John Carpenter’s favourite score: “I had a really good time with that one”
The love affair between John Carpenter and cinema eventually fizzled out, but the horror icon still has two other creative paramours that have ensured he’s never felt inclined to dust himself off and step back behind the camera for the first time since 2010.
The maestro of the macabre is quite content to spend the majority of his downtime playing video games, and when he does feel the need to contribute to the artistic discourse, he’s happy to compose a soundtrack or two. It’s something he did frequently when he was still directing, but now that he’s out of that business, he’ll gladly chip in whenever a filmmaker comes knocking.
Of the 21 features he helmed, Carpenter also composed the score or was heavily involved in creating the music for 14 of them. Even when he wasn’t on megaphone-wielding duties, Carpenter stepped up and was credited on the second and third Halloween movies, made-for-TV anthology film Body Bags, the first two entries in David Gordon Green’s Halloween trilogy, the Foo Fighters’ Studio 666, and Stephen King remake Firestarter.
It’s kept him busy, even if there’s some part of every Carpenter fan who wishes he’d direct just one more time. While it’s undeniably true that he went off the boil to a degree so drastic it was almost alarming, considering the guy who made The Fog, The Thing, and Escape from New York was also responsible for Ghosts of Mars and The Ward, he fizzled out instead of falling on his sword.
Carpenter made a few stinkers consecutively, decided he’d had enough, and then called it a day. He’s entitled to do so, and no amount of duds can detract from what he brought to the world of genre cinema. Still, one mediocre Carpenter flick that nobody’s seen before would almost definitely be an upgrade on the uninspired retreads of his back catalogue that have been flooding the market for years.
It’s wishful thinking, especially when Carpenter considers himself to be a retired director, video game hobbyist, and part-time composer. Still, of those 14 soundtracks he recorded for his own work, which one would he rank at the top of the pile?
“I really liked Big Trouble in Little China,” he told Film Ink. “I think that’s fun; I had a really good time with that one. I can’t really tell you why. I just like it, and I like how it fits in the movie.” One of the cultiest cult classics ever made and a riotously fun time that wins over new converts with each passing generation because it’s as loveable as it is batshit insane; Carpenter’s extra soft spot for the soundscape to Jack Burton’s offbeat odyssey has something to do with The Coup De Villes.
As well as directing and composing, Carpenter’s short-lived synth band performed the movie’s title track, complete with a music video as cheesy as the film itself. It was the one and only time he put his band in the public eye, which might explain why it’s his favourite self-composed soundtrack.
