Interesting entry into John Carpenter's filmography.

A lot of people hate this one because it "doesn't feel like a John Carpenter movie". That's why I find it interesting, this movie is very straight laced and clean. Free from cheese, unlike Ghosts of Mars, for example.

Carpenter's movies always had an element of cheese, he always made 'B-movies' that accrued cult fandoms. Even his glossier, bigger budget stuff like The Thing and Christine have an element of cheese.


I'm not saying The Ward is his best movie, far from it, but it does stand out amongst his work as a change in direction. The Ward shows that he could, and possibly still can, direct well. This was Carpenter 'adapting' to early 2010s era horror filmmaking. A shame he hasn't made any movies since.