John Carpenter Archive

  • The difference between Halloween and Halloween II is the difference between technique and style. Halloween was shot with style – it had a particular point of view and stuck with […]

    Halloween II

    The difference between Halloween and Halloween II is the difference between technique and style. Halloween was shot with style – it had a particular point of view and stuck with […]

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  • Dark Star launched the John Carpenter orbit… but only by accident. It was the little film that shouldn’t have worked, was shot on less than a shoestring over three strenuous […]

    Let There Be Light: The Odyssey of Dark Star

    Dark Star launched the John Carpenter orbit… but only by accident. It was the little film that shouldn’t have worked, was shot on less than a shoestring over three strenuous […]

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  • Disasterpeace composed the soundtrack to this year’s breakout horror film, It Follows.  His score honors the golden age of horror synth soundtracks by breathing fresh life into the sound (much […]

    Disasterpeace – Fez

    Disasterpeace composed the soundtrack to this year’s breakout horror film, It Follows.  His score honors the golden age of horror synth soundtracks by breathing fresh life into the sound (much […]

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  • I love The Fog. I love it, because the guys and gals who made Halloween did it partly as an homage to the films of Val Lewton, Alfred Hitchcock, and […]

    The Fog

    I love The Fog. I love it, because the guys and gals who made Halloween did it partly as an homage to the films of Val Lewton, Alfred Hitchcock, and […]

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  • As far as cultural impact goes, the TV movie is dead. It’s hard to imagine a time when this wasn’t so – TV’s content restrictions and inability to command the […]

    Someone’s Watching Me!

    As far as cultural impact goes, the TV movie is dead. It’s hard to imagine a time when this wasn’t so – TV’s content restrictions and inability to command the […]

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  • Cultural dullards love to compare horror to pornography – that is, two forms of media entirely predicated on physical reactions1. The irony is that pornography, even in these days of […]

    Halloween

    Cultural dullards love to compare horror to pornography – that is, two forms of media entirely predicated on physical reactions1. The irony is that pornography, even in these days of […]

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  • Media scarcity is a solved problem. Digital distribution, availability and archiving mean that everything, however ephemeral, has permanence. Everything new is released on DVD. If you can’t find it on […]

    Assault On Precinct 13

    Media scarcity is a solved problem. Digital distribution, availability and archiving mean that everything, however ephemeral, has permanence. Everything new is released on DVD. If you can’t find it on […]

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  • John Carpenter’s connection to Howard Hawks is obvious – the remake of The Thing, Assault On Precinct 13, which is basically an update of Rio Bravo. Carpenter’s even said, “All […]

    Dark Star

    John Carpenter’s connection to Howard Hawks is obvious – the remake of The Thing, Assault On Precinct 13, which is basically an update of Rio Bravo. Carpenter’s even said, “All […]

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