★★★★★
As John Carpenter began to lose interest in making films, he entered into an unexpected renaissance as one of the most influential icons of the synthesizer age. Carpenter himself will tell you how accidental that status is: He only began composing and recording the scores to his films--starting with his first one, 1974's Dark Star--in order to avoid having to pay someone else to do it...
- pitchfork.com
2015-10-20
★★★★★
When asked why he didn't compose the filmscore for his last feature film the 2010 release "The Ward", 67 year old director John Carpenter replied, "Quite frankly, I'm just too old".Now a comment like that could be easily misconstrued.Too old?Too old to compose music? Or simply too old to take on the added responsibility of both directing and composing the soundtrack?Well thankfully Carpenter's comment reflects the later. Music continues to be an outlet for his creativity...
- www.prognaut.com
2015-06-16
★★★★★
After decades of being an infamous director of horror and science fiction, with cult-classics including The Thing, Halloween and Escape From New York, John Carpenter has decided to focus less on cinematography and more on sounds, and though this may seem surprising, it should be known that Carpenter is not only a producer and director of films but has also composed the music for most of his canon. So, who better than the legend himself to present a soundtrack album of non-soundtrack material...
- state.ie
2015-02-19
★★★★★
Tweet The Timeless Themes Whether or not the name John Carpenter means anything to you, from the opening note of "Vortex," it's clear the song belongs in a climactic scene from a movie. John Carpenter is the director of movies like Halloween and Big Trouble In Little China. Not only does he direct, but he also scores the majority of his films. A big reason for why his movies are so haunting is the music, which causes the audience to feel terrified as they sit on the edges of their seats...
- www.mxdwn.com
2015-02-18
★★★★★
John Carpenter presents a curious anomaly. Primarily known for contributing to the re-energisation of the horror film that took place during the 1970s and early 1980s, it could none the less be argued that it's as a musician that has influence has been the most widespread. Carpenter (occasionally with sound designer Alan Howarth) wrote and recorded a series of electronic scores for his own films - including Escape From New York, Assault On Precinct 13 and Halloween - which have arguably...
- thequietus.com
2015-02-10
★★★★★
While not every film in his catalogue has been a winner--he does seem to have peaked and fallen after a heyday of successes)--genius director John Carpenter has more unique successes completed on his own terms than virtually any other director. Even many of his derided and unsuccessful films have been re-evaluated and lauded with praise after their release. Critics may have hated The Thing (1982) upon its release, but it is widely and wildly acclaimed today...
- www.popmatters.com
2015-02-06
★★★★★
Since his career began in the mid-1970s, John Carpenter has been responsible for an admirable run of well-loved science fiction and horror films. Many of his features had low budgets but a lot of style. They were dark, dystopian, and violent (though seldom gory), with plots that glued together genre conventions drawn from westerns, '50s monster flicks, and exploitation cinema...
- pitchfork.com
2015-02-05
★★★★★
John Carpenter's image has long been that of a highly individualistic master craftsman with a throwback sensibility. In addition to directing, he's often written his own scripts, occasionally produced and edited his own films, and almost always created his own synthesized scores. While his philosophy may have been rooted in post-Watergate paranoia, his visual sense was informed by the lofty aesthetic virtues of old school Hollywood filmmaking...
- www.undertheradarmag.com
2015-02-04
★★★★★
A Seventies soundtrack master releases his first real album
Director-composer John Carpenter's skeletal, synth-heavy soundtracks were a hallmark of his Seventies and Eighties sci-fi and horror movies, from Halloween to Escape From New York. They've also influenced plenty of electronic music and art pop...
- www.rollingstone.com
2015-02-04
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