WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.279 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today we are settling 00:00:02.279 --> 00:00:05.480 in with a filmmaker who is, well, he's basically 00:00:05.480 --> 00:00:08.460 a master of mood. This is the man who took a 00:00:08.460 --> 00:00:12.199 simple, uh... affordable sheet metal mask and 00:00:12.199 --> 00:00:14.820 made it the face of existential terror. Right. 00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:17.579 And whose minimalist synth scores, you know, 00:00:17.600 --> 00:00:19.800 they define the sound of dread for generations. 00:00:20.160 --> 00:00:22.339 We are talking about the American filmmaker, 00:00:22.559 --> 00:00:25.239 composer and actor John Howard Carpenter. Yeah, 00:00:25.320 --> 00:00:27.980 absolutely. When you look across Carpenter's 00:00:27.980 --> 00:00:33.179 expansive and really eclectic filmography, you 00:00:33.179 --> 00:00:37.500 see this incredible fusion of genres, horror, 00:00:37.759 --> 00:00:40.289 action. Science fiction. All mixed together. 00:00:40.530 --> 00:00:43.570 Exactly. But all filtered through this lens that 00:00:43.570 --> 00:00:47.289 is just fiercely independent and visually uncompromising. 00:00:47.469 --> 00:00:49.630 It's a sensibility that Hollywood, well, they 00:00:49.630 --> 00:00:51.429 struggled to understand for decades, but now 00:00:51.429 --> 00:00:54.369 it's everywhere. That distinction, right, between 00:00:54.369 --> 00:00:58.670 the genre master and the studio outsider, that's 00:00:58.670 --> 00:01:01.229 so key to his whole story. It really is. I love 00:01:01.229 --> 00:01:02.929 how the French Directors Guild captured that 00:01:02.929 --> 00:01:04.849 tension when they recognized him. It was the 00:01:04.849 --> 00:01:07.430 Golden Coach Award in 2019. That's the one. And 00:01:07.430 --> 00:01:09.670 they specifically called him a creative genius 00:01:09.670 --> 00:01:13.969 of raw, fantastic and spectacular emotions. Which 00:01:13.969 --> 00:01:16.370 is perfect. It totally encapsulates that pure, 00:01:16.530 --> 00:01:18.829 like visceral energy he injects into his work. 00:01:18.950 --> 00:01:21.030 Doesn't matter what the budget is. It really 00:01:21.030 --> 00:01:25.870 does. And our mission today is to. To go deep 00:01:25.870 --> 00:01:28.370 into that eclectic career, we want to focus on 00:01:28.370 --> 00:01:32.370 exactly how he managed to blend those genres 00:01:32.370 --> 00:01:35.170 that seem so different. Right. How he defined 00:01:35.170 --> 00:01:37.489 multiple cinematic blueprints, you know, the 00:01:37.489 --> 00:01:40.629 modern slasher, the siege thriller. Big ones. 00:01:40.890 --> 00:01:44.150 Huge. And all while operating mostly outside 00:01:44.150 --> 00:01:47.260 the major. studio system we need to understand 00:01:47.260 --> 00:01:49.900 why he was so often like critically dismissed 00:01:49.900 --> 00:01:52.060 when the films came out only to be called masterpieces 00:01:52.060 --> 00:01:54.700 later exactly years later it's fascinating it 00:01:54.700 --> 00:01:57.000 truly is a remarkable arc a journey you know 00:01:57.000 --> 00:01:59.540 marked by these initial smash hits then followed 00:01:59.540 --> 00:02:01.620 by commercial disappointments that bombed that 00:02:01.620 --> 00:02:04.640 were later elevated to cult status and that elevation 00:02:04.640 --> 00:02:07.420 it's still happening today speaking of current 00:02:07.420 --> 00:02:10.000 recognition it's worth noting his recent milestones 00:02:10.990 --> 00:02:14.229 that golden coach in 2019, and a really well 00:02:14.229 --> 00:02:16.169 -deserved star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame 00:02:16.169 --> 00:02:19.449 just recently, April 3rd, 2025. Finally. It shows 00:02:19.449 --> 00:02:21.650 the establishment is finally catching up to, 00:02:21.729 --> 00:02:23.789 you know, the generations of fans and critics 00:02:23.789 --> 00:02:26.310 who already knew he was a genius. It's validation, 00:02:26.590 --> 00:02:28.889 absolutely. Yeah. But validation, that was, I 00:02:28.889 --> 00:02:31.969 mean, decades overdue in some cases. True. His 00:02:31.969 --> 00:02:34.530 story is one of an artist whose technical innovations 00:02:34.530 --> 00:02:38.189 and, frankly, his bleak worldview were just... 00:02:38.569 --> 00:02:40.669 Maybe too advanced for the mainstream audience 00:02:40.669 --> 00:02:43.050 back in the early 80s. Okay, let's unpack this 00:02:43.050 --> 00:02:44.710 journey. Let's start at the very beginning, the 00:02:44.710 --> 00:02:47.889 blueprint, you know, of the genre master. John 00:02:47.889 --> 00:02:49.909 Howard Carpenter, born in Carthage, New York, 00:02:49.990 --> 00:02:53.680 1948. But his real formative years were spent 00:02:53.680 --> 00:02:56.319 steeped in a very different culture. His family 00:02:56.319 --> 00:03:00.419 moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky in 53. And this 00:03:00.419 --> 00:03:03.060 shift, it really established the foundation for 00:03:03.060 --> 00:03:05.800 his dual identity, right? Filmmaker and composer. 00:03:05.860 --> 00:03:07.860 That geographic detail, it's often overlooked, 00:03:08.020 --> 00:03:10.379 but it's really important. His father, Howard 00:03:10.379 --> 00:03:13.120 Ralph Carpenter, was a music professor. Ah, the 00:03:13.120 --> 00:03:15.719 key. That's the crucial clue, yeah, to the other 00:03:15.719 --> 00:03:19.009 half of John Carpenter's creative output. And 00:03:19.009 --> 00:03:21.069 for much of his childhood, the family actually 00:03:21.069 --> 00:03:24.750 lived in a log cabin. Get out. Really? Yeah. 00:03:24.789 --> 00:03:26.509 A log cabin on the Western Kentucky University 00:03:26.509 --> 00:03:29.509 campus. A log cabin on a college campus. That 00:03:29.509 --> 00:03:32.590 image just screams future independent auteur, 00:03:32.729 --> 00:03:35.330 doesn't it? Sort of intellectual, but also earthy. 00:03:35.389 --> 00:03:37.270 It really does. And this environment, it definitely 00:03:37.270 --> 00:03:40.050 shapes his vision. Yeah. But it wasn't just academic 00:03:40.050 --> 00:03:42.569 or highbrow stuff he was taking in. No, he was 00:03:42.569 --> 00:03:45.750 consuming pure genre filmmaking. Precisely. His 00:03:45.750 --> 00:03:48.930 formative influences were wonderfully eclectic, 00:03:48.949 --> 00:03:53.789 a real mix of high craft and low camp. He was 00:03:53.789 --> 00:03:56.490 captivated by the classic westerns, especially 00:03:56.490 --> 00:03:58.889 the rigorous, confined, efficient narratives 00:03:58.889 --> 00:04:01.710 of masters like Howard Hawks and John Ford. Your 00:04:01.710 --> 00:04:03.449 structure. Those films taught him structure and 00:04:03.449 --> 00:04:05.689 economy. Absolutely. And that whole idea of the 00:04:05.689 --> 00:04:08.310 isolated hero facing this overwhelming threat. 00:04:08.490 --> 00:04:10.830 Yeah. That defines so many of his films. Oh, 00:04:10.849 --> 00:04:12.909 totally. Assault on Precinct 13, Escape from 00:04:12.909 --> 00:04:15.169 New York. It's right there. Yeah. But just as 00:04:15.169 --> 00:04:17.829 important were the B movies, you know, the 1950s 00:04:17.829 --> 00:04:20.649 low -budget horror and sci -fi. Okay. He frequently 00:04:20.649 --> 00:04:23.930 cited The Thing from Another World, the 1951 00:04:23.930 --> 00:04:26.810 version, as pivotal. Which is ironic, given... 00:04:26.810 --> 00:04:29.470 Given he would later remake it. Exactly. He loved 00:04:29.470 --> 00:04:32.009 how those films generated so much paranoia from, 00:04:32.089 --> 00:04:34.910 like, minimal resources. And then you had the 00:04:34.910 --> 00:04:37.170 big -budget spectacles, too, offering grand scale. 00:04:37.410 --> 00:04:39.449 Uh -huh. Things like Godzilla and the more... 00:04:39.610 --> 00:04:42.550 cerebral space opera, Forbidden Planet. So it's 00:04:42.550 --> 00:04:44.970 that blend, right? The sturdy Western structure, 00:04:45.310 --> 00:04:47.509 the engine with the paranoia and atmosphere of 00:04:47.509 --> 00:04:50.990 cheap sci -fi. That feels like the core DNA of 00:04:50.990 --> 00:04:52.870 the Carpenter style. That's a great way to put 00:04:52.870 --> 00:04:55.069 it. And we know he didn't waste any time applying 00:04:55.069 --> 00:04:57.370 these influences. No kidding. Not at all. That 00:04:57.370 --> 00:04:59.930 creative engine was firing early. Before he even 00:04:59.930 --> 00:05:01.949 started high school, he was making eight millimeter 00:05:01.949 --> 00:05:05.189 short films, practicing special effects, narrative 00:05:05.189 --> 00:05:08.399 efficiency. We even know specific titles. Just 00:05:08.399 --> 00:05:10.720 before he turned 14, around 62, he made this 00:05:10.720 --> 00:05:13.899 delightfully ambitious claymation short called 00:05:13.899 --> 00:05:17.500 Godzilla vs. Gorgo. Claymation Godzilla, that's 00:05:17.500 --> 00:05:19.740 commitment. Total commitment to genre storytelling, 00:05:19.980 --> 00:05:22.100 almost immediately. So Kentucky didn't have a 00:05:22.100 --> 00:05:25.060 big filmmaking program back then. No, not really, 00:05:25.199 --> 00:05:27.519 which necessitated a pretty significant move 00:05:27.519 --> 00:05:30.220 to the West Coast. Right. He headed to California 00:05:30.220 --> 00:05:33.500 to attend the USC School of Cinematic Arts, starting 00:05:33.500 --> 00:05:37.519 in 1968. But... in classic carpenter fashion, 00:05:37.699 --> 00:05:40.300 mirroring that independent streak of his heroes. 00:05:40.480 --> 00:05:42.180 He didn't stick around for the diploma? Nope. 00:05:42.699 --> 00:05:45.199 Dropped out in his final semester, couldn't wait 00:05:45.199 --> 00:05:47.620 to get out and start shooting. Wow. He left to 00:05:47.620 --> 00:05:50.160 make his first feature film, fully embracing 00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:52.839 that role of the independent artist. But his 00:05:52.839 --> 00:05:56.180 time at USC, it left us with two incredibly important 00:05:56.180 --> 00:05:58.899 early clues. Okay, the first being that very 00:05:58.899 --> 00:06:02.259 early success in 1970. Yes, exactly. His collaboration 00:06:02.259 --> 00:06:04.639 on The Resurrection of Bronco Billy. He was co 00:06:04.639 --> 00:06:06.899 -writer, editor, and composer on that. And it 00:06:06.899 --> 00:06:09.300 won an Oscar. It won the Academy Award for Best 00:06:09.300 --> 00:06:12.439 Live Action Short Film. An Oscar win right at 00:06:12.439 --> 00:06:14.040 the beginning of his career before he'd even 00:06:14.040 --> 00:06:16.360 directed a single feature. That's a huge early 00:06:16.360 --> 00:06:18.779 sign, isn't it? About the sheer range of his 00:06:18.779 --> 00:06:22.699 talent. Music, editing. Everything. But the second 00:06:22.699 --> 00:06:27.300 clue is maybe even more chillingly prophetic. 00:06:27.639 --> 00:06:30.019 That would be the rediscovered short film Captain 00:06:30.019 --> 00:06:33.829 Voyeur. He wrote and directed that in 69 while 00:06:33.829 --> 00:06:36.990 still at USC. Okay. This short, it was thought 00:06:36.990 --> 00:06:39.850 lost for years. It's fascinating because it shows 00:06:39.850 --> 00:06:42.670 he was already exploring the psychological terror, 00:06:42.790 --> 00:06:45.089 the visual cues. That would define Halloween. 00:06:45.430 --> 00:06:48.709 Exactly. The foundation for the silent, stalking 00:06:48.709 --> 00:06:51.430 terror of Michael Myers was being laid down right 00:06:51.430 --> 00:06:53.269 there in film school. Okay, jumping into the 00:06:53.269 --> 00:06:56.370 1970s, this is where Carpenter really establishes 00:06:56.370 --> 00:06:59.110 himself as that true independent spirit, the 00:06:59.110 --> 00:07:02.310 ultimate, like, Multi -hyphenate. Totally. His 00:07:02.310 --> 00:07:05.230 first feature as director was Dark Star, 1974. 00:07:06.069 --> 00:07:08.250 And this was a passion project, right? Cost almost 00:07:08.250 --> 00:07:10.629 nothing. Reports put the budget around $60 ,000, 00:07:10.850 --> 00:07:13.430 which is basically, yeah, pocket change, even 00:07:13.430 --> 00:07:15.750 in the 70s. Crazy. It was a science fiction comedy 00:07:15.750 --> 00:07:18.129 that started as a student film, and it was a 00:07:18.129 --> 00:07:20.750 massive DIY undertaking. He co -wrote it with 00:07:20.750 --> 00:07:22.790 Dan O 'Bannon. The alien guy. The alien guy. 00:07:22.870 --> 00:07:25.689 And Carpenter handled writing, producing, directing, 00:07:25.790 --> 00:07:28.009 and the score. Did it all. And what's crucial 00:07:28.009 --> 00:07:31.009 here is that Dark Star served as this like low 00:07:31.009 --> 00:07:35.149 budget sandbox for two future blockbuster franchises. 00:07:35.370 --> 00:07:37.870 Absolutely. Well, Bannon handled the special 00:07:37.870 --> 00:07:40.050 effects, but he was simultaneously developing 00:07:40.050 --> 00:07:43.550 the core ideas of the film. You know, crews stuck 00:07:43.550 --> 00:07:47.449 in space, alien threat, existential dread. Which 00:07:47.449 --> 00:07:49.649 he would reuse. Which he would later recycle 00:07:49.649 --> 00:07:52.310 and refine for Alien. Dark Star basically gave 00:07:52.310 --> 00:07:55.019 birth to Alien. O 'Bannon went on to write the 00:07:55.019 --> 00:07:58.040 79 Masterpiece, carrying over concepts and imagery 00:07:58.040 --> 00:08:00.500 from his work with Carpenter. Amazing. Plus, 00:08:00.540 --> 00:08:02.480 O 'Bannon's special effects work also caught 00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:05.379 the eye of George Lucas, leading him directly 00:08:05.379 --> 00:08:08.819 into working on Star Wars. So this tiny scrappy 00:08:08.819 --> 00:08:10.939 sci -fi comedy influences two of the biggest 00:08:10.939 --> 00:08:13.519 franchises in genre history. That low budget 00:08:13.519 --> 00:08:15.740 efficiency was clearly a breeding ground for 00:08:15.740 --> 00:08:18.360 genius. That efficiency quickly translated into 00:08:18.360 --> 00:08:20.740 his next major effort, Assault on Precinct 13 00:08:20.740 --> 00:08:24.220 in 1976. This is where he fully realizes the 00:08:24.220 --> 00:08:26.540 potential of blending those foundational influences 00:08:26.540 --> 00:08:29.240 we talked about. This film is the ultimate urban 00:08:29.240 --> 00:08:31.819 western. It takes the premise of a siege Western 00:08:31.819 --> 00:08:34.639 small group defending one spot against overwhelming 00:08:34.639 --> 00:08:38.120 faceless odds and drops it right into the desolate 00:08:38.120 --> 00:08:42.279 streets of contemporary. Carpenter himself credited 00:08:42.279 --> 00:08:45.139 Howard Hawks Rio Bravo as the direct structural 00:08:45.139 --> 00:08:47.960 influence. And he went deep into that homage, 00:08:48.059 --> 00:08:50.080 didn't he? He didn't just borrow the plot. He 00:08:50.080 --> 00:08:52.919 borrowed the personality. How so? Well, he handled 00:08:52.919 --> 00:08:56.340 writing, directing and score, but he also edited 00:08:56.340 --> 00:08:59.450 it under the pseudonym. John T. Chance. The name 00:08:59.450 --> 00:09:01.710 of John Wayne's character in Rio Bravo. Exactly. 00:09:02.029 --> 00:09:05.090 I think that detail just shows how much he respected 00:09:05.090 --> 00:09:07.750 that classic genre structure. It speaks to his 00:09:07.750 --> 00:09:10.429 reverence for cinematic history, for sure. And 00:09:10.429 --> 00:09:13.269 he considered this his first real film. Not because 00:09:13.269 --> 00:09:15.269 of the content, but... But because it was the 00:09:15.269 --> 00:09:17.629 first project he filmed on a real shooting schedule, 00:09:17.850 --> 00:09:21.309 it proved he could function professionally. That 00:09:21.309 --> 00:09:23.629 experience set the stage perfectly for his next 00:09:23.629 --> 00:09:26.279 film. the true phenomenon that would change horror 00:09:26.279 --> 00:09:29.860 cinema forever. Halloween, 1978. I mean, it defined 00:09:29.860 --> 00:09:32.139 the slasher genre, but its origins are famously 00:09:32.139 --> 00:09:35.159 humble. So humble. Started as a pitch from producer 00:09:35.159 --> 00:09:37.960 Erwin Yablans, initially titled The Babysitter 00:09:37.960 --> 00:09:40.799 Murders. Kind of generic. Right. And Yablans 00:09:40.799 --> 00:09:43.600 made the crucial suggestion, set the action on 00:09:43.600 --> 00:09:46.659 Halloween night. which Carpenter, always the 00:09:46.659 --> 00:09:49.940 pragmatist, called true crass exploitation. He 00:09:49.940 --> 00:09:52.779 saw the film's potential as basically just a 00:09:52.779 --> 00:09:55.320 profitable haunted house film built on cheap 00:09:55.320 --> 00:09:58.799 tricks. But man, it was exploitation executed 00:09:58.799 --> 00:10:01.600 with staggering intelligence. And those cheap 00:10:01.600 --> 00:10:04.360 tricks worked spectacularly. The key was that 00:10:04.360 --> 00:10:08.409 low budget. Only $300 ,000. Unbelievable. It 00:10:08.409 --> 00:10:11.350 forced creativity, efficiency. The budget was 00:10:11.350 --> 00:10:14.029 so tight. The source material notes the actors 00:10:14.029 --> 00:10:16.169 had to provide their own costumes. Which is why 00:10:16.169 --> 00:10:18.730 Michael Myers mask is just a cheap Captain Kirk 00:10:18.730 --> 00:10:21.350 mask, spray painted white and messed with. Exactly. 00:10:21.350 --> 00:10:23.710 It's the ultimate lesson in less is more filmmaking. 00:10:23.970 --> 00:10:27.590 It grossed over $65 million initially. Insane 00:10:27.590 --> 00:10:29.230 return. Becoming one of the most successful independent 00:10:29.230 --> 00:10:31.590 films ever made and essentially inventing the 00:10:31.590 --> 00:10:34.070 economic model for the modern horror film. And 00:10:34.070 --> 00:10:35.610 the style wasn't intact. Entirely out of nowhere, 00:10:35.669 --> 00:10:38.370 of course. Carpenter noted influences from like 00:10:38.370 --> 00:10:41.769 the hyper stylized gore of Dario Argento's Suspiria. 00:10:41.789 --> 00:10:44.450 Okay. And the deep psychological horror of William 00:10:44.450 --> 00:10:47.149 Friedkin's The Exorcist. But the real genius, 00:10:47.149 --> 00:10:49.950 I think, outside of the staging is the score. 00:10:51.129 --> 00:10:55.009 Carpenter's self -composed Halloween theme. It's 00:10:55.009 --> 00:10:57.970 iconic because it's so deceptively simple. That 00:10:57.970 --> 00:11:01.250 54 meter piano. Yeah, just repetitive. It provides 00:11:01.250 --> 00:11:04.870 this mechanical, relentless, almost alien sense 00:11:04.870 --> 00:11:08.269 of inevitability that perfectly matches the character 00:11:08.269 --> 00:11:10.750 of Michael Myers. That score is the character's 00:11:10.750 --> 00:11:13.129 heartbeat. It really is. And we absolutely have 00:11:13.129 --> 00:11:16.090 to address the long running, often kind of tiresome 00:11:16.090 --> 00:11:19.250 allegory debate. Oh, God. Yes. The academic interpretation 00:11:19.250 --> 00:11:22.350 that the film is this strict morality tale, an 00:11:22.350 --> 00:11:25.230 allegory about sexual. Punishment for casual 00:11:25.230 --> 00:11:27.929 sex, given who Michael targets. It's an interpretation 00:11:27.929 --> 00:11:30.190 that gained massive traction over the years, 00:11:30.250 --> 00:11:32.690 but Carpenter himself has strongly, consistently 00:11:32.690 --> 00:11:35.090 pushed back against it. What do you say? He stated 00:11:35.090 --> 00:11:37.289 explicitly the sexual morality wasn't his intention. 00:11:37.409 --> 00:11:39.929 He said. In Halloween, I viewed the characters 00:11:39.929 --> 00:11:42.889 as simply normal teenagers. Yeah. Just normal 00:11:42.889 --> 00:11:45.230 kids. That's vital context for you listening. 00:11:45.370 --> 00:11:48.129 The film's power wasn't from some didactic lesson, 00:11:48.309 --> 00:11:51.149 but from pure, brilliant, terrifying efficiency. 00:11:51.289 --> 00:11:54.870 This idea of a senseless evil that just is. Exactly. 00:11:55.350 --> 00:11:58.159 After Halloween's success. Carpenter started 00:11:58.159 --> 00:12:00.919 bridging that gap between his indie roots and 00:12:00.919 --> 00:12:03.940 Hollywood. Right. He directed the 1979 television 00:12:03.940 --> 00:12:06.480 film Elvis. Which marked the first of his many 00:12:06.480 --> 00:12:08.759 legendary collaborations with Kurt Russell. A 00:12:08.759 --> 00:12:10.940 beautiful partnership. And just before that, 00:12:11.059 --> 00:12:14.659 in 1978, he got his first major studio credit. 00:12:15.070 --> 00:12:19.070 Eyes of Laura Mars, a thriller directed by Irvin 00:12:19.070 --> 00:12:21.970 Kershner, was adapted from Carpenter's original 00:12:21.970 --> 00:12:24.590 spec script. So by the end of the decade, he 00:12:24.590 --> 00:12:27.809 had an Oscar, a genre -defining smash hit, and 00:12:27.809 --> 00:12:30.980 a firm foothold inside the studio system. Setting 00:12:30.980 --> 00:12:34.700 him up for the tumultuous 1980s. The 1980s started 00:12:34.700 --> 00:12:36.799 strong for Carpenter, absolutely, but quickly 00:12:36.799 --> 00:12:38.919 devolved into this commercial and critical roller 00:12:38.919 --> 00:12:41.980 coaster that really cemented his status as maybe 00:12:41.980 --> 00:12:44.460 a misunderstood artist. Yeah, that's fair. The 00:12:44.460 --> 00:12:46.700 decade kicked off with The Fog in 1980. Ghost 00:12:46.700 --> 00:12:48.960 story. Ghostly revenge tale he co -wrote with 00:12:48.960 --> 00:12:51.200 Debra Hill. Drew inspiration from horror comics 00:12:51.200 --> 00:12:53.139 like Tales from the Crypt and the classic creature 00:12:53.139 --> 00:12:55.299 feature The Crawling Eye. Okay. Interestingly, 00:12:55.519 --> 00:12:57.700 despite the proven talent involved, Carpenter 00:12:57.700 --> 00:13:00.049 found the production unusually difficult. He 00:13:00.049 --> 00:13:02.669 wasn't satisfied. He admitted dissatisfaction 00:13:02.669 --> 00:13:05.049 after seeing the rough cut, right? Felt he had 00:13:05.049 --> 00:13:07.690 to salvage the film. Yeah, he rushed back to 00:13:07.690 --> 00:13:10.490 shoot additional, more graphic footage, including 00:13:10.490 --> 00:13:13.549 a new prologue narrated by John Houseman, said 00:13:13.549 --> 00:13:15.629 it was the only time he ever felt compelled to 00:13:15.629 --> 00:13:19.039 do that in his career. Wow. That's telling. It 00:13:19.039 --> 00:13:21.139 was a difficult process, but despite the production 00:13:21.139 --> 00:13:23.360 issues and, you know, mostly negative critical 00:13:23.360 --> 00:13:25.759 reception at the time, critics called it too 00:13:25.759 --> 00:13:28.240 conventional, it was still a commercial success. 00:13:28.519 --> 00:13:31.299 How'd it do? Made on just a million bucks, grossed 00:13:31.299 --> 00:13:35.769 over $21 million in the U .S. Even if Carpenter 00:13:35.769 --> 00:13:37.929 himself later called it a minor horror classic, 00:13:38.269 --> 00:13:40.409 it showed he was commercially viable. And from 00:13:40.409 --> 00:13:43.990 coastal horror, he pivoted sharply into dystopian 00:13:43.990 --> 00:13:47.529 action with Escape from New York in 1981. Another 00:13:47.529 --> 00:13:50.750 massive success gave us the iconic anti -hero, 00:13:50.929 --> 00:13:53.590 Snake Plissken. Oh yeah, this film hit all the 00:13:53.590 --> 00:13:56.409 right notes. Commercial success, over $25 million, 00:13:56.789 --> 00:13:59.830 gross. Nice. Critical acclaim, holds a high approval 00:13:59.830 --> 00:14:01.929 rating on Rotten Tomatoes. And more importantly, 00:14:02.070 --> 00:14:04.750 it showcased his growing, reliable... repertoire 00:14:04.750 --> 00:14:08.789 of recurring collaborators the gang kurt russell 00:14:08.789 --> 00:14:11.750 embodying that cool cynicism of plissken alongside 00:14:11.750 --> 00:14:14.970 donald pleasance adrian barbeau tom atkins charles 00:14:14.970 --> 00:14:18.730 cyphers it gave his world consistency okay here 00:14:18.730 --> 00:14:21.049 is where the story gets really interesting though 00:14:21.049 --> 00:14:25.230 1982 he released what many many people consider 00:14:25.230 --> 00:14:30.000 his ultimate artistic statement the thing Masterpiece. 00:14:30.159 --> 00:14:32.720 Yet it was a catastrophic failure at the time. 00:14:32.720 --> 00:14:35.019 Just bombed. The production for The Thing was 00:14:35.019 --> 00:14:38.039 meticulous, high caliber, really contrasted sharply 00:14:38.039 --> 00:14:40.919 with his earlier low budget stuff. How so? It 00:14:40.919 --> 00:14:43.460 boasted innovative, totally groundbreaking body 00:14:43.460 --> 00:14:46.679 horror special effects by the legendary Rob Bottin. 00:14:46.700 --> 00:14:49.200 Unforgettable stuff. A tense, unsettling score 00:14:49.200 --> 00:14:51.899 by Ennio Morricone. High production values overall. 00:14:52.460 --> 00:14:54.379 And crucially, Carpenter's version distinguished 00:14:54.379 --> 00:14:56.519 itself by being highly faithful to the original 00:14:56.519 --> 00:14:58.820 John W. Campbell Jr. novella, Who Goes There? 00:14:58.940 --> 00:15:01.539 Right. It wasn't really a remake of the 51 film. 00:15:01.679 --> 00:15:03.639 Not really. It shifted the focus from the 51 00:15:03.639 --> 00:15:05.820 film's physical monster to the novella's theme 00:15:05.820 --> 00:15:08.559 of internal paranoia, the shape -shifting, the 00:15:08.559 --> 00:15:11.120 not knowing who to trust. The paranoia is what 00:15:11.120 --> 00:15:14.039 makes that film so bleak, so chilling. He also 00:15:14.039 --> 00:15:16.480 designated the thing as the start of what he 00:15:16.480 --> 00:15:18.580 called his apocalypse trilogy. Right, along with 00:15:18.580 --> 00:15:20.950 Prince of Darkness and... In the mouth of madness. 00:15:21.289 --> 00:15:24.110 And what unified them? Their shared characteristic 00:15:24.110 --> 00:15:27.429 of bleak, nihilistic conclusions. The world usually 00:15:27.429 --> 00:15:29.690 ends or the survivors are completely compromised. 00:15:30.070 --> 00:15:32.909 No happy endings here. And that bleak, nihilistic 00:15:32.909 --> 00:15:35.590 viewpoint was precisely what torpedoed its box 00:15:35.590 --> 00:15:38.470 office performance. The timing was just historically 00:15:38.470 --> 00:15:41.970 brutal. Oh, it was the worst. The thing was graphic, 00:15:42.230 --> 00:15:46.240 sinister, deeply cynical horror film. released 00:15:46.240 --> 00:15:47.960 just two weeks after the cultural phenomenon 00:15:47.960 --> 00:15:50.820 that was Spielberg's E .T., the extraterrestrial. 00:15:50.940 --> 00:15:53.019 That contrast couldn't be starker, could it? 00:15:53.039 --> 00:15:55.659 E .T. offered this optimistic, family -friendly, 00:15:55.779 --> 00:15:58.879 hugely profitable take on alien visitation. Totally 00:15:58.879 --> 00:16:01.519 dominated the cultural landscape. Fulfilled that 00:16:01.519 --> 00:16:04.600 post -Vietnam Watergate need for gentle escapism. 00:16:04.720 --> 00:16:06.580 And Carpenter offered the absolute opposite. 00:16:06.840 --> 00:16:09.340 A vision where trust is impossible and humanity 00:16:09.340 --> 00:16:12.039 literally devours itself. The industry and the 00:16:12.039 --> 00:16:14.740 public wanted optimism, and Carpenter delivered 00:16:14.740 --> 00:16:18.059 a cold shower of existential dread. The fallout 00:16:18.059 --> 00:16:20.500 was swift and severe. What happened? He lost 00:16:20.500 --> 00:16:23.419 confidence. Later admitted he knew the film was 00:16:23.419 --> 00:16:25.440 strong, but didn't realize it would be too strong. 00:16:25.740 --> 00:16:28.220 Said he didn't take the public's taste into consideration. 00:16:28.779 --> 00:16:31.179 Critics famously attacked him when called him 00:16:31.179 --> 00:16:34.539 a pornographer of violence. Ouch. And the professional 00:16:34.539 --> 00:16:37.659 damage was concrete, right? Oh, yeah. Universal 00:16:37.659 --> 00:16:40.299 Pictures bought him out of his multiple film 00:16:40.299 --> 00:16:43.080 contract. Essentially declared his vision commercially 00:16:43.080 --> 00:16:46.080 toxic. He also lost the job directing the film 00:16:46.080 --> 00:16:49.009 adaptation of Stephen King's Firestarter. This 00:16:49.009 --> 00:16:50.990 has been devastating. Career changing, definitely. 00:16:51.389 --> 00:16:54.350 Forcing him to reevaluate everything. But the 00:16:54.350 --> 00:16:56.389 story of The Thing is the ultimate example of 00:16:56.389 --> 00:16:59.129 critical reappraisal. Absolutely. Years past, 00:16:59.250 --> 00:17:01.549 the film found this massive, appreciative audience 00:17:01.549 --> 00:17:05.150 on home video, on television. It did. Critics 00:17:05.150 --> 00:17:08.349 and genre fans began to reevaluate it, not as 00:17:08.349 --> 00:17:11.309 gore for gore's sake, but as an incredibly taut, 00:17:11.309 --> 00:17:13.900 beautifully constructed thriller. He was eventually 00:17:13.900 --> 00:17:16.700 called one of the greatest and most elegantly 00:17:16.700 --> 00:17:20.359 constructed B -movies ever made and a peerless 00:17:20.359 --> 00:17:23.819 masterpiece of relentless suspense. It's the 00:17:23.819 --> 00:17:26.019 quintessential example of an artist being just 00:17:26.019 --> 00:17:28.599 too far ahead of the cultural curve. Following 00:17:28.599 --> 00:17:30.799 that crushing blow, the pragmatist in him took 00:17:30.799 --> 00:17:33.980 over. Had to. He immediately pivoted to directing 00:17:33.980 --> 00:17:36.460 Christine in 1983, the Stephen King adaptation. 00:17:36.980 --> 00:17:39.160 And he was pretty blunt about why, wasn't he? 00:17:39.259 --> 00:17:41.660 Brutally honest. Stated he directed it because, 00:17:41.740 --> 00:17:44.680 after the thing, quote, it was the only thing 00:17:44.680 --> 00:17:47.049 offered to him at the time. Wow. Sounds like 00:17:47.049 --> 00:17:49.369 a director forced to prove he could be a reliable 00:17:49.369 --> 00:17:52.789 studio workhorse again. Pretty much. Yeah. Yet 00:17:52.789 --> 00:17:55.250 he pulled off a respectable effort, did solid 00:17:55.250 --> 00:17:57.690 business, and then managed to shift gears entirely 00:17:57.690 --> 00:18:00.970 for Starman in 1984. Which showed his versatility. 00:18:01.349 --> 00:18:04.289 Totally. Starman was a romantic sci -fi film, 00:18:04.390 --> 00:18:07.289 completely contrasting his previous work. Carpenter's 00:18:07.289 --> 00:18:09.410 vision was to make it a romantic comedy, like 00:18:09.410 --> 00:18:11.430 in the vein of the classic Frank Capra film. 00:18:11.549 --> 00:18:13.779 It happened one night. Okay. But with the space 00:18:13.779 --> 00:18:15.900 alien learning human emotion. And it worked. 00:18:16.140 --> 00:18:19.000 It was a critical success. Earned favorable reviews, 00:18:19.319 --> 00:18:22.240 landed Jeff Bridges Oscar, and Golden Globe nominations 00:18:22.240 --> 00:18:25.559 for his portrayal of Starman. Wow. It demonstrated 00:18:25.559 --> 00:18:28.039 Carpenter could handle strong emotional connection, 00:18:28.380 --> 00:18:30.920 character nuance, not just action and horror. 00:18:31.359 --> 00:18:34.039 Looked like the comeback was complete. Unfortunately, 00:18:34.059 --> 00:18:37.140 the high notes didn't last. The momentum stalled 00:18:37.140 --> 00:18:39.380 pretty dramatically with the financial failure 00:18:39.380 --> 00:18:42.200 of the big budget action comedy Big Trouble in 00:18:42.200 --> 00:18:45.599 Little China in 1986. Another one that bombed 00:18:45.599 --> 00:18:48.849 initially, but now. Huge cult classic. Exactly. 00:18:48.970 --> 00:18:52.069 But its failure forced him back into that low 00:18:52.069 --> 00:18:54.529 budget independent filmmaking model he was trying 00:18:54.529 --> 00:18:57.809 to escape. Led to films like the dense philosophical 00:18:57.809 --> 00:19:00.849 horror Prince of Darkness in 87 and the eventual 00:19:00.849 --> 00:19:03.710 cult success They Live in 88. The 80s were truly 00:19:03.710 --> 00:19:06.670 the defining decade of peaks, valleys and near 00:19:06.670 --> 00:19:09.609 fatal career crashes for him. Okay, as we transition 00:19:09.609 --> 00:19:12.289 into discussing his signature style, it's impossible 00:19:12.289 --> 00:19:14.369 to talk about John Carpenter without recognizing 00:19:14.369 --> 00:19:17.990 the efficiency and flair of his visual choices 00:19:17.990 --> 00:19:20.009 and, of course, his incredible music. Indelible 00:19:20.009 --> 00:19:22.309 music. Let's start with the visual side. Okay. 00:19:22.710 --> 00:19:25.690 He possesses a signature visual language that 00:19:25.690 --> 00:19:28.690 is just immediately recognizable. His style relies 00:19:28.690 --> 00:19:31.170 on minimalist lighting and photography. Lots 00:19:31.170 --> 00:19:33.490 of shadows. Deep shadows, high contrast, which 00:19:33.490 --> 00:19:35.809 enhances that feeling of dread. of isolation. 00:19:36.130 --> 00:19:38.809 He also uses extensive Steadicam. Right, those 00:19:38.809 --> 00:19:41.609 smooth, flowing shots. Gives his films a fluid, 00:19:41.730 --> 00:19:45.289 restless perspective. And he favors wide panoramic 00:19:45.289 --> 00:19:47.990 shots. And he was an outspoken proponent of a 00:19:47.990 --> 00:19:52.049 very specific classical technical format, Panavision 00:19:52.049 --> 00:19:54.950 anamorphic cinematography. Yes. That incredibly 00:19:54.950 --> 00:20:00.029 wide 2 .39 .1 aspect ratio for almost all his 00:20:00.029 --> 00:20:02.549 films. This is a crucial detail, especially given 00:20:02.549 --> 00:20:04.710 his low budget roots. He wasn't afraid to use 00:20:04.710 --> 00:20:06.710 expensive equipment to get his specific aesthetic. 00:20:06.950 --> 00:20:09.809 He called Panavision anamorphic the best movie 00:20:09.809 --> 00:20:11.890 system there is. Really preferred it over digital 00:20:11.890 --> 00:20:15.339 or 3D. vehemently why is that hyper wide scope 00:20:15.339 --> 00:20:17.460 so effective for his style especially horror 00:20:17.460 --> 00:20:21.000 what does that 2 .39 .1 ratio do well it creates 00:20:21.000 --> 00:20:23.519 a specific type of suspense when you have such 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:26.140 a wide frame it forces your eye the viewer's 00:20:26.140 --> 00:20:28.500 eye to actively scan the edges for threats exactly 00:20:28.500 --> 00:20:32.220 it allows him to use negative space shadows to 00:20:32.220 --> 00:20:34.720 suggest threats lurking just outside the immediate 00:20:34.720 --> 00:20:38.059 action. It emphasizes isolation. The characters 00:20:38.059 --> 00:20:41.000 look tiny, vulnerable against these vast, empty 00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:43.660 landscapes, whether it's space or a desolate 00:20:43.660 --> 00:20:45.680 city street. Perfect for the siege mentality. 00:20:46.180 --> 00:20:49.220 Totally defines his work. The only major exceptions 00:20:49.220 --> 00:20:51.819 where he didn't use Panavision were his earliest 00:20:51.819 --> 00:20:54.380 work. Dark Star, and his most recent feature, 00:20:54.559 --> 00:20:58.180 The Ward. That commitment to a classical, technically 00:20:58.180 --> 00:21:01.160 demanding visual style is one half of the equation. 00:21:01.640 --> 00:21:03.980 The other half, the immediate connection to the 00:21:03.980 --> 00:21:07.299 viewer, is the music. He is nearly always the 00:21:07.299 --> 00:21:09.779 composer or co -composer for his films, sometimes 00:21:09.779 --> 00:21:12.299 even just providing the score outline. That musical 00:21:12.299 --> 00:21:14.960 interest, as we noted, was ignited by his father's 00:21:14.960 --> 00:21:16.880 work as a music teacher. It's an inseparable 00:21:16.880 --> 00:21:18.960 part of his identity as an auteur. And he was 00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:21.079 a pioneer with synthesizers, right? Huge pioneer. 00:21:21.500 --> 00:21:23.579 An early adopter, starting right back with Dark 00:21:23.579 --> 00:21:26.880 Star, where he famously used an EMS VCS3 synth. 00:21:27.059 --> 00:21:29.660 The VCS3. What was special about that? It was 00:21:29.660 --> 00:21:31.819 one of the earliest commercially available modular 00:21:31.819 --> 00:21:34.880 synthesizers. Pretty cutting edge for the time. 00:21:35.160 --> 00:21:38.319 And why did he use these often unconventional 00:21:38.319 --> 00:21:41.160 early electronic instruments? Well, he used them 00:21:41.160 --> 00:21:44.259 for a purely pragmatic, low -budget reason, but 00:21:44.259 --> 00:21:46.640 the result was revolutionary. He needed a way 00:21:46.640 --> 00:21:49.660 to sound big with just a keyboard. Couldn't afford 00:21:49.660 --> 00:21:52.720 an orchestra. Exactly. So he found a tool that 00:21:52.720 --> 00:21:55.819 could generate huge atmospheric and distinctly 00:21:55.819 --> 00:21:58.539 electronic soundscapes with minimal equipment. 00:21:58.839 --> 00:22:02.519 This gave his films that mechanical, cold, almost 00:22:02.519 --> 00:22:05.559 inhuman feel. Which perfectly matched his narratives 00:22:05.559 --> 00:22:09.210 about external implacable forces. Bingo. And 00:22:09.210 --> 00:22:11.950 his scores became immediate cult items for collectors. 00:22:12.250 --> 00:22:15.210 His longtime professional partner in sound was 00:22:15.210 --> 00:22:17.490 the musician Alan Haworth. Right. What was their 00:22:17.490 --> 00:22:20.789 dynamic like? Haworth was essential. While Carpenter 00:22:20.789 --> 00:22:23.089 provided the melodies, the composition, the creative 00:22:23.089 --> 00:22:25.150 framework, Haworth handled technical execution. 00:22:25.470 --> 00:22:28.009 The recording, the sequencing, refining, the 00:22:28.009 --> 00:22:30.869 often temperamental early synth tech. So vision 00:22:30.869 --> 00:22:33.789 and execution. Perfect blend. Today, he's passed 00:22:33.789 --> 00:22:36.470 that collaborative torch to his son, Cody Carpenter, 00:22:36.589 --> 00:22:39.130 and his godson, Daniel Davies. And this commitment 00:22:39.130 --> 00:22:41.609 paid off musically, beyond creating the most 00:22:41.609 --> 00:22:44.329 recognizable theme in horror history with Halloween. 00:22:44.650 --> 00:22:47.009 Which is saying something. He also won a Saturn 00:22:47.009 --> 00:22:49.829 Award for Best Music for the Soundtrack of Vampires 00:22:49.829 --> 00:22:52.829 in 1998. And beyond the technical and musical 00:22:52.829 --> 00:22:55.190 collaborators, his personal life formed this 00:22:55.190 --> 00:22:57.589 tight -knit family unit that worked across his 00:22:57.589 --> 00:23:00.309 filmography. He really relied on this familiar 00:23:00.309 --> 00:23:02.930 network when the Hollywood system kind of turned 00:23:02.930 --> 00:23:05.369 its back on him. Yeah, his personal relationships 00:23:05.369 --> 00:23:08.470 were professional partnerships, too. He was married 00:23:08.470 --> 00:23:12.109 to actress Adrienne Barbeau from 79 to 84. Who 00:23:12.109 --> 00:23:14.190 was key in the fog and escape from New York. 00:23:14.230 --> 00:23:16.769 Great. And their son, Cody Carpenter, is now 00:23:16.769 --> 00:23:19.450 his frequent musical collaborator. And since 00:23:19.450 --> 00:23:22.049 1990, he's been married to film producer Sandy 00:23:22.049 --> 00:23:25.029 King. She became integral to his mid -to -late 00:23:25.029 --> 00:23:27.970 career, producing several later films, including 00:23:27.970 --> 00:23:30.609 In the Mouth of Madness and Vampires. And they 00:23:30.609 --> 00:23:32.630 even have a comic book company together. Yeah, 00:23:32.650 --> 00:23:34.890 Storm King Comics. Continuing that independent 00:23:34.890 --> 00:23:37.029 creative spirit outside of traditional film. 00:23:37.190 --> 00:23:39.329 And, of course, the consistent faces he kept 00:23:39.329 --> 00:23:41.470 bringing back. Kurt Russell, Donald Pleasence, 00:23:41.529 --> 00:23:44.009 Charles Cyphers. Those collaborators gave his 00:23:44.009 --> 00:23:48.079 films a reliable, shared shorthand. A sense of 00:23:48.079 --> 00:23:50.259 continuity that was vital for an independent 00:23:50.259 --> 00:23:53.279 guy working in the studio margins. So that financial 00:23:53.279 --> 00:23:55.299 disappointment from Big Trouble in Little China 00:23:55.299 --> 00:23:58.420 meant the 1990s continued that pattern of critical 00:23:58.420 --> 00:24:01.220 struggle, even when he dove deep into cosmic 00:24:01.220 --> 00:24:05.059 horror. Films like Memoirs of an Invisible Man, 00:24:05.319 --> 00:24:08.420 Village of the Damned, they didn't really achieve 00:24:08.420 --> 00:24:10.460 the commercial traction of his earlier work. 00:24:10.539 --> 00:24:12.700 No, they didn't. But again, time has been kind. 00:24:12.839 --> 00:24:17.059 His 1994 film, In the Mouth of Madness, is maybe 00:24:17.059 --> 00:24:19.819 the best Lovecraftian homage ever put to film. 00:24:19.920 --> 00:24:22.839 It plays with themes of sanity dissolving, the 00:24:22.839 --> 00:24:25.259 nature of reality itself breaking down. It's 00:24:25.259 --> 00:24:27.940 an incredibly dense, scary film. But it was initially 00:24:27.940 --> 00:24:30.119 unsuccessful, right? Both critically and commercially. 00:24:30.359 --> 00:24:32.359 Why do you think that film in particular failed 00:24:32.359 --> 00:24:34.579 to find an audience then? Because it deals with 00:24:34.579 --> 00:24:38.410 genuinely terrifying cosmic concepts. Lovecraftian 00:24:38.410 --> 00:24:40.630 horror isn't really about jump scares. It's about 00:24:40.630 --> 00:24:42.349 the erosion of the mind. Yeah, it gets under 00:24:42.349 --> 00:24:45.069 your skin. The narrative uses an unreliable narrator. 00:24:45.410 --> 00:24:48.009 Ask the audience to accept that the protagonist's 00:24:48.009 --> 00:24:50.349 reality, and by extension your reality as the 00:24:50.349 --> 00:24:53.150 viewer, is being actively written by this external 00:24:53.150 --> 00:24:57.150 insane force. That level of philosophical nihilism. 00:24:57.609 --> 00:25:00.890 It was still a hard sell to 90s audiences looking 00:25:00.890 --> 00:25:04.430 for simpler thrills. But now. Now. Massive cult 00:25:04.430 --> 00:25:06.829 following. Deservedly so. He also returned to 00:25:06.829 --> 00:25:09.170 his iconic anti -hero with Escape from L .A. 00:25:09.190 --> 00:25:12.269 in 1996. Mixed reviews again. Mixed reviews, 00:25:12.430 --> 00:25:14.549 yeah, but it also built a strong, cold audience 00:25:14.549 --> 00:25:17.809 over time. Shows the lasting appeal of Kurt Russell's 00:25:17.809 --> 00:25:20.349 Snake Plissken. Definitely. After Ghosts of Mars 00:25:20.349 --> 00:25:23.309 in 2001, he had a long directorial hiatus from 00:25:23.309 --> 00:25:25.750 features, didn't he? He did. Directed a couple 00:25:25.750 --> 00:25:27.690 of episodes for Showtime's Masters of Horror 00:25:27.690 --> 00:25:30.029 series, which were great. And then his last major 00:25:30.029 --> 00:25:32.950 film, The Ward, came out in 2010. The Ward with 00:25:32.950 --> 00:25:35.089 Amber Heard. How did that... do. Premiered to 00:25:35.089 --> 00:25:37.329 generally poor reviews, lost money at the box 00:25:37.329 --> 00:25:40.490 office, and crucially, as of 2025, it remains 00:25:40.490 --> 00:25:42.410 the most recent feature film he has directed. 00:25:42.589 --> 00:25:45.910 But this period of cinematic silence led directly 00:25:45.910 --> 00:25:48.509 to one of the most exciting artistic rebirths 00:25:48.509 --> 00:25:51.170 of his career, his music. The focus shift since 00:25:51.170 --> 00:25:54.250 the 2010s has been magnificent. He turned his 00:25:54.250 --> 00:25:56.809 attention heavily to his solo albums, the Lost 00:25:56.809 --> 00:26:00.369 Themes series, Thangto3, Alive After Death, and 00:26:00.369 --> 00:26:02.730 the recent Lost Themes, The Fourth Noir. co -written 00:26:02.730 --> 00:26:05.230 with his son and godson right cody carpenter 00:26:05.230 --> 00:26:08.029 and daniel davies released by sacred bones records 00:26:08.029 --> 00:26:10.630 what makes these lost themes albums different 00:26:10.630 --> 00:26:13.829 from his film scores well the music is unshackled 00:26:13.829 --> 00:26:16.910 from a specific narrative his scores while great 00:26:16.910 --> 00:26:19.170 were functional they had to serve the needs of 00:26:19.170 --> 00:26:22.250 halloween or the fog right the lost themes albums 00:26:22.250 --> 00:26:24.930 are music for films that exist only in your head 00:26:24.930 --> 00:26:28.130 the listener's head They're expansive, atmospheric, 00:26:28.329 --> 00:26:30.950 and allowed him to further explore those synth 00:26:30.950 --> 00:26:33.410 textures and melodic minimalism he pioneered. 00:26:33.529 --> 00:26:36.190 And this renewed interest in his unique sound, 00:26:36.289 --> 00:26:38.890 which was helped by Death Waltz Records reissuing 00:26:38.890 --> 00:26:40.849 his old soundtracks. Which were really sought 00:26:40.849 --> 00:26:43.109 after by collectors. It was so great that it 00:26:43.109 --> 00:26:45.470 prompted him for the first time ever to start 00:26:45.470 --> 00:26:48.089 touring as a musician. Which is phenomenal. He 00:26:48.089 --> 00:26:49.750 went from this reluctant, behind -the -scenes 00:26:49.750 --> 00:26:52.410 composer to a touring rock star, playing both 00:26:52.410 --> 00:26:55.150 his classic scores and new material to massive 00:26:55.150 --> 00:26:58.359 crowds. became an acknowledged primary influence 00:26:58.359 --> 00:27:00.740 on a whole generation of electronic musicians. 00:27:01.319 --> 00:27:03.859 Cemented that status by narrating the documentary 00:27:03.859 --> 00:27:06.900 The Rise of the Synths, highlighting his massive 00:27:06.900 --> 00:27:09.940 foundational contribution to the entire synthwave 00:27:09.940 --> 00:27:12.619 genre. Which basically uses his signature sound 00:27:12.619 --> 00:27:16.099 as its primary building block. Absolutely. That 00:27:16.099 --> 00:27:18.200 resurgence of influence also brought him back 00:27:18.200 --> 00:27:21.319 to his most famous creation. Since 2018, he's 00:27:21.319 --> 00:27:23.180 returned to the Halloween franchise. In what 00:27:23.180 --> 00:27:25.619 capacity? Executive producer, co -composer, creative 00:27:25.619 --> 00:27:27.980 consultant for the films released in 2018, 2021, 00:27:28.319 --> 00:27:32.440 and 2022. And the 2018 film famously ignored 00:27:32.440 --> 00:27:34.819 the continuity of all the previous sequels. To 00:27:34.819 --> 00:27:37.579 be a direct sequel to the 78 original. Exactly. 00:27:37.740 --> 00:27:39.859 Bring it full circle. He certainly embraced modern 00:27:39.859 --> 00:27:42.059 media, too. He's famously a huge fan of video 00:27:42.059 --> 00:27:44.519 games. Oh, yeah. Big time gamer. Citing admiration 00:27:44.519 --> 00:27:47.519 for the pacing of Sonic the Hedgehog games. Love 00:27:47.519 --> 00:27:50.339 Sonic. the platforming of Jack and Daxter, the 00:27:50.339 --> 00:27:54.019 scale of Fallout 76. He even served as narrator 00:27:54.019 --> 00:27:56.500 and story consultant for the sci -fi horror game 00:27:56.500 --> 00:27:59.799 series FEAR. And he expressed strong interest 00:27:59.799 --> 00:28:02.420 in making a film based on the video game Dead 00:28:02.420 --> 00:28:05.720 Space, which would be amazing. Oh man, yes please. 00:28:05.980 --> 00:28:08.339 And while he's been focused on music, he did 00:28:08.339 --> 00:28:11.799 return to directing recently in 2023. Helmed 00:28:11.799 --> 00:28:14.539 an episode of the Peacock series Suburban Screams. 00:28:14.559 --> 00:28:16.920 Okay. And he's currently working on the story 00:28:16.920 --> 00:28:20.539 and score for the 2026 video game Toxic Commando. 00:28:21.049 --> 00:28:23.710 So the creative engine, whether it's film, music 00:28:23.710 --> 00:28:26.450 or gaming, it's still running strong. It's also 00:28:26.450 --> 00:28:28.890 worth noting his public fears, which often reflect 00:28:28.890 --> 00:28:31.130 that anti -establishment nature of his films. 00:28:31.230 --> 00:28:33.109 Definitely. He's described his political stance 00:28:33.109 --> 00:28:36.289 as inconsistent, famously anti -authority figures, 00:28:36.529 --> 00:28:38.990 yet surprisingly maybe in favor of big government. 00:28:39.210 --> 00:28:42.009 And he's been an outspoken critic of unrestrained 00:28:42.009 --> 00:28:44.309 capitalism. That anti -establishment streak, 00:28:44.509 --> 00:28:47.349 packaged with his distinct visual and audio signature, 00:28:47.650 --> 00:28:50.230 has ensured his lasting foundational legacy. 00:28:50.759 --> 00:28:53.720 His influence is immense, spanning across genres, 00:28:53.839 --> 00:28:57.160 from indie horror to huge action movies. You 00:28:57.160 --> 00:28:59.660 see that influence everywhere. James Cameron's 00:28:59.660 --> 00:29:01.880 tight action structures owe a debt to Carpenter's 00:29:01.880 --> 00:29:04.400 efficient narratives. Yermo del Toro, Edgar Wright 00:29:04.400 --> 00:29:07.160 consistently cite him. And we know Quentin Tarantino 00:29:07.160 --> 00:29:10.119 heavily cited The Thing as a key influence on 00:29:10.119 --> 00:29:12.000 the visual language and sense of confinement 00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:14.240 in The Hateful Eight. Even massive streaming 00:29:14.240 --> 00:29:17.240 successes today, like The Duffer Brothers with 00:29:17.240 --> 00:29:20.700 Stranger Things, they cite Carpenter. alongside 00:29:20.700 --> 00:29:24.259 Spielberg and King, as primary influences. It 00:29:24.259 --> 00:29:25.960 really confirms that the commercial failures 00:29:25.960 --> 00:29:28.359 of the 80s were just a temporary roadblock in 00:29:28.359 --> 00:29:31.640 recognizing his genius. Absolutely. And the ultimate 00:29:31.640 --> 00:29:34.019 stamp of significance outside of the box office. 00:29:34.299 --> 00:29:36.559 Halloween was selected for preservation in the 00:29:36.559 --> 00:29:38.579 Library of Congress's National Film Registry 00:29:38.579 --> 00:29:41.269 back in 2006. So what does this all mean for 00:29:41.269 --> 00:29:43.990 us, the audience? If we summarize John Carpenter's 00:29:43.990 --> 00:29:46.630 remarkable career arc, we see someone who started 00:29:46.630 --> 00:29:50.269 as this low -budget auteur, a true multi -hyphenate 00:29:50.269 --> 00:29:53.049 director, composer, editor, writer. Did it all. 00:29:53.269 --> 00:29:55.710 Whose greatest, most distinctive films, like 00:29:55.710 --> 00:29:58.349 The Thing, often experienced initial brutal commercial 00:29:58.349 --> 00:30:01.109 failure. But time has validated his unblinking 00:30:01.109 --> 00:30:04.069 vision. He transitioned from a struggling independent 00:30:04.069 --> 00:30:06.410 filmmaker, you know, forced out of his contract, 00:30:06.569 --> 00:30:09.710 to a celebrated genre master who's defining aesthetic 00:30:09.710 --> 00:30:12.470 and compositional style shaped decades of horror 00:30:12.470 --> 00:30:15.069 and sci -fi. His work was celebrated years later 00:30:15.069 --> 00:30:17.410 through critical reappraisal, eventually earning 00:30:17.410 --> 00:30:19.910 him major accolades like that star on the Walk 00:30:19.910 --> 00:30:23.490 of Fame. Finally. The true enduring genius really 00:30:23.490 --> 00:30:25.970 lies in the synergy and maybe the contradiction 00:30:25.970 --> 00:30:29.109 between his film craft and his music. And here 00:30:29.109 --> 00:30:31.349 is our final provocative thought for you to chew 00:30:31.349 --> 00:30:34.750 on connecting those two elements. Consider the 00:30:34.750 --> 00:30:37.529 fundamental paradox in his artistic methodology. 00:30:37.690 --> 00:30:41.859 Okay. Visually, for his cinematography, he insisted 00:30:41.859 --> 00:30:45.039 on using the most complex, expensive, classical 00:30:45.039 --> 00:30:48.980 cinematic format, that 35mm Panavision anamorphic. 00:30:49.000 --> 00:30:51.640 Called it the best movie system there is. Dedicated 00:30:51.640 --> 00:30:54.420 his career to its hyper -wide scope. Yet musically, 00:30:54.579 --> 00:30:57.099 he opted for the cheapest, simplest, most efficient 00:30:57.099 --> 00:31:00.299 tools available. Simple, early synthesizers like 00:31:00.299 --> 00:31:03.349 the VCS -3. With the sole pragmatic purpose of 00:31:03.349 --> 00:31:05.670 making the music sound big with just a keyboard? 00:31:05.930 --> 00:31:08.690 This contrast, demanding the best, widest visual 00:31:08.690 --> 00:31:11.490 technology to capture isolation while embracing 00:31:11.490 --> 00:31:14.250 the most minimal cold audio technology to generate 00:31:14.250 --> 00:31:17.309 atmosphere, it perfectly encapsulates Carpenter's 00:31:17.309 --> 00:31:19.630 revolutionary artistry. It proves that true creative 00:31:19.630 --> 00:31:21.890 power often comes not from unlimited resources, 00:31:22.170 --> 00:31:24.809 but from harnessing technical limitations and 00:31:24.809 --> 00:31:27.410 contradictions to fuel a unique, unforgettable, 00:31:27.750 --> 00:31:30.720 and deeply unnerving atmosphere. Something to 00:31:30.720 --> 00:31:32.400 listen for and look for the next time you put 00:31:32.400 --> 00:31:34.900 on Escape from New York or hear that iconic Halloween 00:31:34.900 --> 00:31:35.259 theme.