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Sci-fi Cowboys in 'Escape from New York' and 'Escape from L.A.'

Both films are the story of a lone, jaded gunslinger in a lawless wasteland, but instead of being set in the rurally nostalgic heartland, they're set in the dilapidated coastlines of an empire in decline.

Film

John Carpenter: Anthology: Movie Themes 1974-1998

Anthology includes a lot of interesting, really good pieces. But the ones that aren't call direct attention to Carpenter's limitations as a musician.

Music

"Come Again, Little Girl": 32 Films That Begin With Someone Leaving a Mental Institution (1904-2012)

These 32 films make the case for the recently-escaped-or-released-mental-patient narrative as its own subgenre, replete with a language of recurring themes, plot devices, and character archetypes.

A. Loudermilk

Film

John Carpenter - "Distant Dream" (Singles Going Steady)

John Carpenter can cast a chilly autumn cloud on even the sunniest days.

Music

Zombi: Shape Shift

Synth-driven duo returns with a stellar example of why the world still needs post rock.

Music

The Narrative of the 'Halloween' Saga Gets Confused Over Time

The message of John Carpenter's Halloween is simple: "Evil is here!" To expect any sequel to enhance that idea is to miss the point.

Film

John Carpenter: Lost Themes

John Carpenter's non-soundtrack album is engrossing and dark, bringing to mind images from his best works both audio and visual.

Music

John Carpenter and His Works, in Still Life

Gazing upon this vast collection of images with an abundance of rare and previously unseen stills, one cannot help but feel that Gottlieb-Walker captures the films' ontological identity.

Reviews

Welcome to the Jungle: 'Assault on Precinct 13'

John Carpenter's classic siege thriller isn't quite the old Hollywood throwback it's reputed to be, but it offers a striking reworking of genre mechanics and imagery to make up for its unsentimental atmosphere.

Reviews

The 13 Greatest Horror Directors of All Time

In honor of Halloween, here are 13 fascinating fright mavens who've made scary movies that much more meaningful.

Film

'Reel Terror' Is Quite the Hatchet Job

I picked up this book with tears of joy streaming down my face, thanking the cosmos that someone finally wrote an exhaustive book for horror fans. But my tears of joy turned to tears of anguish, my fists clenched strands of hair wrenched from my head.

Books

Building the Perfect Star Beast: The Antecedents of 'Alien'

The impact of Alien is undeniable, and with Prometheus breathing new, terrifying and artistic life into the saga, Alien's legacy could go anywhere. However, Alien didn't spring, fully-formed onto movie screens as the near-perfect Star Beast that it is.

Film

'They Live' Is the Most Blunt Critique of Unfettered Capitalism Ever Committed to Celluloid

They Live is like The Matrix, without the billion dollar ballet routines.

Reviews

The Thing (2011): Bringing Quiet Tones and Space Vaginas Back from the '80s

Matthijs van Heinjningen Jr.'s prequel to John Carpenter's The Thing summons the chilly vibe and the cinema-sexual psychoanalytic undertone of the best of '80s genre cinema. It's only the generic modern "female empowerment" story that seems dated.

Film

'They Live': A Polemic Ripe with Ambiguities

John Carpenter’s They Live is “probably the stupidest film ever to take ideology as its explicit subject”, at least according to author Jonathan Lethem. He’s probably right, but that doesn’t meant that the film’s coded messages are as black and white as…well, the film’s diegetic coded messages

Books

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Everything You Need to Know About Eurovision 2018

The 100 Greatest Alternative Singles of the '80s: Part 1: 100 - 81

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Both films are the story of a lone, jaded gunslinger in a lawless wasteland, but instead of being set in the rurally nostalgic heartland, they're set in the dilapidated coastlines of an empire in decline.

Anthology includes a lot of interesting, really good pieces. But the ones that aren't call direct attention to Carpenter's limitations as a musician.

These 32 films make the case for the recently-escaped-or-released-mental-patient narrative as its own subgenre, replete with a language of recurring themes, plot devices, and character archetypes.

John Carpenter can cast a chilly autumn cloud on even the sunniest days.

Synth-driven duo returns with a stellar example of why the world still needs post rock.

Money isn't everything, although in film making it counts for a lot. These eight films defy their minuscule budgets.

The message of John Carpenter's Halloween is simple: "Evil is here!" To expect any sequel to enhance that idea is to miss the point.

John Carpenter's non-soundtrack album is engrossing and dark, bringing to mind images from his best works both audio and visual.

Gazing upon this vast collection of images with an abundance of rare and previously unseen stills, one cannot help but feel that Gottlieb-Walker captures the films' ontological identity.

John Carpenter's classic siege thriller isn't quite the old Hollywood throwback it's reputed to be, but it offers a striking reworking of genre mechanics and imagery to make up for its unsentimental atmosphere.

In honor of Halloween, here are 13 fascinating fright mavens who've made scary movies that much more meaningful.

I picked up this book with tears of joy streaming down my face, thanking the cosmos that someone finally wrote an exhaustive book for horror fans. But my tears of joy turned to tears of anguish, my fists clenched strands of hair wrenched from my head.

The impact of Alien is undeniable, and with Prometheus breathing new, terrifying and artistic life into the saga, Alien's legacy could go anywhere. However, Alien didn't spring, fully-formed onto movie screens as the near-perfect Star Beast that it is.

They Live is like The Matrix, without the billion dollar ballet routines.

Matthijs van Heinjningen Jr.'s prequel to John Carpenter's The Thing summons the chilly vibe and the cinema-sexual psychoanalytic undertone of the best of '80s genre cinema. It's only the generic modern "female empowerment" story that seems dated.