With unforgettable movies like Escape from New York, The Thing, They Live, Halloween and Assault on Precint 13 in his filmography, John Carpenter’s legacy as a supreme writer-director of genre cinema - and being a pretty mean synth score composer as well- is secure. The huge success of last year's Halloween, a direct sequel to his original genre-defining 1978 slasher, and which he executive produced and scored, only confirms how potent his cinematic creations remain. This year sees Deptford Cinema honour the master of cult cinema with a retrospective of his finest films, and included in the line up will be the recent remastered editions of Dark Star, The Fog, The Thing, Escape From New York, Big Trouble in Little China and They Live!
ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13:
Cops, secretaries, and prisoners stuck in a soon-to-be-shuttered L.A. police station fight off a horde of murderous gang members in director John Carpenter's homage to Howard Hawks. When police officer Bishop (Austin Stoker) is left in charge of Precinct 13 on the last day it's open, he isn't prepared for the onslaught of a murderous street gang who have come into the possession of an enormous arsenal of guns. Finding himself trapped in the precinct with a pair of secretaries (Laurie Zimmer and Nancy Loomis), a few civilians and a handful of prisoners, Bishop is unable to call for help because the phones have already been disconnected and the precinct is in a run-down, out-of-the-way neighborhood. Holding out for a rescue, he and his fellow prisoners band together to barricade themselves in and hold the bandits at bay. But as the casualties mount and the supplies run low, they must choose between a daring escape attempt, a fiery offensive, or certain death. The sophomore feature from auteur-in-the-making John Carpenter, Assault on Precinct 13 reunited the director with Douglas H. Knapp, his cinematographer on 1974's Dark Star.
dir. John Carpenter
year. 1976
91 min
£6.00 (£4.50 conc.)
Doors 7:30PM
Film 8PM
“One of the most effective exploitation movies of the decade.”