Director’s Chair Introduction: John Carpenter

by Tony Cogan · September 26, 2016 · Director's Chair · No Comments

Deadline: 29th October 2016

Send Entries To: directorschairlamb@gmail.com

Hello everyone. It’s once again time to introduce the director that will be covered for the month in Director’s Chair and, considering that it’s Halloween this month, I can think of no better person to cover for this month than John Carpenter. Being involved in numerous aspects of the film industry, not just directing but also writing, doing some occasional acting and composing the music, most famously composing the theme for Halloween, Carpenter is a very eclectic director. Despite being best known for his horror films, Carpenter has also made some great, fun action films such as They Live and Big Trouble in Little China, along with the romantic film Starman. The influence that his films have had can be seen everywhere, not only in the obvious homages in films like The Guest and It Follows, but also with the influence Assault on Precinct 13 has had on every film about people under siege since its release, how a lot of claustrophobic horror films have some debt to The Thing, how elements of Cloverfield and Lockout were inspired by Escape From New York and all the parodies of They Live that have come about over the years, from South Park to Duke Nukem.

Once again, to those new to this feature, send any features on any of the films of John Carpenter to directorschairlamb@gmail.com by October 29th, it can be any feature you want, just as long as it covers the films of Carpenter. For those who need a reminder, here are the films you can cover:

  • Dark Star
  • Assault on Precinct 13
  • Halloween
  • The Fog
  • Escape From New York
  • The Thing
  • Christine
  • Starman
  • Big Trouble in Little China
  • Prince of Darkness
  • They Live
  • Memoirs of an Invisible Man
  • In The Mouth of Madness
  • Village of the Damned
  • Escape from LA
  • Vampires
  • Ghosts of Mars
  • The Ward

I look forward to receiving your features on Carpenter’s films.