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John Carpenter’s Live Retrospective Tour is Fan’s Dark Dream Come True
This review of John Carpenter on tour was originally published June 25, 2016
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The voice came out of nowhere in the packed lobby of the Majestic Theater in Dallas, TX. I turned to look for the source of the voice and there stood a beautiful lady in her mid-50s, perfectly put together from the hair to the nails to the shoes that perfectly matched the color of her blouse. In short, she was NOT who I was expecting to see at a concert by legendary horror master John Carpenter.
“Yes, we really can be,” I replied with a smile.
“Yes, WE can,” she emphasized back.
As this finely dressed lady continued to chat with me about her love for Texas Frightmare Weekend and all things John Carpenter, I began to take a look around the room at the assembled crowd. We were the metaphorical melting pot. Race, gender, and age differences meant nothing in this group of die hard fans who gathered to witness the maestro performed the music he composed for his films and for his two recently released albums, Lost Themes and Lost Themes II.
As the doors opened, the excitement released in a dull roar as people stopped at the full open bars for drinks and headed to their seats. Inside the theater, energy levels were high. None of us really knew what to expect from this concert. We’d all heard vague descriptions. I had two friends who had seen the show earlier and their descriptions set my imagination on edge. Carpenter, with a band, playing his music as images from his films were shown on a screen behind him.
The question that seemed to be on everyone’s lips was, “Do we call John Carpenter a master of horror, or has he been a rock god in disguise all this time?”
As the lights dimmed and the curtains rose, as John Carpenter and his band took the stage, as those first images of Kurt Russell as Snake from Escape from New York appeared on the screen and the music punched its way through the chest cavity of every member of that audience, the answer became clear. This man is BOTH!
For an hour and a half with only the briefest pause between pieces, Carpenter held his audience in a tight fisted grip. The man is a showman and he seemed thrilled and content to let the music and imagery speak for themselves rather than giving explanations or talking about his compositions. His comments were brief, but were expertly crafted to keep the momentum going.
“I AM KNOWN AS A DIRECTOR OF HORROR MOVIES,” he bellowed into the mic midway through the show. “I. LOVE. HORROR MOVIES. HORROR MOVIES WILL LAST…FOREVER.”
As the word forever echoed over the halls, Cody Carpenter, John’s son with Adrienne Barbeau and a brilliant musician in his own right, launched into the familiar, jarring 5/4 cadence of the title theme to Carpenter’s legendary Halloween. This movie, that I’ve literally send hundreds of times, took on new life with a power and intensity that only live music can convey. One could not help but wonder what it would be like to watch the entire film this way with the score played live by this band.
And speaking of his band, the lead guitarist, Dan Davies, is a bit of rock royalty himself. You might have heard of his dad before. His name was Dave Davies and he was in a little British band called THE KINKS! Davies talent seemed barely contained, his guitar an extension of his body, as he pushed the instrument from fear filled moan to terrified screams throughout the night. He is an undeniably brilliant successor to his father’s legacy and it’s no accident he is touring with Carpenter. The director happens to be his godfather.
The audience responded with their own shrieks and cheers as each number came to a close, equally thrilled by Carpenter’s film music and his new compositions. Standout pieces like “Wraith”, whose rhythmic raindrop melodic cadence expanded to a haunting and hellish Bolero before returning to its quiet beginnings, and “Vortex”, which engulfed the audience in swirling, primal colors of sound, prove just what a master of synthesized composition Carpenter can be. The beautiful “Purgatory” with its slow build from stark piano melodies to jazz and funk inspired rhythms with sweeping synthesized strings is one piece this writer will never forget.
It was a journey the audience was privileged to take with the composer filled with moments fans of Carpenter’s films will never forget: smoke machine fog filling the stage as the haunting overture to 1980s The Fog began and the vengeful spirits of the Elizabeth Dane slowly stalked onto the onstage screen, the frenzied rendition of music from In the Mouth of Madness as Sam Neill succumbed to the power of Sutter Caine’s words and Hobb’s End became of village of monsters, and Roddy Piper kicking ass to the music from They Live.
As the evening came to a close, Carpenter once more leaned into the microphone. He thanked us for coming to the concert, and implored us to be careful driving home from the Majestic because…Christine would be on the highway tonight. As he and the band concluded the final refrains from “Christine Attacks” from the classic killer car film, the audience rose to its feet as one to thank the man for the horror and the music once again.
I urge you readers. Take my advice and pick up a copy of Lost Themes and Lost Themes 2 today. Turn down the lights, turn on the music, and ride the wave that is the musical genius of one of horror’s finest auteurs. John Carpenter: writer, director, and yes, rock god.
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Movies
’28 Years Later’ Trilogy Taking Shape With Serious Star Power
Danny Boyle is revisiting his 28 Days Later universe with three new films. He will direct the first, 28 Years Later, with two more to follow. Deadline is reporting that sources say Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes have been cast for the first entry, a sequel to the original. Details are being kept under wraps so we don’t know how or if the first original sequel 28 Weeks Later fits into the project.
Boyle will direct the first movie but it’s unclear which role he will take on in the subsequent films. What is known is Candyman (2021) director Nia DaCosta is scheduled to direct the second film in this trilogy and that the third will be filmed immediately afterward. Whether DaCosta will direct both is still unclear.
Alex Garland is writing the scripts. Garland is having a successful time at the box office right now. He wrote and directed the current action/thriller Civil War which was just knocked out of the theatrical top spot by Radio Silence’s Abigail.
There is no word yet on when, or where, 28 Years Later will start production.
The original film followed Jim (Cillian Murphy) who wakes from a coma to find that London is currently dealing with a zombie outbreak.
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Watch ‘The Burning’ At The Location Where It Was Filmed
Fangoria is reporting that fans of the 1981 slasher The Burning will be able to have a screening of the film at the location where it was filmed. The movie is set at Camp Blackfoot which is actually the Stonehaven Nature Preserve in Ransomville, New York.
This ticketed event will take place on August 3. Guests will be able to take a tour of the grounds as well as enjoy some campfire snacks along with the screening of The Burning.
The film came out in the early ’80s when teen slashers were being churned out in magnum force. Thanks to Sean S. Cunningham’s Friday the 13th, filmmakers wanted to get in on the low-budget, high-profit movie market and a casket load of these types of films were produced, some better than others.
The Burning is one of the good ones, mostly because of the special effects from Tom Savini who had just come off of his groundbreaking work on Dawn of the Dead and Friday the 13th. He declined to do the sequel because of its illogical premise and instead signed on to do this movie. Also, a young Jason Alexander who would later go on to play George in Seinfeld is a featured player.
Because of its practical gore, The Burning had to be heavily edited before it received an R-rating. The MPAA was under the thumb of protest groups and political bigwigs to censor violent films at the time because slashers were just so graphic and detailed in their gore.
Tickets are $50, and if you want a special t-shirt, that will cost you another $25, You can get all the information by visiting the On Set Cinema webpage.
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Movies
‘Longlegs’ Creepy “Part 2” Teaser Appears on Instagram
Neon Films released an Insta-teaser for their horror film Longlegs today. Titled Dirty: Part 2, the clip only furthers the mystery of what we are in for when this movie is finally released on July 12.
The official logline is: FBI Agent Lee Harker is assigned to an unsolved serial killer case that takes unexpected turns, revealing evidence of the occult. Harker discovers a personal connection to the killer and must stop him before he strikes again.
Directed by former actor Oz Perkins who also gave us The Blackcoat’s Daughter and Gretel & Hansel, Longlegs is already creating buzz with its moody images and cryptic hints. The film is rated R for bloody violence, and disturbing images.
Longlegs stars Nicolas Cage, Maika Monroe, and Alicia Witt.
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