Special guest John Carpenter attends the screening of ‘Escape from New York’
Photo: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images
Film director John Carpenter, He turned 75 years old yesterday, December 16, and is known as one of the most important directors of the horror genre.
He had a great influence on his professional era in the 70s and 80s. Among the films that have obtained relevant successes and that have his signature are: Halloween (1978), The Fog (1980) or Starman (1984).
He has also directed influential titles such as Escape from New York (1997: Rescue in New York) (1981), The Thing (The Thing) (1982), Big Trouble in Little China (Hit in Little China) (1986) or They Live (They are alive) (1987). Throughout his career he has won 22 awards, including the Saturn or the Cannes and Sitges Festivals, in addition tos of 20 other nominations.
Carpenter spoke about his film vocation in one of the first movies he remembers seeing:
“I went with my mother to see They Came From Space in 3D, the alien movie. The first sequence featured a meteor falling from the sky and exploding. I was very young and that completely terrified me. I jumped up, screamed, and ran down the hallway of the movie theater because I thought I was really in danger. But when I got to the back of the room I thought: the truth is that I liked this, I want to see how it continues, “said the actor to an American medium.
In addition to horror and suspense movies, those from the West are also on his favorite lists, especially
those of howard hawks. “I wanted to make Western movies, but when I entered this world, nobody made them anymore, except Clint Eastwood”, he recalled.
Several of his films, such as Vampires or Assault on the 13th district police station, have the soul of a western.
However, his passion is terror and that has been made clear in characters such as vampires, monsters, psychopaths, aliens, among others, who star in this world of cinema.
With just turned 75, it is not known if Carpenter will direct another film one day, but it cannot be denied that his place among the legends of horror cinema, and at a general level, is assured.
Keep reading: