Quote:
Originally Posted by neverending
I'm in the minority of horror fans that doesn't lionize John Carpenter. I think he made one really great film, several nearly great films, and a bunch of really cheesy shlock.
Halloween is his best, for me. I like The Fog despite the fact it falls apart in the last reel, like They Live despite its cheese, like Prince of Darkness for its sheer outrageousness, and Dark Star is fun.
Most of the rest I just think are sloppy, cheesy and cliche. Vampires is one of the worst vampires movies ever made, IMO.
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Well, unsurprisingly, I completely disagree. In my opinion, he is an amazing director, one of the best in the horror genre. Sure, he does not compare to someone like Alfred Hitchcock, but is still good nonetheless.
I will agree with you that Halloween was one of his greatest films, but I disagree it is the best. To me, The Thing (1982) was his best film and one of the best horror films of all time. Top five at least. I would probably put Halloween in the top ten horror films of all time.
One aspect I will agree with you on is that there are a number of his films that are cheesy, but those are still good, in my opinion. Some other films he made that were really good were In the Mouth of Madness and Prince of Darkness neither of which I found cheesy at all. I am not sure what you mean by its "outrageousness". I thought it was a really interesting idea and an excellent film. I have not seen all of Dark Star.
I will agree with you on the ending of the Fog. It seemed a little silly to me, but the rest of the movie more than makes up for it. The story was fascinating, the atmosphere darkly beautiful, and there was a creepy element to it. The music really complemented it as well.
I liked Vampires, but I agree that it is far from his best. I do think there were many vampire films far worse than that one. In my opinion, it was just a fun film.
I will add a note that I have not seen Assault on Precinct 13 or Big Trouble in Little China.
As for the post, I agree with Straker, In the Mouth of Madness is a notable exclusion from this list. That film was quite excellent, if underrated.