Carpenter's Apocalypse Trilogy

[Dave]

Okay, I'll find copies of the others, and also The Fog, and watch them in the next few weeks. Then I'll report back here. (I may have seen them before and forgotten - I do that a lot too, but the Horror film genre in general doesn't really sail my boat - unless it's Psycho or Alien).

 

[paranoid marvin]

Okay, I'll find copies of the others, and also The Fog, and watch them in the next few weeks. Then I'll report back here. (I may have seen them before and forgotten - I do that a lot too, but the Horror film genre in general doesn't really sail my boat - unless it's Psycho or Alien).

Just make sure it's the Jamie Lee Curtis version of The Fog. The remake isn't awful, but it's not as good as the original. Interestingly neither movie is anything like James Herbert's novel.

Carpenter was obviously a fan of both Kurt Russell and Donald Pleasance as they appeared in several of his movies. I 've always enjoyed Donald's films as he lends an air creepiness whatever movie he's in, even when he's one of the good guys!

And I'm a firm believer that good music makes for a good film, and who better to provide the soundtrack than the director himself? Halloween and Precinct 13 in particular have fantastic tracks that perfectly match the on-screen action, and I'd definitely put him up there with John Williams as one of the greats of movie soundtracks

 

[Dave]

Dave's Notes
First up - Prince of Darkness
Okay, my first impression is that it was very of its time - 1987 - that incidental music, the mullets, the big hair and that Freddy Mercury moustache! I got married in 1988 and my Wedding photos are the same. I haven't seen this film before, and that is the reason, I was just too busy that year, working, working, and working more mostly!

Anyhow, you asked for a review (sort of asked) so I'm afraid I'm going to only give it 3/5. I have to remember how old it is, but quite frankly, the story is the same as Ghostbusters (1984) and this didn't have the humour of that! There was far too much technobable (it can't possibly be that acid), some serious over-acting, and that propensity in all horror films for everyone to wander away, and to get picked off, one by one.

I also didn't find the water feature very frightening, sorry! Or the p***ing out of the mouth either.

Donald Pleasance made a believable priest. The music was good, as always. And the other thing I noticed - Alice Cooper? (He didn't need any make-up as a walking dead person either).

 

[Phyrebrat]

I think maybe 3 out of 5 is a fair score. I’m such a JC fanboy that I might be the kind of person that gives it 4 or 5 just because I’m presold.

Dave, what did you think of the nihilistic cosmic horror side of it?

Don’t forget to watch TheFog. My fave JC film.

 

[Vince W]

I think 3/5 for PoD is about spot on, maybe 3.5/5. I enjoy the overall creepy feeling that I find unsettling but I always felt unsatisfied by it somehow. I guess I always expected a few more shocks rather than the continuous building tension that I never felt was resolved in the end.

 

[Foxbat]

Just make sure it's the Jamie Lee Curtis version of The Fog. The remake isn't awful, but it's not as good as the original. Interestingly neither movie is anything like James Herbert's novel.

I watched a documentary on the making of The Fog and I just assumed it was based on the novel (I’ve never read it) but Carpenter says he got the idea when visiting Stonehenge. He said a fog descended and it seemed to pulse with light. My own guess is it might have been the headlights from traffic on the road. Of course, maybe he just said this to avoid paying for the rights

 

[Dave]

Dave, what did you think of the nihilistic cosmic horror side of it?

Yes, I'm wrong to say that it was the same story as Ghostbusters, because that nihilism was a central theme, and the opening of the portal for the son of all evil came along together with a lot of scientific theory to try to explain away traditional religious values and beliefs. As I said though, it was mostly technobabble: what is the longest word and newest discovered particle we can throw into the mix here? All delivered by Prof. Victor Wong, the ultimate typecast beatnik Confucius philosopher. And for what possible reason did they need that mobile isolation glovebox? Sorry, but I had no nightmares about things waiting for me behind my bedroom mirror last night.

I'll be leaving The Fog until last as it is clearly the best of these three.

 

[HareBrain]

Whenever I see this thread title, my brain jumps to the possibility that it features the 1970s music duo, versus zombies.

I watched Prince of Darkness as a relative youth, and it stuck in my head for decades before I even found out what it was called. I haven't tried to watch it since, though, as deep down I know it would be pants.

 

[Ursa major]

I have not seen The Mouth of Madness and must rectify this in the very near future.

If for no other reason, I'm grateful to Foxbat for this thread because, though I have seen the film, I missed the beginning and either never knew, or had forgotten**, its name.


** - I might have looked it up at the time -- I was buying a newspaper (with a TV listing section) every day back when it was broadcast -- but I don't recall doing so.

 

[Foxbat]

Overall, I find John Carpenter’s work often flawed but it still draws me back for some reason. I wouldn’t call myself a fanatical horror movie watcher but there’s something about his work that I like and I’m not even sure what it is. Maybe it’s because he’s been an independent (and independently minded) filmmaker for most of his career. With Halloween, he was lucky enough to make the right film at the right time, whereas, with other movies, he’s not been quite in tune with cinema going audiences. Most of his movies have flaws either in plot or execution but I’ll happily sit down and spend an evening with any of them.

Of course, the biggest mistake any newcomer to his work can make is to class him as just another horror film maker. Escape From New York, They Live and Starman are three movies I can think of that say otherwise (there are others). And going back to the work he did with Dan O’Bannon on Dark Star and by O’Bannon’s own admission, without Dark Star, we would never have had Alien.

 

[paranoid marvin]

[QU

Overall, I find John Carpenter’s work often flawed but it still draws me back for some reason. I wouldn’t call myself a fanatical horror movie watcher but there’s something about his work that I like and I’m not even sure what it is. Maybe it’s because he’s been an independent (and independently minded) filmmaker for most of his career. With Halloween, he was lucky enough to make the right film at the right time, whereas, with other movies, he’s not been quite in tune with cinema going audiences. Most of his movies have flaws either in plot or execution but I’ll happily sit down and spend an evening with any of them.

Of course, the biggest mistake any newcomer to his work can make is to class him as just another horror film maker. Escape From New York, They Live and Starman are three movies I can think of that say otherwise (there are others). And going back to the work he did with Dan O’Bannon on Dark Star and by O’Bannon’s own admission, without Dark Star, we would never have had Alien.

The great thing about Carpenter is I think he primarily made films that he wanted to watch. He certainly didn't go with the mainstream or try and stay safe with known successful areas. Although some of his movies are (supposedly) set in the same 'universe' he obviously wasn't big on sequels (and ironically the one time he did it was a bit of a disaster)

 

[Dave]

Dave's Notes Part II
In the Mouth of Madness (1994)

My first impression on this was... Kurt Vonnegut!
This was a much better film than Prince of Darkness, a definite 4/5.
I didn't see this at the cinema, but parts of it seemed familiar, so maybe I have seen it before one late night on TV. Maybe also falling asleep while it was on. I think the disorientating sequences would have worked much better when watched in a cinema.

Quatermass (which, apparently was the inspiration for [Prince of Darkness]).

Hobbs End was also the name of the fictional underground station in Quatermass and the Pit.

So then, what is "Reality"? The big questions! Even what we think our eyes see is partly just made up by our brains, so who really knows what is real and what is not?

I rated this film so highly because of all the ideas stuffed into into its 1 hour 35 minutes. For a start, I love films that 'break the fourth wall' like this did at the end. Also wasn't the premise of this film originally a Monty Python sketch? - the one where everyone dies laughing after reading a joke? The waking up inside a dream when you are still inside another dream - that went on, stretched to become a whole 3 hour long film called Inception! Then, the idea of being stuck living inside a book is one on which Jasper Fforde has made his whole career out of. The woman that didn't exist because she had been written out of the book. John Scalzi's Redshirts uses these ideas too!

"For years I thought I was making all this up but they were telling me what to write!" says Sutter Cane. No explanation of the blue eyes (his favourite colour) or the alien puppet master hanging on his back though? Maybe there were just too many ideas in this?

There were some genuinely creepy things in this, before it got onto the gory parts - the cyclists and the children - and I much prefer creepy to gore in my horror films.

I'm really pleased that this thread has made me watch these. When I've seen The Fog, does anyone want to suggest more we could discuss together? I think there used to be a Film Club thread here for doing just that, and although it was attempted to revive it several times, there were never any takers. That's a shame as in these times of Covid-19, and with cinemas closed, I have a lot more free time for this.

 

[Foxbat]

There was indeed a film club but it died a death. Everything has a natural lifespan and I think it’s demise was fed by the fact that many folk were just voting for their favourite movie without considering how worthy it was of discussion.

As for other Carpenter movies, a particular favourite of mine is They Live. It‘s what I would describe as a dark comedy with some great one liners. It still plays around with the nature of what is real to us but at least the protagonist gets to look cool when finding out reality is not what he thought it was

It would be interesting to see what you make of that.

 

[Phyrebrat]

They Live! Excellent recommendation!

NOBODY TELL DAVE SPOILERS ABOUT THAT FANOUS LINE!!!

pH

 

[Foxbat]

Today I’ve been watching Christine.

I’ve always thought the whole idea of a ‘demon’ car a bit silly but when I read the novel, I thought it surprisingly good.

The same goes for Carpenter’s adaptation. It shouldn’t work but it does. Very enjoyable movie

 

[Rodders]

Christine was a great movie and i'm glad it holds up well. Carpenter was responsible for many great movies in the 80's, although i've not yet seen Halloween.

But i digress. We have the Easter Holiday coming up, so i'll try and watch the other two apocalypse movies.

 

[Foxbat]

I’ve decided to watch Vampires next. It got mixed reviews but I really like it. Okay, there’s nothing really cerebral going on in this one, it’s just an action movie with vampires, and James Woods gets to tell them to go ***k themselves but it’s good wholesome fun.

 

[Vince W]

I also think Vampires is a great film. Fast paced and lots of fun.

 

[Dave]

Dave's Notes part III
The Fog (1980)
I have seen this before, just a very long time ago and sorry @Phyrebrat but I just don't rate it that highly. Actually, I'm thinking now that I should have given a higher score to In the Mouth of Madness. This is a 3.5/5.

I don't subscribe to the idea that we are responsible for the sins of our fathers. I also don't understand why people opened their doors in the middle of the night to someone knocking in that stilted, unnatural way. I'd have just told them to **** off back to the pub!

I had a few other observations: basically, Jamie Lee Curtis' role here was just as a screamer. I was also a bit shocked that when they went to collect Andy from the beach house, no one bothered to check on old Mrs. Kobrity. She could have fallen and had an accident, or she could have been beheaded by a 100-yaer-old spirit, but who really knows now?

I didn't understand how Stevie, the pilot of the airwaves, could detail the position of the Fog as it moved inland across the town, given that her lighthouse was down at the bottom of a cliff-face.

Finally, I have to say that if the stolen money was spent on building the church, then that was pretty shoddy workmanship, with all those loose and falling rocks. Quite obviously, it mostly went into the flaming gold cross.

What’s your favorite horror movie that DOESN’T have a sequel?

The ending certainly asks for a sequel, but wouldn't we need to wait another 100 years?

 

[Dave]

Dave's Notes part IV
They Live (1988)

First thoughts - where is David Icke in all this?

I've not seen this before and it was great! Severely under-rated, I think! This is the best of the John Carpenter films that I hadn't seen before. BTW I have seen Christine before and agree that it is hard to think of a car being evil..

This is a great idea, very 1950/60's SF in style, and especially with the idea of the glasses to see them. I did think it lost it's way somewhere in the middle with the six-minute alley brawl, but apparently that is now on the all-time lists for best fight scenes.

I thought that the Cable 64 TV studio and the under-city subway system tunnels seemed a little low tech for aliens that regularly travel to Andromeda, but that's a minor nit. Loved it!

And Holly had seemed like such a nice girl!

They Live! Excellent recommendation!

NOBODY TELL DAVE SPOILERS ABOUT THAT FAMOUS LINE!!!

pH

"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass. And I'm all out of bubblegum." I've never heard that before. As I said earlier, from 1987 thru the early 1990's I hardly remember anything at all. It was all work, sleep and family stuff.