Mark your calendars! September 22nd is the day for this year’s Dusk-to-Dawn Horrorfest at the Midway Drive-In, in Dixon, IL. If you haven’t ever experienced an all night horror movie marathon at a drive-in theater, then now is your chance.
Tag Archives: John Carpenter
Little Shoppe of Horrors #40 Out This Month
The latest issue of this best magazine devoted to Hammer Films, Little Shoppe of Horrors, will be releasing issue # 40 this month. The main theme for the issue is Quatermass and the Pit (1967) which will have a 26 page making of by Bruce G. Hallenbeck, one of the best Hammer authorities and writers around! There will also be an unpublished interview from the early ’70s with Rudolph Cartier, who was the man behind the original BBC Quatermass series, by Chris Knight. You will even get to hear from John Carpenter talk about the importance of Hammer, as well as Prof. Quatermass.
Soundtrack Review: Christine
Christine
Released by Varèse Sarabande
18 Tracks with a Total Running Time of 34 min.
Original Music by John Carpenter in Association with Alan Howarth
Another classic soundtrack from Carpenter and Howarth. I don’t know how Carpenter continued to do it all those years ago, coming up with a score that was so simple and never over-the-top or intricate, but almost made them damn effective. And the score for Christine is no different.
Using just a keyboard, they once again create such an eerie score, building tension and atmosphere that some couldn’t do with a full orchestra. Even on a track like #5 Discovery, it is slow with on a few notes but is still able to make in impact, not to mention what it adds to the actual film. When you get to tracks like Moochie’s Death, we get a lot of suspense through the beating pulse along with a little melody in the background, with a few stingers here and there. Highly effective.
At the end of this month, Varèse Sarabande is releasing this on vinyl, with brand new art from Gary Pullin.
Music Box of Horrors Announces Date
Chicago’s first and foremost 24-hour marathon is back again this year for another fun-filled, terror-packed deluge of demented cinematic treasures! This year’s event will be taking place from noon on Saturday, Oct. 7th to the following noon on Sunday.
What do they have in store for you this time? Well, more details will be coming soon, and trust me, you won’t be disappointed. But so far, they have announced that they will be screening John Carpenter’s highly underrated, Lovecraftian tale, In the Mouth of Madness (1994), a rare screening from the only surviving 16mm print of Rusty Cundieff’s Tales from the Hood (1995), and one of the THE best Christmas horror movies ever filmed, Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010).
Soundtrack Review: The Fog
The Fog
Released by Silva Screen Records
34 Tracks, with a running time of 109 min.
Composed and performed by John Carpenter
Soundtrack Review: Southbound
Southbound
Released by Headquarters Music, 2016
18 tracks with a total running time of 61 min.
Music by The Gifted
Shout Factory’s New Thing
Okay, let me just say that I really hate when someone asks me for my top ten horror films, simply because it is pretty much impossible for me to narrow down such a huge list of films that I love to just ten titles. This list may change and change again, depending on my mood, the time of day, the weather, and any other number of factors. That being said, one title that would always be on that list, no matter what, would be John Carpenter’s version of the John W. Campbell’s story, Who Goes There?….more commonly known as simply The Thing.
Coming this September, Shout Factory will be unleashing their 2-disc collector’s edition of this 1982 (now) classic. Did we really need another edition of this, since the previous release from Universal Studios back in 2008 was a pretty stellar release? Even more so that you can still pick up copies for well under $10? I guess it really remains to be seen, but the list of new extras on this one are pretty impressive. Here they are, right from Shout Factory’s website:
Book Review: John Carpenter: The Prince of Darkness
John Carpenter: The Prince of Darkness
By Gilles Boulenger
Published by Silman-James Press, 2003. 296 pages.
Author Boulenger has spent four years interviewing Carpenter about himself and his movies. This title reads like one long and intricate interview, covering all of Carpenter’s work up to Ghost of Mars. This is a very interesting read here folks, giving us a ton of insight to this man, as well as his filmography. From a director that has given us some incredible films in his career, many that still hold up today, you get to hear how some of them came about, and also about some of the problems that came with it.
I think my only complaint about this book is that there are several occasions when a project that Carpenter had worked on, either as scriptwriter or doctor, but it’s mentioned in passing and we don’t get to hear any detail about it. I was amazed to hear how many projects that Carpenter was connected to at one time or another. But this is a minor complaint.
But in any case, this book is well worth the price, and really can give young filmmakers some depressing stories of what they might have to deal with. There is a great story Carpenter tells about a director and producer stranded in the desert that is hilarious. Obviously if you are a Carpenter fan, then this title is a must for your collection. If not, it is still one great read.
Mystery Photo 8-17
Our last photo didn’t get the same response as the one before, which is a surprise really due to the director was John Carpenter. That’s right, the shot was taken from the film he did right before Halloween, a made-for-TV movie called Someone’s Watching Me! Congrats go out to Cate Cameron and William Wilson for sending in the correct answer. I know I’ve forgotten to name a few people that have sent in the correct answer, so I do apologize. But the best way for me not to forget your guess is to send it to me in an email. That gives saved, so there’s little chance of me losing it.
Anyway, let’s get to this week’s photo. Might be a little tougher, but those are good every now and then, right? So here you go…take a peek and let me know what you think. And if you think you know it, just send us an email to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good luck.
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