“Superb trash”: the movie John Carpenter thinks should be screened in every film class
Filmmakers don’t need to retire with their trophy cabinets filled to bursting point in order to become known as enduring legends of cinema, with John Carpenter living proof that mastering the art of the genre flick is more than enough to snag a spot in the hall of fame.
The director’s peak years yielded one of the greatest runs in history in terms of quantity, quality, and enduring status as certifiable classics and cult favourites alike were churned out. He managed to accomplish this while operating almost exclusively in the realms of sci-fi, horror, fantasy, and thriller; and largely under his own steam.
In the space of just ten years, Carpenter helmed Assault on Precinct 13, Halloween, The Fog, Escape from New York, The Thing, Christine, Starman, and Big Trouble in Little China, and it’s impossible not to argue that at least half of them have evolved to gain the status of multi-generational gems that continue gathering up a legion of new fans.
Prestige pictures and hard-hitting drama never appealed to Carpenter, and film fans the world over were met with ever greater thrills as a result. With that in mind, it’s perfectly on-brand that the movie he believes should be shown in history classes and taught in film schools is something he described in his own words as “superb trash”.
Produced at the height of Communist fear-mongering, Alfred E. Green’s 1952 effort Invasion U.S.A. unfolds when Cold War tensions have reached such a height that an unnamed enemy – quite clearly intended to be the Soviet Union without being named outright – launches an assault on the United States while a TV reporter discovers the news in his favourite watering hole.
It may not have any connection to the 1985 Chuck Norris vehicle of the same name outside of the title and overarching theme of ‘Commies try to take over the States’, but in Carpenter’s view, the original is the only Invasion U.S.A. in cinema history that matters.
While speaking to Film Comment, the filmmaker applauded the “cautionary tale of Communists invading the US” for the “superb trash” he deemed it to be and made a point of singling out a moment where star Peggie Castle’s Carla Sanford opts to leap to her certain doom instead of being assaulted by “invading Commie pigs.” In Carpenter’s estimation, it “should be shown in every class.” Not only that, but “for that matter, in every film class.”
It’s reasonable to assume that the most distinguished educational institutions on the planet will be very unlikely to take Carpenter up on his suggestion and make Invasion U.S.A. a required part of the syllabus, but if he ever gets bored during his extended – and likely permanent – sabbatical from directing, then he could always orchestrate a class of his own and make it required viewing.
