The Films of John Carpenter by John Kenneth Muir

What a let down. I’m a huge John Carpenter fan, but obviously not as much of a fan as the author. This book read like a combination of IMDB, Wikipedia and a rabid Carpenter fan. If I hadn’t seen any other movies but Carpenters, or none at all, I’d walk away from this book thinking that all that came before Carpenter was weaker than his take and that everything good that followed in motion pictures was derivative of, or worse, than Carpenter’s films. The only films he disliked, but still found sympathy for, were Village of the Damned and Vampires. I actually liked Vampires, but I’m a sucker for a vamp flick (pun intended).

I have to say something good about the book, so I will say I like his ratings of all the John Carpenter movies in Appendix E. His top three are my top three but in a slightly different order. He chooses The Thing, then Halloween, then Assault on Precinct 13. I’d move Assault on Precinct 13 to the first slot, pushing the others down one.

If I had to assign one word to this book, I’d choose hagiography. I recommend people stick to IMDB and Wikipedia for background on Carpenter’s films. For the rest, please just watch the movies. They are special.