JOHN CARPENTER

After a mixed start to his film carrer with some flop movies and some outstanding features along with some screenplays which never eventuated into films and TV series, John Carpenter finally got his big break in 1978 with his imortal classic Halloween which introduced Jamie Lee Curtis to a new audience and set a precedent for other 'slasher' films. The celebrated film score (also written by Carpenter) and inventive shots turned what was potentially a forgetable saturday afternoon popcorn flick into something much more sinister and influencial. Halloween was shot for $300,000 and has grossed more than $55 million worldwide making it one of the most profitable films ever made.
Carpenters approach to film making is very simmilar to that of Hitchcock, Hawks and John Ford. Some say his greatest asset is a uncluttered depiction of action in a way that almost trancends narrative constraints (e.g the long Point Of View shot that opens Halloween). After Halloween Carpenter came out with other movies such as Escape from New York, Christine, The Thing, Starman and Big Trouble in Little China. Some of these movies were met with less than enthusiastic responses, and it was this fact that drew John briefly back to the world of low budget films with Prince of Darkness.
Carpenter then returned to the big time with the $40 million dollar Memoirs of an Invisable Man, which undermined Carpenters direction. Then came In The Mouth of Madness which I believe is John Carpenters best work as a director, although Madman would argue for Halloween.
Carpenter's next film was the sequel to Escape from New York, Escape from L.A. It was met with mixed reviews, but overall was thought of as a less than convincing film. After this Carpenter has dropped out of the spotlight although he has continued writing for TV. John Carpenter has also been involved in writing and directing John Carpenters Vampires