6 Shots From 6 Films: Special John Carpenter Edition


4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy 76th birthday to one of this site’s favorite filmmakers and a patron saint of the independent spirit, the great John Carpenter!

In honor of the man and his legacy, here are….

6 Shots From 6 John Carpenter Films

Assault on Precinct 13 (1976, dir by John Carpenter. DP: Douglas Knapp)

Halloween (1977, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Dean Cundey)

Escape From New York (1981, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Dean Cundey)

The Thing (1982, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Dean Cundey)

Big Trouble in Little China (1986, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Dean Cundey)

They Live (1988, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Gary B. Kibbe)

6 Shots From 6 Films: Special John Carpenter Edition


4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy 75th birthday to one of this site’s favorite filmmakers and a patron saint of the independent spirit, the great John Carpenter!

In honor of the man and his legacy, here are….

6 Shots From 6 John Carpenter Films

Assault on Precinct 13 (1976, dir by John Carpenter. DP: Douglas Knapp)

Halloween (1978, dir by John Carpenter. DP: Dean Cundey)

Escape From New York (1981, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Dean Cundey)

Big Trouble In Little China (1986, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Dean Cudney)

Prince of Darkness (1987, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Gary B. Kibbe)

They Live (1988, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Gary B. Kibbe)

10 Shots From 10 Horror Films: 1987 — 1989


4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

This October, I’m going to be doing something a little bit different with my contribution to 4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films.  I’m going to be taking a little chronological tour of the history of horror cinema, moving from decade to decade.

Today, we take a look at 1987, 1988, and 1989!

10 Shots From Horror History: 1987–1989

Hellraiser (1987, dir by Clive Barker, DP: Robin Vidgeon)

Stage Fright (1987, dir by Michele Soavi, DP: Renato Tafuri)

Near Dark (1987, dir by Kathryn Bigelow, DP: Adam Greenberg)

Prince of Darkness (1987, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Gary B. Kibbe)

They Live (1988, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Gary B. Kibbe)

Night of the Demons (1988, dir by Kevin S. Tenney, DP: David Lewis)

The Lair of the White Worm (1988, dir by Ken Russell, DP: Dick Bush)

The Church (1989, dir by Michele Soavi, DP: Renato Tafuri)

Twin Peaks: The Pilot (1989, dir by David Lynch, DP: Ron Garcia)

Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989, dir by Rob Hedden, DP: Bryan England)

6 Classic Trailers For January 16th, 2022


Since today is the birthday of John Carpenter, can you guess what the theme of the latest edition of Lisa Mare’s Favorite Grindhouse Trailers is going to be?

Enjoy!

  1. Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)

Let’s get things started with the wonderfully grainy trailer for 1976’s Assault on Precinct 13!  Though the film may have been intended as an homage to Howard Hawks’s Rio Bravo, everything about the trailer screams grindhouse.  

2. Halloween (1978)

Assault on Precinct 13 may not have set the box office on fire but it did help build Carpenter’s critical reputation.  One fan of the film was the actress Angela Pleasence, who suggested to her father, Donald, that he accept Carpenter’s offer to play the role of Dr. Loomis in Carpenter’s next film.  And that film, of course, was Halloween!

3. Escape From New York (1981)

Donald Pleasence returned to play the President in Escape from New York and, of course, Kurt Russell appeared in his first Carpenter feature film.  (Russell had previously played Elvis in a Carpenter-directed television film.)  Though the film may not have been an immediate hit in the United States, it was embraced in Europe and it led to an entire series of Italian films about people trying to escape New York.

4. The Thing (1982)

Carpenter and Russell reunited for The Thing, another film that underappreciated when first released but which has since become a classic.

5. They Live (1988)

They Live is one of Carpenter’s best films and certainly his most subversive.  What may have seemed paranoid in 1988 feels prophetic today.

6. In The Mouth of Madness (1995)

Finally, in 1995, Carpenter proved himself to be one of the few directors to be able to capture the feel of H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu stories on film.  In The Mouth of Madness, like other Carpenter films, has been rewatched and reappraised over the years and is now widely recognized as a classic.

Happy birthday to the great John Carpenter!

6 Shots From 6 John Carpenter Films


4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy 74th birthday to one of this site’s patron saints, the great John Carpenter!

In honor of the man and his legacy, here are….

6 Shots From 6 John Carpenter Films

Assault on Precinct 13 (1976, dir by John Carpenter. DP: Douglas Knapp)


Halloween (1978, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Dean Cudney)


The Fog (1980, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Dean Cudney)


The Thing (1982, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Dean Cudney)


They Live (1988, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Gary B. Kibbe)


Escape From L.A. (1996, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Gary B. Kibbe)

 

8 Shots From 8 John Carpenter Films


4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

Today, we are proud to honor one of the greatest and most influential of directors of all time, John Carpenter!  Carpenter is something of a patron saint around these parts.  He’s more than just a horror director but it would be foolish to pretend as if his horror films haven’t forever changed the genre.

It’s time to celebrate the man and his movie with….

8 Shots Form 8 John Carpenter Films

Halloween (1977, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Dean Cundey)

The Fog (1980, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Dean Cundey)

Escape From New York (1981, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Dean Cundey)

The Thing (1982, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Dean Cundey)

They Live (1988, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Gary B. Kibbe)

Village of the Damned (1995, dir by John Carpenter, DP; Gary B. Kibbe)

Escape From L.A. (1996, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Gary B. Kibbe)

The Ward (2010, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Yaron Orbach)

18 Shots From 18 John Carpenter Films


4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking.

Today, Through the Shattered Lens wishes a happy 72nd birthday to one of the patron saints of the movies, John Carpenter!  Though often criminally underrated, John Carpenter is one of the most important filmmakers in modern film.

Every sci-fi spoof that you’ve seen owes a debt to Dark Star.  For that matter, so do quite a few serious sci-fi films, like Alien.

Every horror film owes a debt to Carpenter’s direction of Halloween.

How many apocalyptic, dystopian films have been influenced by Escape From New York?  While today it’s somewhat of a cliché for people to say that they have to escape from New York, John Carpenter imagined it long before Bill De Blasio made it into a reality.

Prince of Darkness and In The Mouth of Madness are two of the only films to capture the feelings of existential dread and the ominous atmosphere of H.P. Lovecraft’s most effective stories.

They Live may have been critically dismissed when it was released but today, many see it as being a work of prophecy.

“I wanted a vanilla twist.”  With Assault on Precinct 13, John Carpenter taught viewers that sometimes, it’s better to just take whatever ice cream you can get.

Meanwhile, films like The Thing, Big Trouble In Little China, The Fog, and others continue to find new fans every day.

Christopher Nolan may have Hans Zimmer but John Carpenter needs only himself to create a memorable musical score!

Even a film like Carpenter’s remake of Village of the Damned has a few undeniably effective moments!

Our point is that John Carpenter is one of the best around and, today, on his birthday, we’re going to honor him.  It’s not just 4 shots from 4 films for John Carpenter!  Instead, it’s time for….

18 Shots From 18 John Carpenter Films

Dark Star (1974, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Douglas Knapp)

Assault on Precinct 13 (1976, dir by John Carpenter. DP: Douglas Knapp)

Halloween (1978, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Dean Cundey)

The Fog (1980, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Dean Cundey)

Escape From New York (1981, directed by John Carpenter, DP: Dean Cundey)

The Thing (1982, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Dean Cundey)

Christine (1983, dir. John Carpenter, DP: Donald M. Morgan)

Starman (1984, dir by John Carpenter. DP: Donald M. Morgan)

Big Trouble in Little China (1986, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Dean Cundey)

Prince of Darkness (1987, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Gary B. Kibbe)

They Live (1988, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Gary B. Kibbe)

Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992, dir by John Carpenter, DP: William A. Fraker)

In The Mouth of Madness (1994, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Gary B. Kibbe)

Village of the Damned (1995, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Gary B. Kibbe)

Escape From L.A. (1996, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Gary B. Kibbe)

Vampires (1998, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Gary B. Kibbe)

Ghosts of Mars (2001, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Gary B. Kibbe)

The Ward (2010, dir by John Carpetner, DP: Yaron Orbach)

4 Shots For 4 John Carpenter Films: Halloween, The Fog, Christine, They Live


4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking.

This October, we’ve been using 4 Shots from 4 Films to pay tribute to some of our favorite horror filmmakers!  Today, we honor the one and only John Carpenter!

4 Shots From 4 John Carpenter Films

Halloween (1977, dir by John Carpenter)

The Fog (1980, dir by John Carpenter)

Christine (1983, dir by John Carpenter)

They Live (1988, dir by John Carpenter)

 

4 Shots From 4 John Carpenter Films: Starman, Prince of Darkness, They Live, In The Mouth of Madness


4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

From the day that this site first came online, John Carpenter has been a bit of a mainstay here at the Shattered Lens.  Arleigh has written extensively about Carpenter’s films.  Every October, we seem to have, at the very least, a handful of posts that are somehow connected to the filmography of John Carpenter.  Hell, Carpenter and I were once both interviewed for the same article about the future of horror!

I guess my point is that we really love John Carpenter here at the Shattered Lens.  I’ve lost track of how many editions of 4 Shots From 4 Films we’ve devoted to Carpenter and his films.  However many there are, here’s one more.  Today is John Carpenter’s birthday and that means that it is time for….

4 Shots From 4 John Carpenter Films

Starman (1984, dir by John Carpenter)

Prince of Darkness (1987, dir by John Carpenter)

They Live (1988, dir by John Carpenter)

In The Mouth of Madness (1994, dir by John Carpenter)