Keith Houchen Posted January 16, 2023 Share Posted January 16, 2023 15 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said: Still amazing to me that it flopped at the box office, imagine it if was released today? Would be absolutely massive. The Spandex nonces would ensure a very limited release, no doubt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spud Posted January 16, 2023 Share Posted January 16, 2023 Big Trouble was a massive favourite growing up. I always wanted to be âLightningâ - I thought he was just brilliant. It was the right mix of adventure video game and real life for me, as in it could really happen and it was believable. Probably why I loved playing Mortal Kombat so much too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Factotum Posted January 16, 2023 Share Posted January 16, 2023 THE THING is I think his all round best film. Just brilliant. BIG TROUBLE is my favourite as its so much fun. The one is secretly love is VAMPIRES. James Woods may be a huge dickhead but I do love watching the nutter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyattSheepMask Posted January 16, 2023 Share Posted January 16, 2023 The Thing is one my favourite films full stop, not just of Carpenters, but just look at those choices. Such an incredible body of work. I only watched Escape From New York for the time the other night and I was so annoyed at myself afterwards for having not seen it years ago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members DEF Posted January 16, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted January 16, 2023 It's hard to describe the impact of Halloween on myself and culture as whole. I'm certainly not capable of it. Halloween is top 3 films of all time for me. Having said that I'm not sure he has a 'Best' film. There is a strong case that it's actually The Thing. It's a remarkable film in a line up of remarkable films. It's so intense, exciting and thrilling. I've also seen The Thing a lot less than Halloween so I suspect it might be more novel. The reality is I watch probably between 50 and 100 slasher movies a year which all borrow in one way or another from Halloween. Prince of Darkness is certainly the most underrated I'd say. BTILC & They Live are like warm cuddly blankets of films. Love them both nearly as much as the aforementioned films. John Carpenter is probably my favourite director and certainly up there with the most consistent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The King Of Swing Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 I voted for Big Trouble mainly because it's just my kind of film. Just crazy fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panhead Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 I went with Halloween because it's had a massive impact on my life. Obviously it's a brilliant film, but Michael Myers is an absolute icon of Horror. 45 years on, and his look hasn't dated at all. There's a huge emotional attachment for me too. When I was a kid, my parents were really selective in what we were allowed to watch. My friend's parents would let him watch anything. He used to give me detailed plot breakdowns of Predator, the Friday the 13th films, Nightmare On Elm Street etc. When I left school, I started buying loads of Horror DVDs from my first wages. Halloween (with the lenticular cover) was one of the first. We used to talk about it, over and over. Especially how Dr Loomis was mad as as a box of frogs. We went to see Halloween together on the big screen for the 30th anniversary in 2008 and it was brilliant. My friend really went through some shit in his 20s. He lost his Sister to cancer and really hit the bottle hard. He had to have a double hip replacement because of the booze. He went to various programmes but he struggled to stay sober. When we knew the 2018 sequel was happening, we planned to watch it together. He lost his battle with alcoholism in May of that year. He was only 33. When the film came out in the October, I went one Sunday morning by myself to watch it. I bought two tickets and put a small photo of him on the empty seat next to me. I have a cabinet with a H1 Myers mask on display in it, and I've put his unused ticket in there. Anyhow, I'm a big fan of Prince of Darkness too. The Fog is really great, although I'm embarrassed to say I only watched it for the first time last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butch2000 Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 (edited) The best Halloween is Halloween III and I do mean that sincerely  edit: didnât read the post above. Sorry to pipe in about my love of silver shamrock when Halloween is so personal a film to you Edited January 17, 2023 by Butch2000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members chokeout Posted January 17, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted January 17, 2023 Easily my favourite Director of all time and I was obsessive about his films for most of my teenage years. Long before I was aware who directed what, I would watch Big Trouble in Little China, which seemed to be on ITV all the time in the late 80s / early 90s. I almost certainly recorded it in the 8pm movie slot that ITV used to have, which probably means I didn't see it unedited for years. It was almost comic book like in its stupidity. It wasn't until Moviedrome became essential viewing in 1989 when the then 7 year old me saw Night Of The Comet that I started asking my dad about all things horror. Dad was very laid back with what we could and couldn't watch, had always explained that films weren't real, but if it was too scary we should stop watching. This led to us self censoring (specifically meant that I refused to watch Nightmare on Elm Street for years because the mere thought of it scared the bejesus out of me) This also led to Dad letting me sit and watch the previous nights recorded Moviedrome with him and answer the millions of questions I threw at him. Looking back it's crazy how many of the Moviedrome films linked back to Carpenter (Oh you like the bat shit crazy effects in Society, do you? Well say thanks to Bottin's work on The Thing and Screaming Mad George getting to work on Big Trouble, etc) I know for a fact that the first time I saw Assault on Precinct 13 was on channel 4, which was probably years later, so I'm guessing it wasn't till the 1992 showing of Escape From New York and it's introduction showing little clips from the Fog and The Thing that I realised I needed to see EVERYTHING. I can't remember the first time I saw Halloween, it was one of those films that was guaranteed a showing once a year and I don't think i really appreciated it till I was 16 and our media teacher made us watch Friday the 13th and then spent most of the film explaining how much better Carpenter had done it. He was right and even then i could understand that even though Friday 13th had gore and campy fun, Halloween had tension and that sense of unease The reason I never really thought Halloween was the bee's knees back them was because The Fog was, in my eyes, far superior. Its has spooky ghost pirates! Its still in my top 5 of his and was the first region 1 dvd I ever bought off the internet (along with the uncut version of Enter The Dragon) Its hokey but as a throwback horror film it's probably one of his best. I think the first time I saw it was probably 1994, with the Dr Terror introduction on BBC Prince of Darkness was never on growing up, its so odd how few times it was shown on tv in the early 90s. I probably saw it least of any of the Carpenter films, probably only catching it once on TV so I found it much later than his other stuff. In the Mouth Of Madness always reminded me of his later TV work, some of which could easily make this list. There's just something about it that felt hokey and not in a good way. It's probably the film that stopped him getting big cinema releases. We rented it on VHS in 1994 when it came out and I think it was the first film of his that I saw that i didn't immediately want to watch again. I don't think i rewatched it for at least 10 years after that. But the answer to the question is The Thing. Not only is it his best film, it's one of THE best films. As close to perfect as it can get, note perfect performances, effects that at the time were groundbreaking (and most importantly for the 80s, looked horrendous in stills in magazines and on video covers) and still hold up today. It's such a well worn thing to do now but re-making a B-movie and turning it from what it was to this is amazing (matched only by The Fly). Oh and the score! you know what's better than Carpenter scoring his own movie? Getting Morricone in! Let's not even start on Drew Struzan's poster for it, nothing to do with the film at all, finished so late that the paint was still wet when it went off to print and still one of the greatest posters of the 80s.  TL;DR The Thing is not only his best film but also one of The best films and everything about it is amazing  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panhead Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 12 hours ago, Butch2000 said: The best Halloween is Halloween III and I do mean that sincerely  edit: didnât read the post above. Sorry to pipe in about my love of silver shamrock when Halloween is so personal a film to you No worries đ I love Halloween III. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted January 17, 2023 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 17, 2023 Just imagine if John Carpenter and Debra Hill got their way and the series continued in an anthology form with separate stories like Halloween III. All that shit we'd have been saved from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Danger Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 On 1/16/2023 at 4:15 PM, Devon Malcolm said: imagine it if was released today? Would be absolutely massive. Itâd definitely be on the front page of Disney+ on release day. It is The Thing though. Try watching that film and not feeling physically cold and paranoid. I love Assault on Precinct 13. My nan used to get me cheapo videos for stocking fillers at Christmas and one year she got me Assault on Precinct 13 and Wanted:Dead or Alive. I watched Wanted but it took me about 10 years to get around to watching Assault On Precinct 13. Iâll always back a Rutger Hauer video special but I made the wrong choice there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted January 17, 2023 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 17, 2023 2 hours ago, Mr_Danger said: It is The Thing though. Try watching that film and not feeling physically cold and paranoid. I love Assault on Precinct 13. My nan used to get me cheapo videos for stocking fillers at Christmas and one year she got me Assault on Precinct 13 and Wanted:Dead or Alive. I watched Wanted but it took me about 10 years to get around to watching Assault On Precinct 13. Iâll always back a Rutger Hauer video special but I made the wrong choice there. Wanted: Dead or Alive is great though. One of what seemed like dozens of 80s actioners where a cop was living in a disused warehouse that for some reason had a plush penthouse flat at the top in which he also kept his motorbike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spud Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 Just been reading Carpenterâs Wiki page. Apparently, he was approached to direct Santa Claus: The Movie but his demands were so much (including 100% creative control, the right to assume scriptwriting duties and total editorial control) that the offer was withdrawn. I wonder how different Carpenterâs version would have been if they had accepted his âlist of requirementsâ. He also wanted Brian Dennehy to play Santa and, although I love him in F/X: Murder By Illusion, he will always be John Wayne Gacy to me. Canât imagine him as Santa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Danger Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 13 hours ago, Devon Malcolm said: Wanted: Dead or Alive is great though. One of what seemed like dozens of 80s actioners where a cop was living in a disused warehouse that for some reason had a plush penthouse flat at the top in which he also kept his motorbike. To be fair Assault on Precinct 13 did inspire me to watch Rio Bravo whilst Rutger Hauer only ever inspired me to try Guinness which is obviously disgusting and to try and make a concealed samurai sword out of a broom handle which is infeasible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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