Dubbed one of the masters of horror, John Carpenter has cemented his legacy in the genre.
Carpenter may be best known for the horror classic Halloween (1978), but he has so much more to offer to horror fans in his filmography.
Photo by Kyle Cassidy
Carpenter’s films that encompass end of the world scenarios centered around the destruction of body, spirit and mind have been dubbed by his fans as “The Apocalypse Trilogy.”
The Thing (1982)
The most famous of the trilogy, The Thing follows MacReady (Kurt Russell), a helicopter pilot for a research facility in Antarctica. MacReady, along with a team of researchers, comes into contact with an alien organism that can replicate and take the form of other organisms. They must stop it before it is able to leave the complex and escape into the world.
The sense of tension and paranoia is escalated with the uncertainty of if anyone is who they say they are. On top of that, there is a claustrophobic sense of dread that goes along with having to be so close to the others with no escape.
On top of the horror that is inherent to the film, it is also a lot of fun. The Thing features great performances, which is of course expected from Russell, but the rest of the cast keeps up with him as well. One of the most memorable parts of The Thing is Rob Bottin’s work on the special effects that bring a gnarly, gross and marvelous look to the horror that unfolds throughout the film.
Prince of Darkness (1987)
In an abandoned church, a priest (Donald Pleasence) discovers a canister containing an ancient evil. While it is being studied, the evil is awakened and the characters are forced to contend with it or this evil will consume humanity.
The oddest of the three is no less memorable with its fun cast and crazy ideas for what this evil is, and you get a fun small but memorable cameo from Alice Cooper.
It may have the skeleton of a simple haunted house story, but it is elevated by its more unusual yet fun approach. Once again, Carpenter’s storytelling is accompanied by some gross yet captivating effects that may make you feel like looking away, but you will find yourself unable to do so.
In The Mouth of Madness (1992)
After an acclaimed writer Sutter Cane (Jürgen Prochnow) goes missing and his books start making its readers go mad, the publishers hire John Trent (Sam Neill) to track him down.
The search brings Trent to a town that shouldn’t exist, and exploring it further brings things to light that should have stayed in the dark.
Carpenter brings a rock ‘n’ roll meets Lovecraft feel to the film that leaves an impression that is hard to forget.
It is an impressive display of filmmaking with a small budget compared to his previous entries. It does a lot with less and still has a grand sense of scale and a genuine sense of horror to it.
All three of these films share the theme of the corruption of parts of one’s being. But as horrifying as they are, they are also a tremendous amount of fun, a duality that you’ll only find in the work of John Carpenter.
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