What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

My number one would have to be Escape From New York (1981). Such an original concept/story, great acting, and a fitting Carpenter score.


A close second is Big Trouble in Little China (1986). I used to watch that over and over again. Just a fun movie to watch. Carpenter's music just neatly adds to the atmosphere.

The thing followed by they live. They live is just very cool.

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

The thing, by a landslide!

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

Halloween

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

Probably The Thing at the top closely followed by Escape from Newyork and Big Trouble in Little China.

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

I should watch Halloween one of these days...

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

Probably The Thing followed pretty closely by Prince of Darkness.

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

take a guess

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

Vampires?

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

The Thing.

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

The Thing easily. He has other great movies but thats a top tier masterpiece.

Interestingly, as much as I like John Carpenter, I think Halloween is the only movie of his that I have not seen. :o

Do you guys even read Sutter Cane?

http://www.sentieriselvaggi.it/wp-co...a%20follia.jpg

Starman

"I watched you very carefully. Red light stop, green light go, yellow light go . . . very fast." :lol:

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

I'd say Assault On Precinct 13.

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

The Thing

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

The Thing

I have a lot of love for They Live though

1. The Thing
2. Christine
3. Halloween
4. Assault on Precinct 13
5. They Live

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

are you asking me about his best film?



well, the thing is... oh wait!

This was a weird one for sure.

The Thing
Halloween
Big Trouble in Little China
Vampires
Christine
The Fog
They Live
Ghosts of Mars
The Ward
Escape from LA


Escape From New York & In The Mouth of Madness are two films I saw so long ago that I feel like I need to revisit them to properly place them.

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

for me it s neck and neck between, Halloween 1978 and the thing 1982

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

Escape from L.A.

yeah if you could return to mofo, that would be great..
https://media.tenor.com/images/90a97...c481/tenor.gif

ontopic;
BTILC + The Thing

Elvis is underrated by the way.

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

Definitely The Fog and The Thing.

The first time I saw The Fog, I was in a beachfront hotel during a Nor'easter, surrounded by water and somehow The Fog seemed rather calming.

The Thing is one of several versions of the Mathieson story, Who Goes There, and really nails the feel of being in a remote, frigid outpost with a monster on the loose and no help from outside. It gets even worse because the monster is a shape shifter.

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

probably Halloween movie trilogy

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

He directed the first one but co-wrote the second - beyond that, it's just character credits and the occasional score.

Not right now, I'm kinda busy. In fact, I'm going to have to ask you to go ahead and come back another time.

https://i.ibb.co/7kL6kbS/GIF-200921-105923.gif

Prince of Darkness doesn’t get the attention it deserves.
Christine and They Live are also pretty good. I’d rate them ahead of Big Trouble in Little China and The Fog in fact.

No contest...Escape from New York

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

Halloween comes first
The thing
In the mouth of madness

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

I liked Halloween, then the Thing. Rest are just all a good one time watch.

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

Halloween
The Fog
Escape From New York
Big Trouble in Little China

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

the thing

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

Halloween hands down, followed by The Thing.

My favorite filmmaker growing up. I’ve beaten some of his movies to death, but:
1. The Thing
2. Escape from New York
3. Big Trouble in Little China
4. In the Mouth of Madness
5. They Live
6. The Fog
7. Masters of Horror: Cigarette Burns
8. Assault on Precinct 13
9. Vampires
10. Prince of Darkness
11. Escape from LA
12. Halloween (I’m pretty much desensitized to it at this point :|)
13. Ghosts of Mars
14. Body Bags
15. Christine
16. Starman
17. Dark Star
18. Masters of Horror: Pro-Life (only vaguely remember it though)
19. Memoirs of an Invisible Man
20. Someone’s Watching Me
21. Village of the Damned (maybe the only one that I’d say I dislike)

I still haven’t watched Elvis or The Ward, but the latter has been on my watchlist for around a decade. :)

Vampires - James Woods was terrific in the lead role. :cool:

The Thing, which is also on my short list of my favorite horror movies. Sure, death is scary, but dying while losing all traces of your identity in the process is downright terrifying. Halloween is a close second and is still the best slasher I've ever seen.

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

List time!

1. The Thing
2. Halloween
3. Escape from New York
4. In the Mouth of Madness
5. Village of the Damned
6. Vampires

FWIW, these are some that I might've seen back in the day, but don't remember enough to rank properly...

The Fog
Christine
Starman
Big Trouble in Little China

In all fairness, I should probably rewatch 4 through 6 as well on my ranking above.

I join The Thing-ers. Oddly enough, never liked his other work much, though The Fog definitely wasn’t bad.

I watched The Thing again tonight and enjoyed it immensely. The slow burn to the grim climax, the fatalism in that unforgiving environment really creeped me out. My favorite moment is when the unfortunate Bennings is taken by The Thing -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0Z44BIDPPc

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

Obvious choice would be The Thing, but Christine has really grown on me in the past year or so.

I like Halloween slightly more than The Thing, but I consider both of these films to be among my favorite horror films of all time. I'll also give a shout out to They Live, which is in third place.

Hell yeah. Such an underrated and under-appreciated film. I enjoy it more every time I watch it.

My current favorite, for about the last 4-5 years, is The Fog.

But it changes.

That's another favorite. I'll add that, the first time I saw The Fog, my wife and I were temporarily trapped in a beachfront hotel as a nor'easter roared through the night, with water surrounding the building and impassible roads, but TV movies were still on. The next time we were in California, we visited the lighthouse that was featured in the movie.

I'm not sure how to describe this, but the pace and dialog in The Fog feels like it was done by a musician. Sounds, dialog and mood music are all in step with each other. Then the eye gouging starts.

1. The Thing
2. Halloween
3. Christine
4. Prince of Darkness
5. Escape from New York

Did not like The Fog, Vampires nor Big Trouble in Little China.
Need to see Assault on Precint 13, DarkStar, In the Mouth of Madness, and Starman yet

My top 10:

The Thing (1982)
In the Mouth of Madness (1995)
They Live (1988)
Village of the Damned (1995)
Starman (1984)
Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)
The Fog (1980)
Halloween (1978)
Vampires (1998)

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

Never really got Carpenter only movie i think i like is They Live, only because it's a bold undertaking and he pulled it off ok.

Oh also he did masters of horror for HBO Cigarette Burns I thought that was pretty good

Two years and two more watches later, it hasn't changed.

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

Halloween -- it's a really well-done slasher flick, but it is just a slasher flick.

Assault on Precinct 13 -- interesting themes, nice use of an anti-hero, but a bit rough around the edges.

Big Trouble in Little China -- Big Fun and great lines. A little cheesy, a little cringe, but fun.

Christine -- Meh.

Escape from New York -- Cool as AF. Great soundtrack. Kind of a goody premise. Dated SFX. Great for what is implied about the world and only shown in a glimpses (e.g., the girl being sexually assaulted in the basement before Plissken finds "the president"). Still, a little goofy if you think about it (e.g., why would they only have one copy of a cassette tape? Surely, they still have the papers and experts and tests?)

The Fog -- It's OK, but Halloween is better.

The Thing -- Great ensemble cast. Solid acting (can't really say this for all JC films). Great themes. Great music. Cutting edge SFX that largely aged well. Awesome atmosphere/tone. Great sense of creeping dread and mutual distrust. This is his greatest work. It's the one film he did that doesn't have Roger Corman-esque rough edges and schlock. This is his best film.

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

This definitely tracks.

Into the Mouth of Mundaness

I always forget that Carpenter directed Starman...great film, Bridges was brilliant.

It's Carpenter's E.T.

1. Halloween
2. In The Mouth Of Madness
3. Ghosts Of Mars (this a film I like more than I probably should, just works for me great,so easy to watch, I love everything about it even though it is a bit schlocky that's part of its appeal!)
4. They Live (sheer brilliance)
5. Escape From New York
6. Escape From L.A
7. Christine
8. Village Of The Damned
9.The Thing

Difficult choice to put "They Live" after "Ghosts Of Mars" and I had to think hard on that.

Always felt "The Fog" should be a film I enjoy but tried it a few times now and I just find it boring and forgettable and won't be fooled into trying again. I gave it all chances, it's a whole heap of nothing.

Hated Assault On Precinct 13 horrible movie

Vampires is pants..

Not seen Big Trouble In Little China in years, I think I liked it as a kid.

I have no inclination to watch The Ward... unless someone tells me differently

"Vampire is Pants"...what does that mean?

Rubbish/not good

His other films are "streets ahead."

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

I have nothing to say...:cool: I'm not a big fan of John Carpenter's films but they're OK as popcorn flicks. Oh, I guess I did have something to say.

Objectively, most of his films are B-movies. But if you dig his style, you forgive a lot... ...and occasionally he knocks it out of the park (e.g., Halloween, The Thing).

Yeah very true, knowing that his films are meant to be B movies makes them all the funner to watch. I was thinking of checking out Ghost of Mars again. I don't think I've seen Halloween since I seen it first run way back in the day.

I don't know that I would recommend that one.



https://external-content.duckduckgo....3cd&ipo=images

It's certainly no Ghosts of Mars.

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

Oh, that's right. John Carpenter is a 'b-movie' director :rolleyes:

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

I think my favorite is Big Trouble in Little China

1. The Thing
2. Christine
3. Starman
4. Assault on Precinct 13
5. They Live
6. Halloween
7. Vampires

Ranked. I think they're all great apart from Vampires which was okay.

If anyone is curious what John Carpenter considers the ten best films of all time, this is the list he submitted to the most recent Sight & Sound poll...

1. Only Angels Have Wings (1939)
2. Chimes at Midnight (1966)
3. Rio Bravo (1958)
4. The Discret Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)
5. Chinatown (1974)
6. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
7. The Searchers (1956)
8. The Exterminating Angel (1962)
9. Scarface (1932)
10. Vertigo (1958)

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

^ Much less horror and sci-fi than one would expect.


1. Halloween
2. The Thing
3. In the Mouth of Madness
4. Big Trouble in Little China
5. Escape from New York

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

Halloween
The Thing
Christine
Starman
Vampires

I love The Thing and it easily slots into my favourite 25 movies of all time - even without the incredible effects, production design and pure imagination - it's simply a very well-made movie and I'd still love it without all of those things. Atmospheric, well shot and with a terrific score from Ennio Morricone. Wonderful movie.

https://i.postimg.cc/Y0k9dTtR/the-thing.jpg

For the most part, yeah.

Is Psycho a B movie? Is Jaws? If you just consider their premises and remove everything else from consideration, you could maybe make that claim. But it would be a claim that doesn't actually mean anything.


B movies are actually a specific thing. Basically cheapo features they could put alongside a feature attraction. They were usually obviously cheap, exploitative, frequently not made with any care towards the craft. Not sure how Carpenter, outside of Dark Star (which also wasn't a b movie, it was a student film, but at least contains some of the qualities of a b movie) is a b movie director. His movies were lower budget, but not cheap. Even though they were frequently horror films, they weren't technically exploitative. And he showed enormous care over his craft. And his films were never meant to supplement the feature film.Hes objectively not a b movie director.




Unless we are going to go the route of claiming we are using the more colloquial use of the term. Which is essentially used to say a movie isn't worth any serious consideration, but it's fun as a goofy diversion. And this also wouldn't apply. Just like it wouldn't apply to Psycho. It wouldn't apply to Jaws.

No.

Is Assault on Precinct 13? It is the epitome of a B-movie (albeit a fantastic one).

Is Big Trouble in Littler China? Yes. It's big fun, big cheese.

Is They Live? LOL, yes. It's Rowdy Roddy Piper.

Is Ghosts of Mars? No, that's a D-movie.

Is Dark Star? Yes.

The Fog? Yes.

Christine? Yes.

Into the Mouth of Madness? Yes.

Escape from L.A.? Yep.

Village of the Damned? Yes.

Halloween was low-budget horror, but it set the standard for slasher films, so let's give this one a pass.

Really, Carpenter's magnum opus is The Thing. It is well written, well-acted, high-budget, and fires on all cylinders. This is an A-movie, but the rest of his stuff isn't on this level (Halloween excepted).
It seems you don't like B-movies as much as I do. Cheap exploitative schlock can be great fun. And a B-movie can be well done. I stand by Grindhouse as one of the best times I've had at the theater. How would you classify Grindhouse? Technically, it's not a B-movie double-feature, but it has the spirit of such fare and so do most of Carpenter's films. Until I think of a polite way of describing Carpenter's wonderful schlock "B-movie" will have to do.

Carpenter's movies tend to be under-produced, cast with workaday actors more likely to show up on an episode of The Love Boat than to ever be called onto stage at the Oscars. His films are cheaply scored (it's Carpenter on the synths most of the time). The dialogue in his movies tends to be a bit rough/wooden (pick a scene from They Live). Carpenter is not above exploitation and winking schlock. There is a lot of low quality stuff on Carpenter films that is often elevated by the whole somehow being greater than the sum of its parts, because he has a certain signature touch and doesn't take himself to seriously.
I could just as easily object that your usage is narrow and pedantic. Wikidpedia indicates that the wider sense of the term is the one which is operative today.
Sure, independent arthouse films are often made with a care for the overall quality of the work?
And with respect to Mr. Carpenter, he only has a film or two that come are in the same discussion with Jaws and Psycho. Most of his films are goofy diversions.

I'm not being pedantic about the definition. I'm offering the two possibilities of the terms usage. You're wrong on both.


None of your defenses of using this term to describe Carpenter stand. I can make defenses against his scores, his casting, the performances he gets from his actors, the stories he gravitates to, how there is a difference between being influenced BY b movies and MAKING b movies etc etc, but seriously, what is the point. You'll just say nuh huh and start doubling down about how you appreciate b movies more because it's all about the cheesy diversions, which is exactly the kind of comment that makes it clear this can't be a remotely fruitful conversation from my end.


And, please, go ahead Mr Wiki and tell me what arthouse fare is generally considered a b movie. Because I have zero idea what that would be referring to. My assumption is that it has been edited by someone like me who, at the very least, doesn't want to typecast b films as nothing but artless shit. Because as I've made abundantly clear the last twenty years, I don't consider things that have been relegated to b movie status as being worthless, artless or second tier. It's why I reject the term. But I at least know what it generally means and how it is used to undermine the worth of these films that you'd be too busy looking for cheesy goodness to notice.


Regardless John Carpenter is not a b movie director. And as for Grindhouse, it is great, but I think it is what is called a homage. You can wikipedia that one too if you like.

"I am not being pedantic. I am asserting definitions and telling you you're wrong for not following mine." ;) With respect, your preferred definitions don't exhaust the possibilities of usage. I have cited that the modern usage of the term, per Wikipedia, includes the sort of usage I am including here.
And this is why disputants are typically barred from also serving as judges; we will almost invariably adjudicate that we have triumphed in the dispute.
Don't you mean that you can make defenses FOR these things?
Indeed.
Nuh huh!
On the contrary, I shall triple-dog dare you.
I dunno. Pick a particular Parker Posie picture. How about... ...The Daytrippers?
B-movies are not "artless," but are a category of art. There is high art and low art, but low art is art nonetheless. Beware the valorific definition or we will lose Vaudeville as "art" for a scruple about its low-ambitions.
That's fine, but you're trying to regulate my use of the term, no? Don't we need a more objective source that your anecdotal reports of your idiosyncratic takes on the definition of the term?
What's wrong with cheesy goodness?
Until I find a better word for it, I shall continue to use it.
It is, and an homage participates in the very forms in which it honors by the reference. It is not of one essence with it, but the circles overlap. And to the extent that they succeeded, they did create not just an approximation, but an example (albeit a partial one) exhibiting what we love about B-movies. Carpenter is very much in the same camp, IMO. Even his more high-budget movies have that low-budget feeling (e.g., for all those reasons you won't refute, because why bother).

I do think it's interesting to look at those particular films and realise how he's reinterpreted the various facets on display in those films through sci-fi/horror - Assault on Precinct 13 is basically a horror riff on Rio Bravo, They Live and In the Mouth of Madness have shades of Bunuel's comic surrealism, Bringing Up Baby is the natural ancestor of the snappy banter between Kurt Russell and Kim Cattrall in Big Trouble in Little China. Perhaps the best genre filmmakers work because their own tastes are varied enough that they can introduce something new to the genre rather than simply repeating what's come before.

If calling the films that Carpenter makes b movies because it points to some surface similarities between them and helps lead you towards the next genre film you can dismiss as schlock, have fun with that. I'm sure a lot of people do the same. You can all misuse the term together. Misery isn't the only thing that needs company.



My ultimate point still stands that the issue is in how using terms like this frame the way we interpret a film. Limit what we expect from it. Allow us to casually dismiss something from deeper thoughts or feelings because it's 'just a b movie'.


Even though you don't seem to actually have any great understanding of this issue (I can hear Wikipedia being frantically checked again) isn't really the issue. Fretting over strict definitions of terminology isn't even super important (only another example of how you might be completely wrong). The issue is what these terms ultimately mean to people when they hear them used. 'B Movie' means something. And that something, and all of its generally negative connotations, have almost ****ing nothing to do with what Carpenter does or how his movies deserve to be talked about.


And the proof is in that pudding of sloppy reasoning you've got up there. The fact that you are using such absurd examples to qualify these films as B movies (the score is just two notes! Rowdy Roddy Piper is in it!) is just one clear example of how this glib way of defining things pollutes how you talk about these films. It forces the worst takes because, who cares, it's not like any serious conversation can come of such movies as this. Why can't you just say a bunch of dumb and pointless shit. It's just a bit of schlocky fun!


And, also, wtf. Daytrippers is arthouse? Or rather a b movie that is also arthouse. Is this a joke I don't understand or an actual serious comment? Because I don't know which is worse.

It seems that you think I am attacking or dismissing Carpenter. On the contrary, I am a fan. You seem to think that belonging to a category of "low art" makes something "bad art." I don't. There is outstanding Vaudeville. There are great B-movies. There are great "pop" songs. My favorite songs are pop songs.
Not necessarily. In America we seriously debate who has the best cheeseburger or barbecue.



Moreover, I think that we can't really see the quality of some of Carpenter's films unless we appreciate them for what they are.

There ain't nothing like being behind the wheel of your own car

No. This isn't what I said. Or have ever said. As I stated in my last post, my entire posting history for two decades has been about championing amateur and low budget and genre films for having an equal potential to greatness as anything by Godard or Tarkovsky.


But that greatness isn't just about about embracing the virtues of low art for being quality low art. For just being better than should be expected. Sure, that can be part of it, but it doesn't stop there.


It's also about embracing how these movies operate beyond their narrative structure. How they challenge aesthetic norms. What they say about our culture or the person making them or film itself. How we relate to its images. How to rationalize the greatness of something when it isn't doing the things that are socially acceptable to make things great. How they can change our relationship to the viewing experience in general.


You know, basically 90 percent of my posting history that you have a history of completely rejecting or not acknowledging or arguing with badly.


And nowhere do I say your aren't a fan or that you don't enjoy them. Great, I'm glad you do, no matter the reasin. But, ultimately, what is that to me? All I've learned from your posts is that what you get from them is a 'goofy diversion'. That you 'accept them for what they are', as if your definition of what they are is all that is required.


And that is what this all boils down to in regards to labelling them b movies. Not that I think b movies are bad. Because I don't. But because stupid defintions like that put them in a bottle where any discussion outside of that bottle is going to be laughed at because...it's inconceivable (to some) that these kind of films deserve to be thought of that seriously. That they might contain multitudes. That it should be considered that maybe they have elements of worth or poetry or insight coming at us from many different angles. That we aren't just left with 'that was fun' when they are over


But, yeah, you sure like these things more than me. Troll a little more desperately why don't you.

Crumb, you seem upset and we're not having a productive conversation. Moreover, we're derailing the thread. How about we just note that you strenuously object to my promiscuous use of the term of "B-Movie" and just let this one go?

You could concede that you misused the term “B movie” and let it go.

In some ways, I agreed with you. We think in language, and language evolves and changes our perception.

For that reason, I believe the stigma around the phrase B-movie and how films (especially genre films) can be wrongfully grouped in with each other is both inappropriate and detracts from their merit. It is something, too, that makes it irrelevant whether someone has a different definition of a categorization - it's our grouped perception that ultimately matters and how stigmas and stereotypes persist.

It's an argument largely on semantics, but it can be an interesting to think about and talk about.

However, it's these kind of rude remarks that disqualify a person in any discussion.

So, now all John Carpenter movies are B-movies.

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

Escape From L.A.
for sure.. one of my favorite movies

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

Halloween isn't really that great of a movie

Yeah, it really wasn't; it was groundbreaking at the time, of course, but in retrospect, it just felt like kind of a basic Slasher to me... *shrug*

It's hard to judge a film the breaks the ice and sets the standard. Retrospectively, it will feel "basic," because it set a pattern. At the time, however, it was quite effective and fresh.




In effect, it was the little B-movie that could.

It's a formal masterpiece of minimalism, style and mood with among the most influential structures and scores in cinema history.

It's like faulting Pulp Fiction for the deluge of non-linear plot and verbose witticisms that plagued the '90s and stopping there. Even submerged in a legion of imitators, they set the standards for a reason and it has everything to do with craft and execution of a brilliant idea.

And it's important to note, it's still considerably better than most (all?) of the films it birthed.


There is still something to be said about how stripped down this film is in getting to the essence of this brand of horror. There are few that have been leaner and contain less frills, but that also throb with constant menace.


Also, what slasher has ever approached this ones level of humanism? Where the violence is not cheered on by the audience or glorified, but is simply something blunt that comes out of the dark , aiming for characters that we are invested in.


And the ****ing score. Still one of the best and most effective in horror, with the only possible exceptions being Psycho and Suspiria. It's eerie simplicity is a perfect mirror to the films minimalism.


On paper, yes, it's just another slasher. But who cares about what a movie is on paper. It's in the execution. And Carpenter had a vision with this that he basically nailed. I don't even know how someone could ever make a better movie in this being. Perfection right out of the gate

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

Don't get me wrong, I really like Halloween. It's a very moody and atmospheric movie, with one of the best scores ever created for a horror movie. But I do think there are better slashers out there, and I even prefer the one that gets credited with creating a lot of slasher tropes as well (Black Christmas). It's also not one of my favorite Carpenter films.

I respect it and understand why many people consider it a masterpiece. Plus I know it's fairly unusual to like Halloween II more, so my opinion is not in the majority.

Black Christmas might be as good. Possibly. It's at least in the discussion


Halloween II to me seemed like a competent retread of what Carpenter had already done. Not bad, but nothing that interests me much

Why don't we have a Rom Com slasher? Maybe, part of the film from the POV of the slasher (the rom com) and the other POVs are everyone else (the horror flick). "A touching tale of first loves and last breaths. It will warm your heart... ...on a fire."

Halloween


I really don't care for anything else he's done. He needs to make another slasher movie.

No love for The Thing?

Re: What's your favorite John Carpenter Flick?
 

Wow....The Thing is an all time favorite. I love that Carpenter has taken a "low end" genre and made them well. I like that he does that genre probably as well as anybody could, knowing that the genre "gets no respect". Now and again, I have to pull out the DVD for The Fog and recall spending some time visiting that exact lighthouse (Point Reyes), thinking that the movie really captured the feel of the place. The lighthouse, the cliff and the ocean are characters in that movie. All it needed was a scream queen and Jamie Lee Curtis was perfect as was Adrienne Barbeau, Carpenter's wife at that time.