Updated RankingsPrince of Darkness (1987)
* ½ Confronting the rise of Satan with science is a genius idea. Too bad we see so little of the scientific process, and once it devolves into a zombie film, with people mouth-jaculating instead of taking bites, the film is just well-shot weirdness. A number of creepy scenes involving homeless, bugs and disintegrating flesh, but there’s little attempt to have it make any sense. It just plods along to the finish line.
In the Mouth of Madness (1995)
* ½ 2nd attempt to understand this film and once again lost in the fog. I don’t mind dream logic, but Carpenter is just throwing up half-baked ideas and cheats, meaning he can put someone in danger and then cut to something else when it suits him. So there’s nothing to worry about as we move through this effects carnival, which is boring. Then there’s the subtext, which is an artist’s wish fulfillment about their work. Sorry John, serious people don’t have deep conversations about a work being so real it flips reality on its head. That’s for stoners in their college dorm room.
The Ward (2010)
* * Not since Village of the Damned have I seen such an impersonal Carpenter film. There's no technique to the camerawork or lighting and the scares are almost completely of the 'jump' variety. I started thinking about all the cool, easy ways this old fashioned story could twist and was surprised there was a twist to it at all, one that I've seen a couple of times before and as corny as they come.
REPOSTING FROM MY HORROR MARATHON
Someone’s Watching Me (1978)
aka. High Rise
* * * - OkayWritten and directed by John Carpenter just before he made Halloween. Story of a woman being driven mad by a tormenting stalker isn’t fresh, but there are a number of shots and sequences where Carpenter elevates this TV Movie with his skill, especially the last 5 minutes, which is some of the best imitation Hitchcock. Last line is terrible as is star Lauren Hutton’s mental breakdown scene, but definitely of interest to any fan of early Carpenter.
Cigarette Burns (2005)
aka. Masters of Horror: John Carpenter’s Cigarette Burns
* * * - GoodConsidered the best episode of Masters of Horror, built around a solid Ringu premise of a lost film screened only once because the crowd went into homicidal rage. Search for the film allows Carpenter to get meta more successfully than usual. First half is talky, and while there’s no way the payoff can match the expectations of the build-up, what we get is pretty satisfying. Music by Cody Carpenter sounds like Papa John, which is great.