The reason any of John Carpenter's films work is simple: he adds some tension. It's easy to suddenly have something jump into frame at any given time and scare people. Every horror movie on the planet has done that. The secret is to let them know something is going to happen and drag it out. Until it does, you will have people on the edge of their seats and biting their nails. He's not as brilliant as everyone thinks. Just very clever with his shots.
CK

this is what Hitchock called 'the bomb under the table'
tension heightened by anticipation and the frustration that you know what is going to happen but you are unable to warn the characters in the movie ..

i always think of JC as making westerns - there always seems to be some kind of 'frontier' and also some kind of 'fortress' and the characters end up under seige most of the time. . .so, hitchcock is an obvious influence, but so are Hawks and Ford

he's o.k.

I have yet to see The Thing, but Escape from New York and Big Trouble In Little China were pure masterpieces.

You should definitely watch The Thing ASAP. It (along with Halloween) is generally regarded as one of his highest achievements. I still think that In the Mouth of Madness is better, though.

got it! The Thing is actually on the IMDB top 250! So obviously this one's a must. PLUS Kurt Russell is one of my favorite actors, so that's a total-high.

Yeah, In the Mouth of Madness deservies its place right alongside Halloween and The Thing! Very good and eerie movie.

i'll never understand why people like this movie so much ..
i thought it was his first miss ... soon to be followed by more.

best thing about it was the commentary .. if you want to learn a bit about lighting techniques.

I think people like it because it is clever and unexpected. The main thing i couldnt stand about it was Jurgen Prochnow spouting poorly written attempts at lovecraft-style knockoff "literature"