It’s always often the case in John Carpenter’s output over the years, that his name must be above the title of all his projects. This has happened since he first struck a deal to helm his horror classic HALLOWEEN, when it was one of his stipulations. (Oops, sorry… JOHN CARPENTER‘S HALLOWEEN). Growing up I was thrilled by his excellent movies, and up until the mid-nineties I still don’t think there was a director more consistent than Carpenter. Whether giving us unforgettable suspense-filled features or even tongue-in-cheek fun flicks, his films always were a joy/thrill to watch. Yet, I still never felt, even now, that he was ever accepted by the mainstream film industry. Needless to say Carpenter was a genius, a master of his craft… I should reiterate the word WAS. Like a lot of directors, he peaked too early.
I could write for hours, talk for hours even, about my love for Carpenter and his work. He’s part of the reason I love cinema and do what I do. However, it’s hard to maintain perfection, and as such, Carpenter went a little limp. This didn’t necessarily begin with our latest guilty pleasure. No, Carpenter began to wane over time, well before the true rot set in. Yet I still find it hard to say many of his latter films were rubbish, even if I know deep down they were. I feel that even those lesser efforts were enjoyable, but putting them next to HALLOWEEN, THE THING or ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (just add his name before those titles as I have a word count to adhere to), you can see there really is no comparison…Which brings us nicely to his sequel ESCAPE FROM L.A.
I remember the build up to his return to the apocalyptic adventures of anti-hero Snake Plissken… and with Kurt Russell back, I was one happy bunny. In an early interview, Russell stated when he got the call from Carpenter, all the director said was ‘Kurt, it’s time to do to L.A. what we did to New York.’ And that’s exactly what they did, lifted the exact same plot from the previous film: capture Snake, give him his options, go save the President (or rather his daughter this time around). I have watched both N.Y. and L.A a few times now, one directly after the other, and if you did the same you’d swear the sequel was made first. The visual-effects are laughable; and this was five or six years after the likes of T2, TOTAL RECALL, THE ABYSS and JURASSIC PARK, which still stand up today. But it’s still bloody brilliant!
The casting is first rate: Russell snarls away as usual with his sardonic put downs, in a way only he and his loveable character can; Peter Fonda’s surfing Pipeline, feels likes he’s there to have a few beers and a laugh with his buddies; and the googly-eyed brilliance of Steve Buscemi is at his slimy best. It gets better as the legendary ‘Chin’ Bruce Campbell crops up as a bonkers plastic surgeon, eclipsing any cameo he’s done previous or since (yes even those in SPIDER-MAN) and proving he should have been the main villain, as opposed to George Coraface’s lame Che Guevarra-like baddie. There is also the shear madness of gender-swapping Pam Grier as one of Snake’s former criminal buddies and Cliff Robertson as the ruthless President whose shady doomsday device means more to him than his rebellious daughter. Stacy Keach and the gorgeous Michelle Forbes too, are a great fit for the roles similarly played by Tom Atkins and the late Lee Van Cleef in the original.
In the end, Snake saves the day, makes everyone pay and brings the dark ages back to the planet. Snake quips at one point towards to finale ‘The more things change, the more they stay the same’. Which is rather apt as Carpenter essentially remade his own film. Just so shit, it’s superb craziness to quote our eye-patch wearing deadpan hero ‘catches on quick’!
