waiting for
victims. Their leader is played with perfect
grisliness by rocker Alice Cooper, who was born to
play this type of role.
The early moments of Prince of Darkness deftly
set up the story and create a tense feeling of
approaching doom. Large stretches contain virtually no
dialogue, and Carpenter boasts the suspense with his
own simple score. Unfortunately, the payoff does not
live up to the promise of the first act. The green
liquid that embodies Satan is a clever device, but it
does not correspond with more inventive past
creations. Judged simply as a low-budget, B horror
film, this story succeeds in generating the necessary
shocks and ugly surprises. However, its thin
characters never move beyond the basic elements. Also,
the events actually slow down in the final section and
begin to grow tedious. The conclusion does provide an
inventive twist, but the overall effect is only
mediocre. Carpenter's skill makes the film a worthy
rental for a night of chills, but script limitations
keep it from reaching a higher level.
Ghosts of Mars (2001)
Starring Natasha Henstridge, Ice Cube, Jason Statham,
Clea DuVall, Pam Grier, Joanna Cassidy, and Richard
Cetrone. Directed by John Carpenter. Written by Larry Sulkis and John Carpenter.
In the tradition of Carpenter's own Assault on
Precinct 13, this film once again places an
unlikely group of characters against a chaotic mob of
evil forces. The heroes eventually become trapped
within a police complex that offers no simple way out.
When the villains attack, they exude little interest
towards individual survival. Instead, the destructive
goals of the collective group are the focus during the
siege. Ghosts of Mars differs from its
25-year-old predecessor most notably with its
science-fiction premise. The former inhabitants of
Mars now appear in an eerie red cloud that can easily
overcome the human body and take over. Once it
controls them, the force converts normal people into
primitive and vile figures intent on killing all other
species. They violently defile their faces and often
go insane with rage and confusion. Leading the pack is
Big Daddy Mars (Richard Cetrone) - a monstrous,
unexplained leader who urges the masses forward to
decimate the feeble humans.
Our heroes are lead by Melanie Ballard (Natasha
Henstridge), a police officer charged with
transporting famous prisoner "Desolation" Williams
(Ice Cube). The band of cops includes Snatch's Jason
Statham, The Faculty's Clea Duvall, and longtime
B-movie actress Pam Grier. Upon their arrival within
the mining town, the group discovers a nearly deserted
town inhabited only by a few crazy people and several
prisoners, including Williams. After some a lengthy
buildup, the police must join Williams and fight the
savage horde to try and escape this city. Carpenter
relates the entire story in multiple flashbacks that
add little to the finished product. Once again, this
entry feels more like a western than the usual
science-fiction release. The ghosts add a supernatural
element to the plot, but the basic pattern is the
same. Although fairly entertaining, this picture
recycles too many elements from other movies and
includes some awful lines. Henstridge does an adequate
job and Ice Cube exudes his usual attitude, but the
script allows little innovation. Originally, Courtney
Love was slated for the lead role, but an injury
caused a last-minute change. I can't imagine her
adding much life to this mediocre creation.
Conclusion
John Carpenter seems to thrive when working under
minimal conditions with a low budget and no major
stars. This might help to explain the remarkable
staying power of such small, early productions as
Assault on Precinct 13 and Halloween.
They display a remarkable precision and confidence
that is rare for such a new director. Their
bone-chilling suspense sticks in the back of the mind
long after the story ends. In the 1980s, Carpenter
teamed with Kurt Russell for two memorable
tongue-in-cheek pieces, Escape From New York
and Big Trouble in Little China. The second
entry was especially effective in overturning the
usual action conventions behind the guise of a typical
B movie. Russell's Jack Burton appears to be the
straightforward action hero, but he actually bungles
nearly every situation. Dennis Dun's apparent sidekick
actually saves the day and often keeps Burton from
dying. Throughout his career, Carpenter has thrived on
this type of defiance of genre conventions. Although
Halloween was the precursor to numerous sequels
and imitators, it still remains original because only
a few people die. Its effectiveness stems from a
spellbinding amount of suspense generated by its
slower pace.
Unfortunately, Carpenter's film output since the late
'80s has not reflected the same creativity of his
earlier works. His 1995 remake of Village of the
Damned lacked the energy needed to sell the eerie
story. An even worse offense occurred when Russell's
Snake Plisskin returned with the painfully inferior
Escape from L.A. in 1996. While it cranked up
the special effects and bad one-liners, this spoof
grew too ridiculous to remain palpable. Perhaps his
early success has limited Carpenter's ability to
remain original in the new effects-driven era.
Vampires contained plenty of gruesome effects, but it
lacked any surprising moments and is possibly his
worst film. James Woods has never looked duller than
in this lead role, and the supernatural items are
oddly unexciting. Can John Carpenter still provide the
high level of thrills expected during his early
career? I'm really not sure. However, hope does exist
due to one recent gem. In the Mouth of Madness
worked because its story was so far over-the-top and
outlandish that it became entertaining. Throughout
much of the events, star Sam Neill seems as bewildered
as the audience, which aligns us with his confusing
plight. Unfortunately, this film is the one exception
to Carpenter's descent into mediocrity.
Regardless of his recent output, however, the films of
John Carpenter provide intriguing takes on firmly
established genres. Highbrow critics may dismiss his
work as below their notice, but in doing so they miss
some of the more transcendent films of the past few
decades.
Issue 10, July 2002 | next article
|
|
|
|
|
|