John Carpenter is a legendary filmmaker, and he helped change the way horror movies were made in many significant and important ways. He has a legendary filmography behind him, his filmmaking craft proved enormously influential for future filmmakers, he crafted numerous legendary characters, and many of his stories were quite unique.
However, just as Carpenter influenced generations of future filmmakers, so too was Carpenter influenced by the generations that preceded him. He owes his success to many filmmakers and movies that came before him, and many of these works hold up to this day owing to their exceptional filmmaking.
Revolutionized: Steadicam
Steve Smith's documentary Halloween: A Cut Above the Rest is a wonderful source for in one fluid take. Steadicam was a fairly new invention at the time, having been introduced in 1975. Carpenter's brilliant use of the new technology inspired dozens of future filmmakers, many of whom employed Steadicam in their own movies.
Owes: 1950s Low Budget Filmmaking
Carpenter was born in 1948, and Cheap B-movies were quite prevalent at the time, and they had a strong influence on the budding filmmaker. Of particular importance was the filmmaking itself, as Carpenter would go on to direct quite a few low budget movies that became enormous successes. For example, Assault on Precinct 13 was made for just $100,000, and Halloween - perhaps Carpenter's most famous work - for $300,000.
Revolutionized: Unkillable Villain
Michael Myers is perhaps the most influential slasher villain in movie history. While he certainly wasn't the first slasher (more on that in a bit), he was perhaps the most revolutionary owing to his superhuman and unkillable nature. Before, slashers were mainly rooted in reality and featured human - however grotesque they may be - characters. Halloween changed all that, and the success of Michael Myers as a villain gave rise to future slasher icons like Jason Voorhees.
Owes: The Slasher Genre
Halloween may be the most influential slasher film ever made, but it wasn't the first. In fact, 1974 saw two enormously influential slasher films - both of which were released on the exact same day.
Co-released on October 11, 1974, both Leatherface and Billy, both of whom helped influence the creation of Michael Myers.
Revolutionized: Prosthetic Effects
The Thing set a new bar for prosthetic visual effects, and filmmakers would spend the next couple of decades trying to reach it (before the widespread adoption of CGI).
Owes: Science Fiction Films
Carpenter was They Live later in his career.
Revolutionized: Pushing Boundaries
The best innovators push boundaries and the limits of what seems normal and acceptable, and John Carpenter is no different. Carpenter's movies were considerably violent for their times, and the on-screen violence he depicted within them drew some criticism and controversy.
For example, the famous ice cream truck sequence in Assault on Precinct 13 in which a little girl is shot and killed on screen, or the opening first person sequence of Halloween which sees Michael (as a child) graphically stabbing his sister to death.
Owes: Elements Of Westerns
John Carpenter would never make a traditional Western, but some of his movies were greatly inspired by the tropes and atmosphere of the genre. Assault on Precinct 13 is the most obvious example, as the premise is essentially that of Rio Bravo. According to the DVD commentary, Carpenter originally envisioned the movie as a proper Western, but the small budget prevented his vision from becoming reality. He instead "adapted" the story with a modern setting to save on costs.
Revolutionized: Horror Themes
John Carpenter helped revolutionize the way that music was played in horror movies. Before Halloween, very few horror movies had musical themes - with the arguable exception of Psycho. But even then, Psycho was more of a crime thriller than an outright horror film. Carpenter composed the theme to Halloween himself, and it instantly became one of the most iconic pieces of music in horror movie history - maybe even the most iconic.
Owes: Entire Stories
Carpenter made many fantastic original films, but he also owes a lot to his fellow creatives. Some of his most popular and beloved films are adapted from others' work. The Thing is a remake of The Thing from Another World, which itself was adapted from a novella called Who Goes There? Christine was based on Stephen King's popular novel of the same name.
