Week 11 — Artist OTW — Student Choice

Born in Carthage, NY in 1948, John Carpenter would go from having a big interest in films to actually making and directing multiple successful films. While he’s most notably known for creating the iconic serial killer Michael Myers in the film Halloween (1978), he’s done many films that are not only well crafted and unique but iconic and memorable as much as his famous film.

Growing up interested in filmmaking to the point of even making super 8mm films before high school, Carpenter had the desire to make films and was willing to do so with whatever he worked with. As he got older and made student films, he eventually made his first major film which didn’t receive much praise at release but has since had a cult status which would be something some of his films would go through. His status as filmmaker wasn’t just limited to that as he worked at composing music as well for some of his films. The reason being his early films had little money even for low budget standards causing him to take on multiple roles in many of his films.

Other than Halloween, Carpenter has made films that are very much unique in terms of what the theme and stories are usually about in films, leaving the viewer to think about the film long after the credits role. A perfect example would be 1982’s The Thing where the main theme throughout the film distrust and ambiguity. The film centers on an alien with the ability to replicate any living organism perfectly leaving many of the crew mates undecisive as to who “The Thing” really is. It’s perfect in not only production but as a narrative since it leaves you guessing along with the characters who could be the imposter, even after the film is over.

Carpenter’s films have tended to underperform upon release which is a burden since he’s made some of the greatest films that rival many others. Escape from New York is another film that despite its low budget, portrayed a dystopian future that fooled anybody into thinking it had a very large budget. Carpenter is an example of a filmmaker that despite constraints on money, could make something bold and in depth with little to nothing, proving that sometimes the best stories are the ones that come from nothing