It is fitting as you join me at www.whatmovie.co.uk to pay tribute to my favourite film director ever – JOHN CARPENTER.

I first became aware of Carpenter back in 1980 through STARBURST Magazine Issue 22:

The issue covered a preview of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and an interview with David Cronenberg amongst other things, plus the Top 20 Sci-Fi and Fantasy Movies of 1979.

In the midst of this was a multi-page article covering John Carpenter’s career, which up until that point included HALLOWEEN and the then new original version of THE FOG.

A graduate of USC, Carpenter won an Oscar for his 1969 short THE RESURRECTION OF BRONCO BILLY, before teaming up with future ALIEN co-creator Dan O’Bannon on the low-budget cult film, DARK STAR, which was an expansion of a USC short.

In 1976, Carpenter channelled his passion for the films of Howard Hawks (one of several directors he had the pleasure of meeting and listening to during his USC days)  into a reworking of Hawks’ RIO BRAVO starring John Wayne called ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13.

The film told the tale of an LA police station closing down which is suddenly attacked by hundreds of gang members in revenge for the killing of several members of a group called ‘Street Thunder’. At the heart of its’ defence is Lt. Ethan Bishop (Austin Stoker) who is on his first assignment, two secretaries Leigh (Laurie Zimmer) and Julie (Nancy Loomis) – and two convicts, Wells (Tony Burton) and the notorious Napoleon Wilson (Darwin Joston). It’s a tense and terrific showcase, with an eerie score by Carpenter.

The film didn’t do all that well in the US on its’ original release, but found its’ feet thanks to a sensational showing at the London Film Festival in 1977.

However, it was in 1978 that Carpenter would usher in the true success with HALLOWEEN (1978)

Produced at a cost of $300,000, HALLOWEEN was the tale of three babysitters (Jamie Lee Curtis in her debut role, PJ Soles (CARRIE), Nancy Loomis again) who are stalked by a mystery killer, Michael Myers aka The Shape) fifteen years after Myers kills his own sister in the house they lived in in 1963.

The film garnered much critical and commercial success and then became a firm favourite amongst horror fans as one of the most influential of all time.

In 1979, Carpenter followed it up with THE FOG:

The film told of a California town called Antonio Bay celebrating its’ centenary which suddenly is engulfed by a mysterious and deadly fog, containing the remnants of a clipper ship called the ‘Elizabeth Dane’ who are determined to celebrate in a dark and deadly way with the current community of residents, which in turn becomes a race against time to lift the curse…

In 1981, Carpenter attempted to predict a dystopian future with the low-budget offering ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK.

The baddest man in the world, Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) is brought in to be transported to Manhattan Island in 1997, which has been transformed into a maximum security prison. However, just before he gets thrown in the brig, the US President (Donald Pleasance) and his plane crash into the prison – and Plissken has to bring him out.

The film also helped launch the careers of James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd, future collaborators (and at one point husband and wife) on THE ABYSS, ALIENS and THE TERMINATOR films who worked behind the scenes on the visual effects of the film.

After completing ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, Carpenter returned to the influence and inspiration from Howard Hawks when he remade his 1951 film THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD for Universal as THE THING:

Based on the short story ‘Who Goes There?’ by John W. Campbell and adapted by Hollywood legend Burt Lancaster’s son Bill, the film told of a group of US scientists in an Antarctic research station who are faced with a dog on the run from a Norwegian team in a helicopter out to shoot it.

Further investigation leads them back to the original Norway site, where they discover some mysterious remnants of bloody chaos, but on return to their own site, things begin to appear not as they seem….

A critical and commercial failure in 1982, THE THING found its’ place on home video and has since become one of the most acclaimed and appreciated horror films of the year – and in my case I rate it as the greatest of the 1980s.

So, if you are looking for something in the cult and horror arena, then John Carpenter is worth a look.