--[ Don't Believe The Hype! ]--

Ok so heres how this goes. You read on & find out what I think of certain JC films. The views might be favorable or unfavorable. I'll tell you why in my own limited way. I'll also add my views on how the film is percepted in the public circle, and why I think a certain reputation of the film is deserved or undeserved. Read on true believer!

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Low budget JC film. An homage to the John Wayne film Rio Bravo. Haven't seen Rio Bravo. Hate westerns, but Carpenter loves them. Assault is a suspense film. In my opinion it's a suspense film done wrong. There was one scene though involving an ice cream truck. You'll know it when you see it that's for sure. JC said he'd never shoot such a scene if he'd done the film today. This movie is very '70s in the truest sense of the word & you might feel like it's very pulp-fictiony. Well, Tarantino says it's one of his favorite films. I don't know why that is. Catchy theme song though.

In a word, it sucks. From what I hear it started the slasher genre. I must be a child of the '80s then, cuz even though I was a kid in the '70s this film never frightened me in any way of the word. What're its good points? Great score. And certain shots are memorable especially the scene where Laurie Strode is banging on the Wallace front door, screaming to be let in while *you know who* is making his way across the street towards her. The movie was made for $300,000 & reaped in excess of $50 million to date. Well, I guess it deserves that sort of success since you can tell it was made by someone w/talent. I mean, you compare all the low budget fares from the '90s and HALLOWEEN looks like a frigging classic. Jeez.

My favorite film. It was done on a minimal budget of $7 million but the efx, considering the time & technology are top- notch. The best thing about the movie is Kurt Russell as Snake. He really makes the role his own. Favorite scene? The pursuit across the 69th street bridge & the eventual struggle between Snake and The Duke, and Snake's attempt at getting across The Wall without getting himself blown away. That scene always puts me on edge no matter how many times I see it. And the very LAST scene in EFNY has got to be THE BEST ENDING I'VER EVER SEEN. God I love this movie.

This movie boasts the greatest creature efx ever. My favorite aspect of this film is that it is shot in a documentary style, thus heightening its reality. Basically, you'll see the frigging impossible happen in this movie. Lets get one thing straight. The film is not scary. It has mind blowing efx that cause a reaction is all. For me, the film makes me shut my trap whenever the creature appears on screen. It's basically a film that makes you stare in awe, rather than cower in fear in my opinion. What the film lacks in fright it makes up for tenfold in the suspense department. Whatever fear there is in this movie is a direct result of the nerve-snapping suspense this picture puts you through concerning the aliens identity. I can understand why people ran for the toilet during its theatrical release, what I can't understand is these people saying the film was all efx and no story. Wrong. Dead WRONG. Based upon John W. Campbell's Who Goes There?

JC did a good SK interpretation here. SK as in Stephen King that is. Where did this movie go wrong you ask? Well, basically, Christine is shown & she does awful things but you never get a sense of her having any personality. The viewer only has a sense of her being alive. Maybe a voice-over in a womans voice for this car could have helped. The up-side to this movie is the wonderful cast. Keith Gordon is scene stealing as Arnie Cunningham. John Stockwell is a friend in the truest sense as Dennis Guilder. Robert Prosky is a hysterically funny & scary scumbag as Darnell. And Roberts Blossoms makes a good George LeBay. The efx are really awesome. I mean, no one can put Christine back together like..err..well, Christine :)

This movie is just fun. Check your brain in at the door cuz this movie has so many turns you can't expect to think rationally by the time the ending hits. The casting is very evenly balanced. Kurt isn't the main star cuz he shares screen time with a lot of other great characters. It has a great score too. The fight scene at the end is really a sight to see.


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The movie is a love story & I'm not into that. Maybe that's why I've never seen the whole thing. Just bits and pieces. Then again JC ain't your typical filmaker & surprises you (the viewer) w/the sort of stories he tries to tell. An admirable attempt here that resulted in Jeff Bridges getting an Academy Award Nomination for his role as the starman of the title. I believe this movie was a pretty well received movie that made a lot of $$$.

A really great film. And a wonderful adaptation of Ray Nelson's short story Eight O'Clock in the Morning. Roddy Piper is a terrific low-brow hero in this one & the scene where he discovers the alien conspiracy is monumentally cool. The movie sprouts a bunch of great lines. And this film has the fight to end all fights. More like a brawl really and you won't believe it once you see it. It's really quite an accomplishment in my opinion.

Good low budget horror. Sorta in the vein of the X-Files if you can dig it. The movie takes a lotta intellectual leaps e.g. Jesus was an extraterestrial. But it does so in a good way I think. The jar of green goo is a neat antagonist.

Like Starman, I haven't seen this one front to back, just parts of it. I'll reserve total opinion on it for when I've seen it in its entirety. So there.

Haven't seen it. What's there to say?

In my opinon, kinda sucky. Some memorable images at times though. Just too damn vague about what's happening at times, gave me a headache. The movie sorta strides PRINCE OF DARKNESS territory in a way. Meaning the film is pretty intellectual like and wants you to figure out what universe, the real or make believe, the story takes place in. I particularly enjoyed the scene in the basement w/the old woman. I found it reminiscent of THE THING and I was glad it was there.

The movie didn't make a lot of waves at the box office, nor with the critics. But I liked it a lot, a hell of a lot more than IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS that's for sure. The weirdo kids were very well acted & that's part of the charm of the film. Also, there's no apparent explanation for the kids birth in any real sense of the word. It's ambiguous and I like that.

Ugh. I didn't like this movie at first. It's a virtual scene for scene remake of the original. Only worse. Its grown on me since the theatrical release & I've gotten to the like it stage, no further. It is nice to Snake again though.

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