John Carpenter’s favourite horror movie: “They broke a bunch of taboos, my god”
It’s fair to say that John Carpenter knows a thing or two about horror movies. A true master of cinema of the most tense kind, throughout his career, Carpenter has detailed a penchant for eerie atmosphere and immersive narrative building, leading to a legacy as one of horror cinema’s all-time greats.
It’s hard to think of Carpenter and not immediately recall some of his great horror moments. Horror would not be what it is today without Carpenter’s 1978 classic Halloween, which introduced the world to the slasher movie icon Michael Myers, while the likes of The Thing and The Fog further showcase Carpenter’s ability to craft terrifying fictional worlds.
As a horror master, it’s only right that Carpenter has widespread knowledge of the genre, and given some of his previous comments, it appears that he’s just as much of a horror fan as one of its most significant figures. The director has previously expressed his admiration for the likes of George A Romero’s Night of the Living Dead and Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Such films are considered absolute classics of the horror world, but when it comes to the most supernatural movies, there are few films that have detailed fear quite like William Friedkin’s 1973 masterpiece The Exorcist, and it’s a film that Carpenter has experienced the terrors of on several occasions.
The Exorcist is based on the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty and stars Ellen Burstyn, Max bon Sydow, Jason Miller and Linda Blair. It tells of the demonic possession of a young girl and the desperate race to have her exorcised by two Catholic priests, with the film escalating in genuine horror throughout.
In an interview with The Fader, Carpenter opened up on what made Friedkin’s film so damn terrifying. “You know what’s scary about The Exorcist?” the director began. “Everyone knows what’s scary about that movie. It’s the devil.” Indeed, there is a real religious theme to The Exorcist that can create a sense of fear, especially in those with a more devout outlook on life.
In fact, Carpenter felt that the movie would be even scarier to Christians the first time he saw it, but later, he came to see that it was one of the most terrifying horror movies, regardless of one’s creed. “The first time I saw it, I thought, in order to be really effective, this movie requires a belief in a higher power,” he said. “But since then, I’ve come to appreciate it just for what it is.”
The Exorcist is always a horror movie that Carpenter returns to, acknowledging its truly iconic status. “It’s got some pretty great scenes in it,” he said. “I watched it again recently and was surprised by how intense it is. The things that they did back then, with this little girl, they broke a bunch of taboos, my god. It’s pretty damn good.”
However, Carpenter was less than impressed with David Gordon Green’s reboot of The Exorcist and told the Los Angeles Times, “I like what David did when he made the three Halloweens. Thought that was fabulous. I heard The Exorcist really didn’t cut it. That could be a kick-ass movie. I don’t understand how you can screw that up.” Clearly, for Carpenter, you just can’t get better than the original.
Check out the trailer for The Exorcist below.
