John Carpenter

John Carpenter got his start at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinema, where he developed what became his feature directorial debut, Dark Star, released in 1974. But it was after his sophomore effort, Assault on Precinct 13, in 1976 that the filmmaker would release his defining masterpiece upon the world in the form of 1978’s Halloween. This film helped define the slasher genre for the masses, with Michael Myers, aka The Shape, at the center of it all.

In 1980, Carpenter was back for more big-screen horror with his ghost story classicThe Fog, which also resulted in his first interview with FANGORIA, gracing issue #5 of the magazine’s original run.

The Fog kicked off arguably one of the best runs by any director ever, as Carpenter then made Escape from New York and The Thing back-to-back. While the creature feature wasn’t a hit in its day, The Thing has since become embraced as one of the finest films the genre has ever produced. 

The Carpenter hot streak stayed alive with his Stephen King adaptation of Christine in 1983, which placed him on the cover of FANGORIA #32. The filmmaker finished the ’80s strong with Starman, Prince of Darkness and the unbridled classic They Live, which remains one of the most biting, ever-relevant bits of political commentary the genre has ever produced. Once again, Carpenter found himself in the pages of Fango in issue #78 with his 1988 sci-fi flick. 

Music has been a huge part of Carpenter’s career from the beginning. In addition to stepping behind the camera, he has provided the score to many of his classic films, including Halloween, The Fog, Escape from New York and They Live, among others. He even returned to work on the soundtracks for 2018’s Halloween and its sequels, Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends.