At a glance
| Born | January 16, 1948, Carthage, New York |
| Known for | Halloween, The Thing, Escape from New York |
| Active | 1970–present |
| Role | Director, composer, screenwriter |
Overview
John Carpenter directed Halloween (1978) and wrote the piano theme that still means the film. He also directed The Thing (1982), The Fog (1980), Escape from New York (1981), and They Live (1988). The horror films are spare: a shape in a mask, a research station, a fog bank. He scores many of them himself, usually with a synthesizer and a small number of notes. He did not direct the Halloween sequels. He wrote and produced Halloween II (1981) and composed the music. The 2018 revival used his theme and brought him back as a composer and executive producer.
Career
Carpenter studied at the University of Southern California. Dark Star (1974), co-written with Dan O’Bannon, is a student science-fiction comedy that already has his deadpan tone. Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) is a siege film. Halloween, written with Debra Hill and produced by Irwin Yablans, cost about $300,000 and made Michael Myers a template. The killer is called the Shape in the script. He does not speak. Donald Pleasence plays Dr. Loomis. Jamie Lee Curtis plays Laurie Strode.
The Thing, from John W. Campbell’s novella, was a remake in name and a different film. It opened against E.T. and was reviewed as too grim. The reputation reversed over the next decade. Kurt Russell plays MacReady. The effects are Rob Bottin’s. Big Trouble in Little China (1986) and They Live followed, both of them cult films that did not open like hits. In the Mouth of Madness (1994) is his Stephen King film without Stephen King. Vampires (1998) and Ghosts of Mars (2001) are later studio jobs. The Ward (2010) is the last feature to date.
He has spent the years since on music. Lost Themes and its sequels are albums, not soundtracks. Halloween (2018), Halloween Kills, and Halloween Ends credit him for the new score with Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies. He has been blunt about sequels he did not want and about The Thing’s reception. The interviews are part of the public record of the films.
Notable horror credits
- Halloween (1978) — director, co-writer, composer
- The Fog (1980) — director, co-writer, composer
- Halloween II (1981) — co-writer, producer, composer
- The Thing (1982) — director
- Prince of Darkness (1987) — director, writer, composer
- In the Mouth of Madness (1994) — director
- Halloween (2018) — composer, executive producer
Trivia
- The Halloween theme is in 5/4 time. He has said he wrote it in a short sitting on a piano.
- Michael Myers’ mask is a Captain Kirk mask sprayed white, then altered.
- The Thing’s blood test scene is the set piece people quote. The effects were practical.
- He appears, uncredited in spirit, as a voice and a score more often than as a face.
- Debra Hill was his producing and writing partner on Halloween and The Fog. She died in 2005.
- He did not direct Halloween III. Tommy Lee Wallace did. Carpenter produced it and wrote the music.