Precinct 13: The Movies and Music of John Carpenter

This week, a more in-depth breakdown of John Carpenter's Snake Plissken sequel Escape From L.A., featuring returning guest CoolRogRox -- who previously joined us way back when to talk Escape From New York. A huge fan of the original film since its debut, Rog shares with us his thoughts on the non-blockbuster follow-up that piles on the campy moments and over-the-top FX sequences in an attempt to outdo its cult-classic predecessor. Our discussion stretches from Star Wars prequel trilogy comparisons to the eternal coolness of Bruce Campbell and Peter Fonda to the symbolic implications of Snake Plissken's last American Spirit cigarette. Plus, some consideration of how Escape From L.A. incorporates 90s culture in so many fascinating ways, from its satirical targets to its musical choices to its fixation on "extreme sports" -- and so much more! And, finally, after the guys have worked their way through an episodic, frantic plot that starts with a catastrophic earthquake and concludes with the end of the world as we know it, they give some final thoughts on whether this movie deserves a better reputation and why Carpenter himself thinks it's a better movie than his beloved original.

Yes, you can still call him Snake... But, even though John Carpenter's most beloved B-movie anti-hero returns in the 1996 sequel Escape From L.A., things are definitely not the same (well, unless you're talking about the plot, which is almost exactly the same!). This week, Chris and Nick take a look at the long-awaited follow-up to Carpenter's classic Escape From New York, and we have so many thoughts on this controversial addition to the Carpenter canon that we're just scratching the surface here -- tune in two weeks from now for even more Plissken palaver. For now, though, we take the big-picture view of this fascinating, flawed, and flamboyant slice of 90s CGI-assisted action insanity, discussing the film's cast and production, its much-discussed visual effects, a unique and diverse score co-written by Carpenter, and lots of ways in which it both echoes and deviates from its predecessor. Along the way, we touch on everything from inspired soundtrack choices (is that Tool we're hearing???) to Roger Ebert's uncharacteristically positive review to the mortality rate for Snake Plissken sidekicks, which we think is extraordinarily high. Plus, Chris takes a spin through the small but incredible filmography of Robert Eggers, Nick gets lost at sea while remembering 1992's two competing Christopher Columbus movies, and we get amped-up for some future podcasting goodness straight from Carpenter himself!

Back in 2016, John Carpenter and his band embarked on a world tour, performing all the classic cuts from his movie soundtracks as well as a selection of songs from his two Lost Themes albums. Sadly, Chris and Nick missed all of those shows, but the John Carpenter Live Retrospective Blu-Ray from Storm King Productions is as close as we could get to actually being there. For our first episode of 2021, we take a look at this one-of-a-kind concert film, a must-have for fans of John Carpenter's composing and a rare glimpse of John Carpenter, unlikely rock star (for better and, certainly, for worse, this ain't no Coupe De Villes!). Along with our thoughts on that, we also get into the filmographies of two other masters of horror whose careers paralleled Carpenter's in some surprising ways -- and dream up an idea for a concert tour that NEEDS to happen when we can all go see live music again!

This week, Chris and Nick take a break from their regularly scheduled programming to share some holiday cheer from the most unexpected of places! Back in 1986, John Carpenter's band, featuring his friends and fellow filmmakers Tommy Lee Wallace and Nick Castle, filmed a music video for their end-credits theme to Big Trouble in Little China... and it is, in our humble opinion, the greatest thing ever. We love it so much, in fact, that we've decided that discussing it is the perfect way to end the craziest year in recent memory. This video has nothing whatsoever to do with the holidays, but its joyful cheesiness and rad 80s style is sure to brighten any Carpenter fan's season as 2020 draws to a close. We even (poorly) attempt a live commentary, so be sure to cue the clip up on YouTube and follow along (and, while you're there, definitely check out the hilarious comments, as well)! Happy holidays and a VERY happy New Year, and we'll see you in 2021!

Oh, the HUMANITY! This week, Chris and Nick welcome back their old buddy Brian Verderosa to discuss John Carpenter's sci-fi/horror remake Village of the Damned, a movie with no shortage of creepy kids, unintentional camp, or lovely northern California locations to its credit. Arriving hot on the heels of Carpenter's boundary-pushing Lovecraftian meta-nightmare In the Mouth of Madness, this film is one of the director's least-loved works, but it does reunite him with cinematographer Gary B. Kibbe, supporting players Peter Jason and George Buck Flower, and some of the settings of 1980's The Fog. Can we find anything to recommend in a movie that even Carpenter himself has expressed his disdain for? Is the film a worthwhile end to the incredible screen career of its late, beloved star Christopher Reeve? And, just how cute is that alien baby in the jar? The answer to those questions, and many more, can be found in this 90s-centric episode, and, speaking of answering questions, we've got a pretty cool prize to give away to one of our movie-loving listeners -- so, stay tuned to see how you can score a Reel Trivia 2021 calendar to keep your cinema knowledge sharp in the new year!

As promised, we're not done with Sutter Cane yet... or, maybe, he's not done with us! In the second episode of our two-part discussion of John Carpenter's modern horror classic In the Mouth of Madness, we welcome actor, podcaster and Carpenter fan Justin Dane to the show to help us sort all of this insanity out. Our deep dive into the final entry in the "Apocalypse Trilogy" covers everything from the film's Lovecraft references to its still-impressive VFX to the killer Sam Neill performance that holds it all together. We also grill Justin on his favorite John Carpenter films and characters, consider the questionable acting chops of Stephen King, and finally figure out just what the hell is up with that creepy-looking kid on the bicycle.

As promised, we're not done with Sutter Cane yet... or, maybe, he's not done with us! In the second episode of our two-part discussion of John Carpenter's modern horror classic In the Mouth of Madness, we welcome actor, podcaster and Carpenter fan Justin Dane to the show to help us sort all this insanity out. Our deep dive into the final entry in the "Apocalypse Trilogy" covers everything from the film's Lovecraft references to its still-impressive VFX to the killer Sam Neill performance that holds it all together. We also grill Justin on his favorite John Carpenter films and characters, consider the questionable acting chops of Stephen King, and finally figure out just what the hell is up with that creepy-looking kid on the bicycle.

It's time to give the ol' double-episode treatment to another John Carpenter classic: 1994's In the Mouth of Madness. After celebrating Halloween with a pair of special holiday episodes, Chris and Nick are back to their regularly scheduled programming, breaking down the truly unique horror film that asks viewers, "Lived any good books lately?" On the first of our two-part conversation on this reality-warping, mind-bending, Lovecraft-worshiping movie, we take a look at the film's development and the talent-stacked cast and crew it managed to land, consider its place as the capper of the loosely connected "Apocalypse Trilogy," discuss its literary influences and homages to H.P. Lovecraft and Stephen King, and MUCH more. For anyone who thought the most terrifying things that Sam Neill had ever encountered on screen were rampaging raptors or a spaceship from hell, well, you ain't seen nothing yet!

Halloween is here once again, and while the season is still in full swing, we thought we'd take a look at a John Carpenter-produced sequel that (temporarily, at least) took his beloved horror franchise into entirely new territory. Halloween III: Season of the Witch, directed by Carpenter's regular collaborator Tommy Lee Wallace, might be one of the kookiest big-studio horror films ever made, kicking Michael Myers to the curb and replacing him with something altogether unexpected. Chris and Nick explore this wild and crazy corner of the extended Carpenter universe (featuring another killer musical score co-written by J.C. and more terrific cinematography by future Oscar-winner Dean Cundey), and make some futile attempts at solving its many mysteries. What mysteries, you ask? Well, for starters, what kind of drugs were the writers of this film on (and, where can we get some)? What, exactly, is the movie's villain -- the somewhat Willy Wonka-esque Conal Cochran -- trying to accomplish with his sinister plot to gruesomely murder America's children on Halloween night? And, um, how does middle-aged Tom Atkins keep ending up in bed with attractive, much younger women in all of these Carpenter movies? Maybe a content warning is in order, here: this episode contains A LOT more profanity than your average Precinct 13 outing, but we think it's pretty well justified -- this movie isn't just crazy, it's f*cking crazy. Anyway, we've got all of that, plus a few more recommendations for your spooky seasonal viewing pleasure, on a very special Halloween episode -- put on your Silver Shamrock mask and enjoy!

The Halloween season is upon us yet again, and we simply couldn't let it pass without checking in on the long-running horror franchise that John Carpenter launched over 40 years ago. This week, it's back to good old Haddonfield as Chris and Nick revisit 1981's Halloween II, the first sequel to Carpenter's genre-defining classic. While directorial duties were handed over to first-timer Rick Rosenthal, Carpenter and Debra Hill returned (somewhat reluctantly) as screenwriters and producers; the film also features returning cast members Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, and Charles Cyphers, another classic Carpenter score (this time, with the assistance of frequent collaborator Alan Howarth), and the incredible cinematography of future Oscar-winner Dean Cundey. The movie picks up right where Carpenter's original leaves off, but as much as we love Michael Myers, we have to ask: did we really need to see MORE of the night he came home? We've got a lot of thoughts about this slasher sequel, as well as some other favorite horror franchises, in a special episode that we hope brings a little bit of normalcy to what will definitely go down as one of the scariest Halloween seasons in memory.