Looking for John Carpenter recommendations

[Crappler El 0 M]

Hello FAN off-topic. I've been re-watching some of my favorite John Carpenter movies recently and this has inspired me to check out some I haven't seen yet. I figured there'd be some FAN users who would have seen a lot of his movies.

Here is what I have already seen:
Halloween
Escape from New York
The Thing
Big Trouble in Little China
They Live

So what else should I seek out? The Fog? Starman? Assault on Precinct 13? Escape from L.A.?

[Mighty Attack Tribble]

Jan 6, 2015 2:03:11 GMT -5 Crappler El 0 M said:

So what else should I seek out? The Fog? Starman? Assault on Precinct 13? Escape from L.A.?

All of the above. Hell, I think everything except Vampires and Ghosts of Mars is worth checking out.

[El Pollo Guerrera]

Didn't like The Fog.

Loved Assault on Precinct 13.

Recommend Prince of Darkness and Christine.

Avoid Memoirs of an Invisible Man.

Heard very positive things about In the Mouth of Madness but haven't seen.

[kidglov3s]

Don't forget about The Fog, everybody.

[Capt Lunatic]

Stay far away from Ghosts of Mars.

It's like he remade all of his movies at once, while at the same time forgetting how to direct.

[Deleted]

Vampires is underrated. It knew what it wanted to be and it did it well.

[Joe Neglia]

In The Mouth of Madness is my favorite horror movie.

[riseofsetian1981]

Escape From New York, The Thing, Halloween, Starman, and Vampires are my favorite John Carpenter films. Especially Starman. It was very different and nothing I'd expect from him. I absolutely love that film.

[Deleted]

You gotta watch In The Mouth Of Madness. Vampires isn't on the level of his best films, but it has a charm to it. Ghost of Mars has a lot of missteps, I don't hate it, but it's only really worth watching if you're looking to complete his filmography. Outside of the films already mentioned, I'd also recommend his two Master of Horror episodes, Cigarette Burns and Pro-Life. Cigarette Burns especially is really good. Almost forgot, check out Body Bags as well. It's an anthology film he directed a segment for and he as plays the main character who introduces the segments.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

Also, I wouldn't recommend his Village of the Damned remake

[mizerable]

Essentially anything 80's or before. Also Vampires.

Assault on Precinct 13 is awesome.

[Crappler El 0 M]

Thanks for the suggestions. I watched The Fog today. It wasn't as good as the others I've seen, though the look, feel, and music of it gave me a nostalgic feeling for eighties chillers I grew up with. I'm a big fan of Janet Leigh, so I did enjoy getting to see her in the movie.

[Limity (BLM)]

Jan 6, 2015 6:54:20 GMT -5 Joe Neglia said:

In The Mouth of Madness is my favorite horror movie.

Have I mentioned my favorite color is blue?

[kidglov3s]

Jan 6, 2015 17:02:15 GMT -5 Crappler El 0 M said:

Thanks for the suggestions. I watched The Fog today. It wasn't as good as the others I've seen, though the look, feel, and music of it gave me a nostalgic feeling for eighties chillers I grew up with. I'm a big fan of Janet Leigh, so I did enjoy getting to see her in the movie.

My favorite part of The Fog is Stevie, who is so f***ing cool.

[Ryushinku]

The Fog is a mixed bag, with Carpenter really relying hard on some horror cliches that were old hat for the time (quickcut scares, Spring Loaded Cat, etc).
And yet it does create a great atmosphere, often in the times where nothing's being said and it's just the minimalist score over fog-shrouded landscapes. Barbeau is fantastic. Killer pre-credits as well.

Mouth of Madness definitely a good one, his last hurrah, fun with narrative structure. Assault on Precinct 13 still delivers. And Prince of Darkness, while kinda schlocky, has its moments too...with another great minimalist from Carpenter and that scene with Wyndham outside.

[bob]

Out of everything John Carpenter directed that isn't in the original post here's what I liked:


Escape from L.A.
Ghosts of Mars

[DSR]

If it's playing in an arthouse theater near you anytime soon, I highly recommend SHOCK VALUE: THE MOVIE. It's a compilation of films Carpenter, Dan O'Bannon and others made while they were at USC.

There's a trailer for it here:
www.cinefamily.org/films/shock-value-the-movie/

[Capt Lunatic]

Jan 6, 2015 18:06:33 GMT -5 bob said:

Out of everything John Carpenter directed that isn't in the original post here's what I liked:


Escape from L.A.
Ghosts of Mars

[Jiren]

Honestly I've enjoyed all his movies aside from "Ghosts Of Mars"

[Kash Flagg]

Prince of Darkness is really fun.

I also enjoy the little references to where he grew up in his films (we both grew up in Bowling Green).