MovieChat Forums > The Thing (1982) Discussion > John Carpenter's Apocalyptic Trilogy

John Carpenter's Apocalyptic Trilogy

posted 7 months ago by BKB (6219)
15 replies | jump to latest

The THING(1982) is downright amazing as far as cult classics go.. When this came out, it didn't do very well at all, but became better appreciated over time.. Then there's John Carpenter's PRINCE OF DARKNESS which I watched last night on Blu Ray and again, amazing movie, but criminally underappreciated and finally, there's John Carpenter's IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS to round it out, but I haven't seen that one yet.. Has anyone seen that movie and if so, is it worth a blind purchase on Blu Ray??

[–] pjl69 (2435) 7 months ago

I think In the mouth of madness is Carpenter's last good film. Not on the level of The Thing or Prince of Darkness, but definitely worth checking out if you are a fan of the director.

[–] BKB (6219) 7 months ago

Yes.. I'm definitely a fan..

[–] BKB (6219) 7 months ago

I'm starting a Marathon beginning with The THING, then I'll watch PRINCE OF DARKNESS and conclude with IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS that I just bought yesterday on Blu Ray

[–] jcnyclv (1383) 7 months ago

In The Mouth of Madness is one of my favorites (along with The Thing). Let me know what you think after you've seen it.

[–] BKB (6219) 7 months ago

I just finished watching "In the Mouth of Madness" earlier today and it was definitely different then the other 2, well acted from Sam Neill and the plot was an interesting one at that.. I'd say for now, my favorite is "PRINCE OF DARKNESS" followed by The THING and IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS last, but that could change over time

[–] jcnyclv (1383) 7 months ago

I agree Sam Neill was fantastic in this film. Glad you saw it.

[–] pjl69 (2435) 7 months ago

My ranking of those three films is the same as yours.

1. Prince of Darkness
2. The Thing
3. In the Mouth of Madness

[–] BKB (6219) 7 months ago

I'm trying to figure out why Prince of Darkness didn't do well in 1987 and what came out at the same time preventing it from doing better cause it really is a good story and the FX are top notch, right down to that dude outside sending them all the message they were going to fucking die while cockroaches devoured him was AWESOME!!

[–] pjl69 (2435) 7 months ago

It was a small budget production, so maybe it suffered from lack of marketing...

[–] ccr1633 (1425) a day ago

Prince of Darkness had superb potential. The problem was most of the last half hour, which mainly consisted of non-scary, non-suspenseful zombies (the physicists who got sprayed by the green goop) stalking the remaining scientists. It was pure filler material. The last 10 minutes are superb, as is the build up in the first half. It's too bad that Carpenter went for cheap scares for that long stretch of time near the end. The premise deserved much better than that. My guess is that Carpenter was under an extremely tight schedule imposed by a low budget. What he says happened to his first cut of The Fog (not scary) is likely what happened to the lame part of Prince of Darkness. The difference between 1979 and 1986 was that Carpenter had enough freedom to reshoot the parts of The Fog that didn't work. Prince of Darkness should've been right up there in quality with Carpenter's great run from Assault on Precinct 13 to The Thing. It probably had the best story of the lot.

[–] BKB (6219) 16 hours ago

I love PRINCE OF DARKNESS and have that on Blu Ray as well.. I totally dug the soundtrack and Alice Cooper made the easiest $$$$$$ ever

[–] BKB (6219) a day ago

BUMP.. I decided to watch the immortal classic "The THING" on Blu Ray

[–] jacotodd47 (1045) a day ago

I thought "The Thing" was terrific.

"Halloween" and "The Fog" - two more solid Carpenter flicks.

Even though it was a bit odd, I liked "They Live" as well

[–] BKB (6219) a day ago

THEY LIVE was more satire, but Roddy Piper & Keith David beating each other to a pulp and Piper suplexing him was awesome

[–] jacotodd47 (1045) a day ago

Yeah - it's one of the best fight scenes ever filmed.

Yeah, "They Live" is a bit satirical. It's not a classic or anything. It's kind of weird, out of the box - but enjoyable just the same.

If I remember correctly, Carpenter also did the soundtrack