Populism as High Art: Getting to the Heart of Ishiro Honda
A new biography of the groundbreaking -- yet unassuming -- film director explores his multifaceted life and work.
26 Apr 2018
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Sci-fi Cowboys in 'Escape from New York'Â 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.
07 Nov 2017
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.
23 Oct 2017
"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
17 Mar 2016
John Carpenter - "Distant Dream" (Singles Going Steady)
John Carpenter can cast a chilly autumn cloud on even the sunniest days.
22 Feb 2016
Zombi: Shape Shift
Synth-driven duo returns with a stellar example of why the world still needs post rock.
23 Nov 2015
Eight Films That Defied Their Low Budgets
Money isn't everything, although in film making it counts for a lot. These eight films defy their minuscule budgets.
10 Sep 2015
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.
17 Mar 2015
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.
05 Feb 2015
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.
28 Jan 2015
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.
20 Nov 2013
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.
29 Oct 2013
'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.
19 Dec 2012
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.
20 Nov 2012
'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.
13 Nov 2012
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.
13 Oct 2011
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