If there's anyone out there that reads this, at least with any regularity, they know John Carpenter is an artistic heroic figure in my life. Not only have I seen (and own) all of his films, but I love to see him interviewed. He's an intelligent, humorous, political, and empathic figure. His insight is pretty slick. It's not a secret that his biggest influence on his career in the arts (besides his accomplished musician Dad) was director/producer Howard Hawks. Hawks was responsible for many western classics (Rio Bravo influenced Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13) and The Thing from Another World, which John remade and everyone hated until 20 years later.
But there's others. The epiphany moment of his childhood that made him want to become a filmmaker was the opening of the film It Came From Outer Space. In one interview, one that doesn't seem to get intertwinted in documentary packages at least, he mentions a book. An old Random House compendium of short literature entitled Tales of Terror and the Supernatural. I managed to stumble upon a copy of this book, published circa 1944. It even says on the copyright page that it's a wartime book, and every effort has been made to "conserve materials". A product of its time.
A little info on where it fits for John here:
The book is full of Poe, Pierce, Woolcott, Faulkner, Hemingway, and Lovecraft, among many others. My copy has been through the wringer but I can certainly see why a mind like Carpenters was drawn to it, as my mind has to several different texts over the years. It's no secret that John is a major influence on the horror filmmakers of today. He should be, being a member of the group of young guns that gave us "The New Horror" films of the second golden age of Hollywood, the 1970's.
It's no secret that roots go deep. What works now had seeds sown a long time ago that were watered and tended to 40 years ago. And I'm thankful for that, because the Halloween season wouldn't be the same in large part without John Carpenter. It's not just the 1978 masterpiece, kids. It's the vibes created by its sequel (which he only wrote and produced and has no real love for), and Halloween III: Season of the Witch, a great spooker, unfairly maligned and incorrectly listed as a failure.
The television horror-fests that run all the way through October are littered with his films. As I write this, sitting in an illness-induced haze created by either a sinus infection or internal skull tissue swelling, Buddy Repperton is being chased down by Stephen King's killing machine herself in John's underrated adaptation, Christine. Yep, it's time for AMC's Fear Fest.
John's still there now, even today, recording albums deep in eerie atmosephere, scoring David Gordon Green's reboot/sequels of his 1978 classic, other's work including Firestarter. His agreement to do the music for Bong Joon Ho's next film made Bong raise his arms in victory on the stage at a roundtable attended by fans.
John is a legend to me. His visuals, his eerie tone of music in many films and albums, and the memories associated with all of it. From the films' many viewings to seeing the TV Guide ads for their first time on network television runs. It's all mixed with memories of the 5th grade October skies, trick or treating, burning orange and piercing red leaves in the trees, and the smell of Autumn Wisconsin air.
Thanks, John. And thank you Howard Hawks, and Random House for giving him what he needed.
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