RV!: Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

RV!: Big Trouble in Little China (1986) Dir: John Carpenter Date Released: July 2, 1986 Date Seen: February 22, 2012 Rating: 3.75/5

Still not in love with this one, though I do really like it. At Capital New York, I explain why a little bit.

46) Christine (1983)

46) Christine (1983) Dir: John Carpenter Date Released: December 9, 1983 Date Seen: January 29, 2012 Rating: 3.5/5

Starts off great and has a number of great ideas and moments. Doesn't amount to much but hey, some pretty exciting stuff, I think. See my capsule appreciation of the film for the L Magazine.

RV!: The Thing (1982)

RV!: The Thing (1982) Dir: John Carpenter Date Released: June 25, 1982 Date Seen: June 26, 2011 Rating: 4.25/5

I didn't like this one the first go-around but I have seen the light and wow, is it bright 'n stuff. Rick Baker's special effects are as good as you've heard and then some. And holy jeez, that cast. Sad to think that this don't catch on immediately (it was a box office dud, believe it or not). Ah well. See my interview with the reticent Carpenter for Vulture. Also, how 'bout that poster, huh?

219) The Ward (2010) and RV!: The Ward (2010)

219) The Ward (2010) Dir: John Carpenter Date Released: July 8, 2011 Date Seen: May 28, 2011 Rating: 2/5

RV!: The Ward (2010) Dir: John Carpenter Date Released: July 8, 2011 Date Seen: May 28, 2011 Rating: 3.5/5

I did an about face on The Ward after interviewing Carpenter for Vulture and rewatching The Thing. See my review of The Ward for Nomad Wide Screen.Publish Post

RV!: Dark Star (1974)

RV!: Dark Star (1974) Dir: John Carpenter Date Released: April 1974 Date Seen: November 1, 2010 Rating: 4.25/5

Oh so good. See my dvd review for Slant Magazine.

RV!: In the Mouth of Madness (1994)

RV!: In the Mouth of Madness (1994) Dir: John Carpenter Date Released: February 1995 Date Seen: February 14, 2010 Rating: 4/5

I am so glad this movie holds up to a second viewing. Even smarter than I remember. See me gush about it unapologetically for the next entry in my "The Deep Cut" column at Ugo.

67) In the Mouth of Madness (1994)

67) In the Mouth of Madness (1994) Dir: John Carpenter Date Released: February 1995 Date Seen: March 9^th, 2009 Rating: 3.75/5

As what may very well be John Carpenter’s last really good feature film, In the Mouth of Madness (1994) breaks no new ground in the veteran auto-didact’s varied oeuvre. There’s nothing startlingly innovative in this Lovecraftian pastiche but that’s just fine. Considering how he would follow Mouth with more schlock than his fans can forget through sheer force of will alone, it is a welcome addition to his highly touted canon. 

Carpenter’s ability to tell virtually goreless horror yarns that tease the viewer with Hitchcockian sight gags—let’s just say that the ol’ “now you see it, now you don’t” bit gets trotted out a lot—is on full display in Mouth. Though the film’s makeup and set design crew never let up, there’s only one or two scenes that rely on blood for their impact. Instead, the film relies on shallow but effective psychological hooks that are some of the best screen adaptations of Lovecraft’s favorite kind of horrors—the unfathomably grotesque. Because private dick John Trent (Sam Neill) cannot understand what’s going on, we only see what he sees in bursts and starts, making for some of the most satisfying horror montages I’ve seen in a while.

As hammy as the film’s high-falutin, m SubTerraneans eta-reflexive author-as-God explanations are, it fits perfectly with Carpenter’s usual game of peekaboo that he probably did best in Halloween (1978). Despite some minor speed bumps along the way, Carpenter had me going from start to finish and that alone makes me proud to continue my membership in the John Carpenter is American Horror Club for Troglodites and Other Subterraneans.