Precinct 13: The Movies and Music of John Carpenter Chris Oliphant and Nick Rocco Scalia

Hello out there, and welcome back! As promised, Chris and Nick have returned with an all-new episode to discuss Halloween Ends, the final film in David Gordon Green's sequel trilogy that's now out in theaters and on Peacock. Like every Halloween fan out there, we've got some thoughts on this unique and highly divisive horror film, featuring an original score by John Carpenter (with his usual collaborators Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies) as well as what is -- supposedly -- the very last on-screen appearance of Jamie Lee Curtis as babysitter, massacre survivor, and, uh, pumpkin pie baker Laurie Strode. We really enjoyed being back to talk all things Carpenter once again, and we hope you'll join us for an in-depth, occasionally rather heated talk about the final (?) chapter in the franchise that he and Debra Hill kicked off back in 1978. Enjoy, and, if you're a horror fan, please join us on our new show, The Shuddering (shudderingpod.simplecast.com)!

Be warned: MAJOR SPOILERS for Halloween Ends beginning at 36:10 on this episode! They conclude at 1:21:25.

We're BACK -- and sooner, rather than later! After wrapping up the show proper, we promised to check back in any time there was a good reason to do so, and the recent release of Firestarter is exactly that! Why, you ask? Well, most importantly, the Stephen King adaptation features a brand new score composed by none other than John Carpenter, and it features his regular collaborators Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies from his album, soundtrack, and live concert projects. Plus, the film was written by Halloween Kills scribe Scott Teems, and -- as we're sure you've heard us talk about -- back in the early 80s, Carpenter himself was originally tapped to direct the earlier Firestarter film that ended up in the hands of another director. So, those were more than enough reasons for Chris and Nick to get back into the saddle and revive the show for what we hope is the first of MANY returns to the Carpenter-centric conversation! So, join us for this "bonus" episode, and please check out our new podcast, The Shuddering, when it launches very soon!

Well, everybody, this is it! On this extra-special (and extra-lengthy) episode of Precinct 13, Chris and Nick reveal the top seven films in their Carpenter rankings -- and cap off our three-part sort-of series finale with a look back at some of our favorite stuff. We also welcome back Megan Mosley, who you might remember from our Halloween and The Fog episodes from way back when, to share her own rankings and thoughts on the Carpenter canon. We hope you enjoy this look back at everything we've done over the past few years on the show, and please stay subscribed! We'll be back any time there's something new to talk about in the world of filmmaker, composer, and all-around fascinating creative talent John Carpenter. Thank you all for listening, and please share with us your thoughts on the show, your own Carpenter rankings, or anything else that's on your mind! And, hey, if you like what we do around here, check out our new show, The Shuddering, coming soon -- we're on Facebook and Twitter @ShudderingPod if you'd like to stay informed as we get set to launch!

The knock-down-drag-out Carpenter-ranking extravaganza continues this week as Chris and Nick share their next round of picks (the middle of their lists) and returning guest Josh Mosley gives us his takes on all 23 films! Once again, the good, the bad, and the silly in the John Carpenter filmography get discussed, along with a few of this year's Oscar nominees, an Elvis impersonator who's got nothing on Kurt Russell, and some further details of your hosts' next podcasting endeavor. This is the second-to-last episode of the show proper (though we'll be back whenever the occasion presents itself), so enjoy and be sure to join us again in a few weeks as we close things out with our very favorite Carpenter films!

We're back again, and the time has finally come to unveil our rankings of all of the John Carpenter-directed films we've covered since Precinct 13's humble beginnings in the fall of 2019! This week's show is part one of our three-part "final" episode extravaganza (more on that in just a second), and we're welcoming back two-time guest host Alexandra Wiles to share her own rankings of all of the Carpenter films. Chris and Nick, meanwhile, share their bottom eight -- some of which you probably have already figured out, others that might be a little bit of a shocker -- and you can hear the rest of their lists as we look back and close out the show over the next few episodes! As we've mentioned several times before, this isn't quite the end of Precinct 13, but now that we've covered all of the Carpenter movies, we'll be moving on to a whole new show (a few details of which we'll reveal on this episode...) and periodically checking back whenever something new happens in the Carpenter universe. So, sit back and enjoy, send your own Carpenter rankings to us precinct13podcast@gmail.com, and stay tuned for our favorites in the weeks ahead!

Ever wonder what happened before MacReady and the boys went toe-to-toe with alien terror in John Carpenter's 1982 classic The Thing? Well, we didn't really, either, but leave it to Hollywood to show us the mysterious backstory that Carpenter's film left tantalizingly out of reach. 2011's The Thing, a sort of grotesque, body-horror hybrid of prequel and remake, takes place a few days before the original and tells the tale of the Norwegian research base that made the colossal mistake of not letting sleeping extraterrestrials lie. Directed by Matthijs van Heijningen, Jr. and starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Joel Edgerton, the film is similar to its predecessor not only in its story and visuals, but also in the critical and box-office disappointments it suffered on its release. But, hey, it turned out that Carpenter's film was actually pretty incredible -- can the same be said about this long-in-development return to Antarctica? Chris and Nick break it down in the last of our reviews of Carpenter-adjacent projects, taking a look at the film's controversial CGI visual FX, van Heijningen's direction, the little details that make this a very faithful prequel to the '82 version, and lots more! Plus, Nick checks out a trippy slice of forgotten 70s horror, Chris recommends another stellar film from South Korea, and the guys preview the grand finale (for now) of this very podcast!