we salute John Carpenter...

JOHN CARPENTER: PRINCE OF DARKNESS

Born: 16 January, 1948, USA

Masterpieces: Halloween (1978), The Thing (1982)

Other notable films: Dark Star (1974), Assault On Precinct 13 (1976), The Fog (1980), Escape From New York (1981), Christine (1983), Starman (1984), Big Trouble In Little China (1986), Prince Of Darkness (1987), In The Mouth Of Madness (1995), Escape From L.A. (1996), Vampires (1998)

Mini Bio:

American director John Carpenter was captivated by movies at a young age, especially the westerns by Howard Hawks and John Ford and low budget sci-fi and horror films of the 1950's. Naturally, Carpenter began making his own 8mm films, mostly short horror films. After high school he briefly attented Western Kentucky University which was where his father, Howard Carpenter, was head of the music department, but later transferred to the University Of Southern California's School Of Cinematic Art in 1968. Even though he dropped out before finishing his degree, his student film, The Resurrection Of Bronco Billy, won an Academy Award in 1970 for Best Live Action Short Film.

Carpenter's first feature film, Dark Star (1974), was a parody of sci-fi films that he co-wrote with Dan O'Bannon, who would later go on to write Alien (1979). Carpenter and O'Bannon found it difficult to make as it was extremely low-budget, but completed it by multi-tasking (Carpenter also did the musical score while O'Bannon acted and did special effects). The influence of westerns, particularly Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo (1959), was apparent in Carpenter's next film, Assault On Precinct 13 (1976), a low-budget thriller about a police station being raided. It marked the first collaboration between Carpenter and Debra Hill, who would work on some of Carpenter's most important films and become his partner.

Halloween (1978) was a smash hit and helped establish the 'slasher film' genre. Orginally titled 'The Babysitter Murders', Halloween is about the small town of Haddonfield being terrorised by Michael Myers, a madman in a mask, on Halloween night. Halloween had a small budget of US$325,000, but grossed over $65 million making it one of the most successful independent films of all time. The musical score, performed by Carpenter himself, is one of the most recognisable scores in film history.

After directing Elvis (1979), a tele-movie starring Kurt Russell, Carpenter followed up his success with The Fog (1980), a ghostly revenge tale, inspired by the horror comics such as Tales From The Crypt. The Fog was another commercial success for Carpenter and is considered a "minor horror classic". His next film, Escape From New York (1981), picked up a large cult following and would later spawn a sequel.

The Thing (1982), a remake of the Howard Hawks film, The Thing From Another World (1951), was Carpenter's biggest project thus far. However, Carpenter strayed away from the Hawks' version, and was more faithful to the original material, John W. Campbell Jr's short story Who Goes There? which had a more pessimistic tone and a bleak ending. This did not apppeal to the audiences in 1982, the same time E.T. The Extra Terrestrial was released, and did not do well commercially. Although, the film did find a home after it was released on video and DVD and is now considered one of the best horror films ever made.

Warning: Don't stay out in the sun too long

Carpenter spent the rest of the 80's on smaller projects, the film adaptation of Stephen King's novel, Christine (1983), sci-fi/romantic comedy Starman (1984), action/comedy Big Trouble In Little China (1986) and horror film, Prince Of Darkness (1987).

His 90's career is known for its misfires: Memoirs Of An Invisible Man (1992), Village Of The Damned (1995) and Escape From L.A. (1996). However, Carpenter fans regard In The Mouth Of Madness (1995) and Vampires (1998) as his last truly great features.

Carpenter's reputation remains strong and his films have been subject to remakes recently: The Fog (2005) and Assault On Precinct 13 (2005) with Halloween also being remade for a release date of Halloween 2007. Carpenter returned to directing with two episodes, Cigarette Burns and Pro-Life, on Showtime's Masters Of Horror series (2005-Present). Carpenter has attained a reputation as a respected independent film maker with a career spanning thirty years. Although not all of Carpenter's films were commercially successful he has developed a large cult following and has influenced many directors with his style and passion for film making and film's effect on audiences.