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137-834: John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, composer, and actor. Most commonly associated with horror , action , and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s, he is generally recognized as a master of the horror genre. At the 2019 Cannes Film Festival , the French Directors' Guild gave him the Golden Coach Award and lauded him as "a creative genius of raw, fantastic, and spectacular emotions". Carpenter's early films included critical and commercial successes such as Halloween (1978), The Fog (1980), Escape from New York (1981), and Starman (1984). Though he has been acknowledged as an influential filmmaker, his other productions from

274-492: A 1985 interview with Starlog , where he said, "I was called 'a pornographer of violence'   ... I had no idea it would be received that way   ... The Thing was just too strong for that time. I knew it was going to be strong, but I didn't think it would be too strong   ... I didn't take the public's taste into consideration." While The Thing was not initially successful, it was able to find new audiences and appreciation on home video , and later on television. In

411-507: A 2.39:1 aspect ratio, generally favoring wider focal lengths. The Ward was filmed in Super 35 , the first time Carpenter has ever used that system. He has stated that he feels the 35 mm Panavision anamorphic format is "the best movie system there is" and prefers it to both digital and 3D . In a 2016 interview, Carpenter stated that it was his father's work as a music teacher which first sparked an interest in him to make music. This interest

548-801: A British erotic horror film series is Hellraiser . Alien features heavy erotic imagery, with the design of the Xenomorph by H. R. Giger featuring both phallic and vaginal imagery, intended to symbolize patriarchal guilt as well as sex, rape, and pregnancy. Folk horror uses elements of folklore or other religious and cultural beliefs to instil fear in audiences. Folk horror films have featured rural settings and themes of isolation, religion and nature. Frequently cited examples are Witchfinder General (1968), The Blood on Satan's Claw (1971), The Wicker Man (1973), The Witch (2015), and Midsommar (2019). Local folklore and beliefs have been noted as being prevalent in horror films from

685-630: A beginning film course at USC Cinema during 1969, Carpenter wrote and directed an 8-minute short film, Captain Voyeur . The film was rediscovered in the USC archives in 2011 and proved interesting because it revealed elements that would appear in his later film, Halloween (1978). The next year he collaborated with producer John Longenecker as co-writer, film editor, and music composer for The Resurrection of Broncho Billy (1970), which won an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film . The short film

822-407: A career in screen and television writing. The programs emphasizes small, workshop-style classes. Students attend a variety of guest speaker presentations, take industry internships, are provided with mentors and are taught by professors who are actively working in the entertainment industry. Each fall, 30 undergraduate and 32 graduate writing students are selected to begin the program. The current Chair

959-526: A classic of the genre. Carpenter's next film, Christine , was the 1983 adaptation of the Stephen King novel of the same name . The story concerns a high-school nerd named Arnie Cunningham ( Keith Gordon ) who buys a junked 1958 Plymouth Fury which turns out to have supernatural powers. As Cunningham restores and rebuilds the car, he becomes unnaturally obsessed with it, with deadly consequences. Christine did respectable business upon its release and

1096-443: A co-production with Australia and Death Warmed Up (1984) a single production. Early features such as Melanie Read 's Trial Run (1984) where a mother is sent to remote cottage to photograph penguins and finds it habitat to haunted spirits, and Gaylene Preston's Mr. Wrong (1984) purchases a car that is haunted by its previous owner. Other films imitate American slasher and splatter films with Bridge to Nowhere (1986), and

1233-423: A crime from the past committed (an accidental drowning, infidelity, a scorned lover) and a ready made group of victims (camp counselors, students, wedding parties). The genre was derided by several contemporary film critics of the era such as Ebert, and often were highly profitable in the box office. The release of Scream (1996), led to a brief revival of the slasher films for the 1990s. Other countries imitated

1370-665: A critical reassessment in the United States, where it is now generally regarded as one of the best exploitation films of the 1970s. Carpenter both wrote and directed the Lauren Hutton thriller Someone's Watching Me! . This television film is the tale of a single, working woman who, soon after arriving in L.A., discovers that she is being stalked . Eyes of Laura Mars , a 1978 thriller featuring Faye Dunaway and Tommy Lee Jones and directed by Irvin Kershner ,

1507-556: A cult following, Escape from L.A. (1996), the sequel of the cult classic Escape from New York , which received mixed reviews but gained a cult following since then and Vampires (1998), which featured James Woods as the leader of a band of vampire hunters in league with the Catholic Church. During 1998, Carpenter composed the soundtrack (titled "Earth/Air") for the video game Sentinel Returns , published for PC and PlayStation . In 2001, his film Ghosts of Mars

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1644-434: A dislike for dissonance. Skin conductance responses (SCRs), heart rate (HR), and electromyographic (EMG) responses vary in response to emotional stimuli, showing higher for negative emotions in what is known as the "negative bias." When applied to dissonant music, HR decreases (as a bodily form of adaptation to harsh stimulation), SCR increases, and EMG responses in the face are higher. The typical reactions go through

1781-511: A few exceptions, he has scored all of his films (some of which he co-scored), most famously the themes from Halloween and Assault on Precinct 13 . His music is generally synthesized with accompaniment from piano and atmospherics. Carpenter is known for his widescreen shot compositions and is an outspoken proponent of Panavision anamorphic cinematography. With some exceptions, all of his films were shot in Panavision anamorphic format with

1918-444: A film I would love to have seen as a kid, full of cheap tricks like a haunted house at a fair where you walk down the corridor and things jump out at you". The film has often been cited as an allegory on the virtue of sexual purity and the danger of casual sex, although Carpenter has explained that this was not his intent: "It has been suggested that I was making some kind of moral statement. Believe me, I'm not. In Halloween , I viewed

2055-455: A ghostly revenge tale (co-written by Hill) inspired by horror comics such as Tales from the Crypt and by The Crawling Eye , a 1958 film about monsters hiding in clouds. Completing The Fog was an unusually difficult process for Carpenter. After viewing a rough cut of the film, he was dissatisfied with the result. For the only time in his filmmaking career, he had to devise a way to salvage

2192-428: A good film." Shelley called these films derivative of "American films and presenting generic American material". These films included the horror film productions of Antony I. Ginnane . While Australia would have success with international films between the mid-1980s and the 2000s, less than five horror films were produced in the country between 1993 and 2000. It was only after the success of Wolf Creek (2005) that

2329-506: A jump scare in a mirror can further build tension. Tight framing and close-ups are also commonly used; these can build tension and induce anxiety by not allowing the viewer to see beyond what is around the protagonist . The interaction between horror films and their audiences is another significant aspect discussed by Rhodes. He notes that horror films often serve as a safe space for viewers to confront and process their fears. This cathartic experience can provide psychological relief and

2466-410: A list of requirements should he direct the film; they were: 100 percent creative control, the right to assume scriptwriting duties, being able to co-compose the film's musical score, total editorial control, the casting of Brian Dennehy as Santa Claus and a $ 5 million signing-on fee (the same amount that the film's star Dudley Moore was receiving). Salkind withdrew his offer for him to direct. After

2603-422: A lower phonation frequency range). Another study by Baliatsas et al. observed that there is a correlation between exposure to infrasound and low-frequency noises and sleep-related problems. Though most horror films keep the audio around 20–30 Hz, the noise can still be unsettling in long durations. Another technique used in horror films to provoke a response from the audience is cognitive dissonance , which

2740-410: A modern setting and made other horror material which pushed the erotic content of their vampire films that was initiated by Black Sunday . In the 1980s, the older horror characters of Dracula and Frankenstein's monster rarely appeared, with vampire themed films continued often in the tradition of authors like Anne Rice where vampirism becomes a lifestyle choice rather than plague or curse. Following

2877-478: A more optimistic take on alien visitation. The impact on Carpenter was immediate – he lost the job of directing the 1984 science fiction horror film Firestarter because of The Thing ' s poor performance. His previous success had gained him a multiple-film contract at Universal, but the studio opted to buy him out of it instead. He continued making films afterward but lost confidence, and did not openly talk about The Thing ' s failure until

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3014-450: A nearly finished film that did not meet his standards. In order to make the film more coherent and frightening, Carpenter filmed additional footage that included a number of new scenes. Despite production problems and mostly negative critical reception, The Fog was another commercial success for Carpenter. The film was made on a budget of $ 1,000,000, but it grossed over $ 21,000,000 in the United States alone. Carpenter has said that The Fog

3151-520: A new generation of filmmakers would continuously make horror genre films in Australia that continued into the 2010s. By 2005, New Zealand has produced around 190 feature films, with about 88% of them being made after 1976. New Zealand horror film history was described by Philip Matthews of Stuff as making "po-faced gothic and now we do horror for laughs." Among the earliest known New Zealand horror films productions are Strange Behavior (1981),

3288-475: A new genre nature taking revenge on humanity with The Birds (1963) that was expanded into a trend into the 1970s. Following the success of Willard (1971), a film about killer rats, 1972 had similar films with Stanley (1972) and an official sequel Ben (1972). Other films followed in suit such as Night of the Lepus (1972), Frogs (1972), Bug (1975), Squirm (1976) and what Muir described as

3425-483: A person relates to that specific cultural from then on in their life. The history of horror films was described by author Siegbert Solomon Prawer as difficult to read as a linear historical path, with the genre changing throughout the decades, based on the state of cinema , audience tastes and contemporary world events . Films prior to the 1930s , such as early German expressionist cinema and trick films , have been retrospectively described as horror films as

3562-434: A script, directed the script, did the casting. 'Halloween' is his movie, and besides, the script came to him already titled anyway. He liked 'Black Christmas' and may have been influenced by it, but John Carpenter did not copy the idea. Fifteen other people had thought to do a movie called 'Halloween,' but the script came to John with that title on it. The film was written by Carpenter and Debra Hill with Carpenter stating that

3699-522: A sense of empowerment as viewers face and overcome their anxieties in a controlled environment. The communal experience of watching horror films in theaters or discussing them in fan communities also plays a crucial role in the genre's impact and popularity.[6] Music is a key component of horror films. In Music in the Horror Film (2010), Lerner writes "music in horror film frequently makes us feel threatened and uncomfortable" and intends to intensify

3836-524: A stalker, Carpenter took the idea and another suggestion from Yablans that it occur during Halloween and developed a story. Carpenter said of the basic concept: "Halloween night. It has never been the theme in a film. My idea was to do an old haunted house film." Film director Bob Clark suggested in an interview released in 2005 that Carpenter had asked him for his own ideas for a sequel to his 1974 film Black Christmas (written by Roy Moore) that featured an unseen and motiveless killer murdering students in

3973-500: A two-step process of first orienting to the problem (the slowing of HR), then a defensive process (a stronger increase in SCR and an increase in HR). This initial response can sometimes result in a fight-or-flight response , which is the characteristic of dissonance that horror films rely on to frighten and unsettle viewers. USC School of Cinematic Arts The USC School of Cinematic Arts

4110-534: A university sorority house. As also stated in the 2009 documentary Clarkworld (written and directed by Clark's former production designer Deren Abram after Clark's tragic death in 2007), Carpenter directly asked Clark about his thoughts on developing the anonymous slasher in Black Christmas : ...I did a film about three years later, started a film with John Carpenter, it was his first film for Warner Bros. (which picked up 'Black Christmas'), he asked me if I

4247-814: A whole was a style like film noir and not bound to certain cinematic elements like the Western or science fiction film . The term "gothic" is frequently used to describe a stylized approach to showcasing location, desire, and action in film. Contemporary views of the genre associate it with imagery of castles at hilltops and labyrinth like ancestral mansions that are in various states of disrepair. Narratives in these films often focus on an audience's fear and attraction to social change and rebellion. The genre can be applied to films as early as The Haunted Castle (1896), Frankenstein (1910) as well as to more complex iterations such as Park Chan-wook 's Stoker (2013) and Jordan Peele 's Get Out (2017). The gothic style

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4384-523: A young audience featuring teenage monsters grew popular in the 1950s with several productions from American International Pictures (AIP) and productions of Herman Cohen with I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957) and I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957). This led to later productions like Daughter of Dr. Jekyll (1957) and Frankenstein's Daughter (1958). Teen horror cycle in the 1980s often showcased explicit gore and nudity, with John Kenneth Muir described as cautionary conservative tales where most of

4521-984: Is David Isaacs . The Peter Stark Producing Program is a two-year (four semester) full-time graduate program. 24 Peter Stark Program students are enrolled each fall. The curriculum is designed to prepare a select group of students for careers as producers and executives of film, television, and new media. The current Chair is Edward Saxon and Associate Chair is Nina Yang Bongiovi . The Expanded Animation Research + Practice (XA) MFA program emphasizes creative expression across all platforms. Areas of study include 2D / 3D / real-time animation, motion capture, VR/AR, VFX, cinematic installation, analog techniques, documentary animation, experimental animation, stop motion, writing & story art, science visualization, sound design, and AI & virtual production. XA offers an ever-expanding, flexible and self-directed curriculum, cutting-edge facilities, new technologies, and inspiring guest artists that encourage artistic freedom and experimentation within

4658-567: Is Teresa Cheng , who holds the John C. Hench Endowed Division Chair. The Interactive Media & Games Division focus is on video games. USC has been a pioneer in teaching the foundations of games and interactive media while also moving the field forward with innovative research concepts. Since the start of its rating system in 2009, The Princeton Review has consistently ranked USC as the top school for game design in North America. The Chair at

4795-491: Is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes . Broad elements include monsters , apocalyptic events , and religious or folk beliefs. Horror films have existed for more than a century . Early inspirations from before the development of film include folklore , religious beliefs and superstitions of different cultures, and

4932-497: Is a "widespread and engrained acceptance of supernatural forces" in many Asian cultures, and suggests this is related to animist , pantheist and karmic religious traditions, as in Buddhism and Shintoism . Although Chinese , Japanese , Thai and Korean horror has arguably received the most international attention, horror also makes up a considerable proportion of Cambodian and Malaysian cinema. Ian Olney described

5069-521: Is a film subgenre that emerged in the 1970s with films such as Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? (1971) and Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972), which were soon followed by the influential Black Christmas (1974). Defining the Christmas horror genre has been described as challenging, as it has generally been regarded as a sub-genre of the slasher film . Adam Rockoff, in Rue Morgue , noted that

5206-499: Is a horror film trope , where an abrupt change in image accompanied with a loud sound intends to surprise the viewer. This can also be subverted to create tension, where an audience may feel more unease and discomfort by anticipating a jump scare. Mirrors are often used in horror films to create visual depth and build tension. Shelton argues mirrors have been used so frequently in horror films that audiences have been conditioned to fear them, and subverting audience expectations of

5343-483: Is a subgenre of horror fiction that blends sensual and sexual imagery with horrific themes for the sake of sexual arousal . Erotic horror has had influences on French and American horror cinema. The works of Jean Rollin , such as Le Viol du Vampire and Fascination , are considered quintessential erotic horror films, blending deeply sexual imagery with gore. American cinema has also featured notable erotic horror film franchises, such as Candyman . An example of

5480-463: Is a subgenre of horror film whose common themes are based on religion and focus heavily on supernatural beings, often with demons as the main antagonists that bring a sense of threat. Such films commonly use religious elements, including the crucifix or cross, holy water, the Bible, the rosary, the sign of the cross, the church, and prayer, which are forms of religious symbols and rituals used to depict

5617-428: Is applied to several films throughout the history of the horror film. This includes Universal Pictures' horror films of the 1930s, the revival of gothic horror in the 1950s and 1960s with films from Hammer, Roger Corman 's Poe-cycle, and several Italian productions. By the 1970s American and British productions often had vampire films set in a contemporary setting, such as Hammer Films had their Dracula stories set in

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5754-504: Is characterized by a number of notable failures including Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992) and Village of the Damned (1995). Also notable from this decade are Body Bags , a television horror anthology film that was made in collaboration with Tobe Hooper , In the Mouth of Madness (1995), a Lovecraftian homage which did not do well either commercially nor with critics but now has

5891-403: Is easier to view films as cycles opposed to genres, suggesting the slasher film viewed as a cycle would place it in terms of how the film industry was economically and production wise, the personnel involved in their respective eras, and how the films were marketed exhibited and distributed. Mark Jancovich in an essay, declared that "there is no simple 'collective belief' as to what constitutes

6028-570: Is led by dean Elizabeth Monk Daley, who holds the Steven J. Ross/Time Warner Chair and is the longest-serving dean at the University of Southern California , having led the cinema school since 1991. When Douglas Fairbanks became the first president of the nascent Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1927, one of his recommendations was that the academy should have a “training school”. As Fairbanks and his enablers reasoned that training in

6165-665: Is not his favorite film, although he considers it a "minor horror classic". Carpenter immediately followed The Fog with the science-fiction adventure Escape from New York (1981). Featuring several actors that Carpenter had collaborated with ( Kurt Russell , Donald Pleasence , Adrienne Barbeau , Tom Atkins , Charles Cyphers , and Frank Doubleday ) or would collaborate with again ( Harry Dean Stanton ), as well as several notable actors ( Lee Van Cleef and Ernest Borgnine ), it became both commercially successful (grossing more than $ 25 million) and critically acclaimed (with an 85% on Rotten Tomatoes ). His next film, The Thing (1982),

6302-430: Is notable for its high production values, including innovative special effects by Rob Bottin , special visual effects by matte artist Albert Whitlock , a score by Ennio Morricone and a cast including Russell and respected character actors such as Wilford Brimley , Richard Dysart , Charles Hallahan , Keith David , and Richard Masur . The Thing was distributed by Universal Pictures . Although Carpenter's film used

6439-562: Is particularly prominent in the cinema of Japan , Korea , and Thailand , among other countries. Despite being the subject of social and legal controversy due to their subject matter, some horror films and franchises have seen major commercial success , influenced society and spawned several popular culture icons . The Dictionary of Film Studies defines the horror film as representing "disturbing and dark subject matter, seeking to elicit responses of fear , terror , disgust , shock, suspense , and, of course, horror from their viewers." In

6576-466: Is when someone experiences tension in themselves and is urged to relieve that tension. Dissonance is the clashing of unpleasant or harsh sounds. A study by Prete et al. identified that the ability to recognize dissonance relied on the left hemisphere of the brain, while consonance relied on the right half. There is a stronger preference for consonance; this difference is noticeable even in early stages of life. Previous musical experience also can influence

6713-608: The A Nightmare on Elm Street series, while others disassociate themselves from characters and series and focusing on genre auteur directors like Dario Argento , while others fans would deem Argento's films as too mainstream, having preferences more underground films . Andrew Tudor wrote in Monsters and Mad Scientists: A Cultural History of the Horror Movie suggested that "Genre is what we collectively believe it to be" In addition to these perspectives, Rhodes emphasizes

6850-500: The Australian Film Commission to change its focus to being a more commercial operation. This closed in 1980 as its funding was abused by investors using them as tax avoiding measures. A new development known as the 10BA tax shelter scheme was developed ushering a slew of productions, leading to what Peter Shelley, author of Australian Horror Films , suggested meant "making a profit was more important than making

6987-582: The Gothic and horror literature of authors such as Edgar Allan Poe , Bram Stoker , and Mary Shelley . From origins in silent films and German Expressionism , horror only became a codified genre after the release of Dracula (1931). Many sub-genres emerged in subsequent decades, including body horror , comedy horror , erotic horror , slasher films , splatter films , supernatural horror and psychological horror . The genre has been produced worldwide, varying in content and style between regions. Horror

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7124-503: The Southeast Asia region, including Thailand and Indonesia . The found footage horror film "technique" gives the audience a first person view of the events on screen, and presents the footage as being discovered after. Horror films which are framed as being made up of "found-footage" merge the experiences of the audience and characters, which may induce suspense, shock, and bafflement. Alexandra Heller-Nicholas noted that

7261-511: The novel , play and the film's story relying on the supernatural . Newman discussed the genre in British Film Institute 's Companion to Horror where he noted that Horror films in the 1930s were easy to identify, but following that decade, "the more blurred distinctions become, and horror becomes less like a discrete genre than an effect which can be deployed within any number of narrative settings or narrative patterns". In

7398-462: The "Fear of the Demonic" features graphic accounts of satanic rites , witchcraft , exorcisms outside traditional forms of worship, as seen in films like The Exorcist (1973) or The Omen (1976). Some critics have suggested horror films can be a vessel for exploring contemporary cultural, political and social trends. Jeanne Hall, a film theorist, agrees with the use of horror films in easing

7535-413: The "turning point" in the genre with Jaws (1975), which became the highest-grossing film at that point and moved the animal attacks genres "towards a less-fantastic route" with less giant animals and more real-life creatures such as Grizzly (1976) and Night Creature (1977), Orca (1977), and Jaws 2 (1978). The film is linked with the environmental movements that became more mainstream in

7672-527: The 1940s, the horror film was viewed in different terms. Critic Siegfried Kracauer included The Lost Weekend among films described as "terror films" along with Shadow of a Doubt , The Dark Corner (1946), Gaslight (1944), Shock (1946), The Spiral Staircase (1946), The Stranger (1946) Spellbound (1945) while two years earlier, the New York Times described a new cycle of "horror" productions included Gaslight , The Woman in

7809-626: The 1960s and 1970s for horror films from Italy, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain, as well as co-productions between these countries. Several productions, such as those in Italy, were co-productions due to the lack of international stars within the country. European horror films began developing strong cult following since the late 1990s. It is unknown when Australia's cinema first horror title may have been, with thoughts ranging from The Strangler's Grip (1912) to The Face at

7946-484: The 1970s and early 1980s such vegetarianism , animal rights movements , and organizations such as Greenpeace . Following Jaws , sharks became the most popular animal of the genre, ranging from similar such as Mako: The Jaws of Death (1976) and Great White (1981) to the Sharknado film series. James Marriott found that the genre had "lost momentum" since the 1970s while the films would still be made towards

8083-674: The 1970s and the 1980s only later came to be considered cult classics ; these include Dark Star (1974), Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), The Thing (1982), Christine (1983), Big Trouble in Little China (1986), Prince of Darkness (1987), They Live (1988), In the Mouth of Madness (1994), and Escape from L.A. (1996). He returned to the Halloween franchise as a composer and executive producer on Halloween (2018), Halloween Kills (2021), and Halloween Ends (2022). Carpenter usually composes or co-composes

8220-479: The 1990s teen horror cycle, Alexandra West described the general trend of these films is often looked down upon by critics, journals, and fans as being too glossy, trendy, and sleek to be considered worthwhile horror films. Horror films in Asia have been noted as being inspired by national, cultural or religious folklore , particularly beliefs in ghosts or spirits. In Asian Horror , Andy Richards writes that there

8357-610: The American slasher film revival, such as South Korea's early 2000s cycle with Bloody Beach (2000), Nightmare (2000) and The Record (2000). Supernatural horror films integrate supernatural elements , such as the afterlife , spirit possession and religion into the horror genre. Teen horror is a horror subgenre that victimizes teenagers while usually promoting strong, anti-conformity teenage leads, appealing to young generations. This subgenre often depicts themes of sex, under-aged drinking, and gore. Horror films aimed

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8494-525: The Department of Cinema (1940), which led to the establishment of the USC School of Cinema-Television (1983), which was renamed the USC School of Cinematic Arts (2006). . On September 19, 2006, USC announced that alumnus George Lucas had donated US$ 175 million to expand the film school with a new 137,000-square-foot (12,700 m ) facility. This represented the largest single donation to USC and

8631-563: The Latin-American market employing Mexican actors, Mexican horror films were produced throughout the 1930s and 1940s, often reflecting on the overarching theme of science vs. religion conflict . Ushered by the release of El vampiro , the Mexploitation horror film era started in 1957, with films characterised by their low production values and camp appeal, often featuring vampires, wrestlers, and Aztec mummies. A key figure in

8768-501: The Living Dead led to an increase of violence and erotic scenes within the genre. The 1970s would expand on these themes with films that would delve into gorier pictures, as well as films that were near or straight pornographic hybrids. Genre cycles in this era include the natural horror film , and the rise of slasher films which would expand in the early 1980s . Towards the 1990s, postmodernism entered horror, while some of

8905-547: The Mexican horror scene (particularly in Germán Robles -starred vampire films) was producer Abel Salazar . The late 1960s saw the advent of the prominence of Carlos Enrique Taboada as an standout Mexican horror filmmaker, with films such as Hasta el viento tiene miedo (1967), El libro de piedra (1968), Más negro que la noche (1975) or Veneno para las hadas (1984). Mexican horror cinema has been noted for

9042-601: The USC School of Cinematic Arts. The current Chair is Priya Jaikumar. Notable faculty members of the Cinema and Media Studies department include Todd Boyd and Drew Casper . Prior to his 2019 retirement, Casper was the 3rd-highest paid professor in the University of Southern California 's history. The John C. Hench Division of Animation + Digital Arts teaches courses in animation and digital arts. These include classic character animation, 2-D and 3-D storytelling, performance capture, visual effects, motion graphics. The current Chair

9179-632: The United States in July 2011. It received generally poor reviews from critics and grossed only $ 5.3 million worldwide against an estimated $ 10 million budget. As of 2024, it is his most recent directorial effort. Carpenter narrated the video game F.E.A.R. 3 , while also consulting on its storyline. On October 10, 2010, Carpenter received the Lifetime Award from the Freak Show Horror Film Festival. On February 3, 2015,

9316-580: The Window (1919) while stories featuring ghosts would appear in Guyra Ghost Mystery (1921). By 1913, the more prolific era of Australian cinema ended with production not returning with heavy input of government finance in the 1970s. It took until the 1970s for Australia to develop sound film with television films that eventually received theatrical release with Dead Easy (1970) and Night of Fear (1973). The Cars That Ate Paris (1974)

9453-603: The Window (1944), Dark Waters (1944), Laura and Phantom Lady (1944). Mark Jancovich wrote in The Shifting Definitions of Genre: Essays on Labeling Films, Television Shows and Media (2008) that the term was virtually synonymous with mystery as a generic term, not being limited to films concerned with the strange, eerie and uncanny. Various writings on genre from Altman, Lawrence Alloway ( Violent America: The Movies 1946-1964 (1971)) and Peter Hutchings ( Approaches to Popular Film (1995)) implied it

9590-507: The animation art form. The current Director is Sheila M. Sofian. The School of Cinematic Arts also has an active Board of Councilors who help guide the future direction of the School and work with the Dean to ensure the School is properly resourced. Donations from film and game industry companies, friends, and alumni have enabled the school to build the following facilities: At the center of

9727-427: The atmosphere created in imagery and themes. Dissonance , atonality and experiments with timbre are typical characteristics used by composers in horror film music. In the book Dark Dreams , author Charles Derry conceived horror films as focusing on three broad themes : the horror of personality , horror of Armageddon and the horror of the demonic . The horror of personality derives from monsters being at

9864-572: The biblical account of the Massacre of the Innocents and more recently in works such as E. T. A. Hoffmann's " The Nutcracker and the Mouse King " (1816) and Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol (1843). Although ghosts have largely been replaced by serial killers, Christmas horror creates an outlet through which to explore "a modern reinvention of the Christmas ghost story". Erotic horror

10001-560: The biggest hits of the decade included films from Japan with the success of Ring (1998). Horror is a malleable genre and often can be altered to accommodate other genre types such as science fiction , making some films difficult to categorize. A genre that emerged in the 1970s, body horror films focus on the process of a bodily transformation. In these films, the body is either engulfed by some larger process or heading towards fragmentation and collapse. The focus can be on apocalyptic implication of an entire society being overtaken, but

10138-524: The centre of the plot, such Frankenstein's monster whose psychology makes them perform unspeakable horrific acts ranging from rapes , mutilations and sadistic killings. Other key works of this form are Alfred Hitchcock 's Psycho , which feature psychotic murderers without the make-up of a monster. The second 'Armageddon' group delves on the fear of large-scale destruction , which ranges from science fiction works but also of natural events , such as Hitchcock's The Birds (1963). The last group of

10275-502: The chapter "The American Nightmare: Horror in the 70s" from Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan (2002), film critic Robin Wood declared that the commonality between horror films is that "normality is threatened by the monster." This was further expanded upon by The Philosophy of Horror, or Parodoxes of the Heart by Noël Carroll who added that "repulsion must be pleasurable, as evidenced by

10412-417: The characters as simply normal teenagers." In addition to the film's critical and commercial success, Carpenter's self-composed "Halloween Theme" became recognizable apart from the film. In 1979, Carpenter began what was to be the first of several collaborations with actor Kurt Russell when he directed the television film Elvis . Carpenter followed up the success of Halloween with The Fog (1980),

10549-528: The cinematic arts should be seen as a legitimate academic discipline at major universities, given the same degree considerations as fields like medicine and law. Although cinema studies programs are now widely entrenched in academia, back then it was a novel idea and many universities turned Fairbanks down. But he found tepid acceptance at the University of Southern California that agreed to allow one class, called “Introduction to Photoplay” that debuted in 1929,

10686-563: The early films of Peter Jackson who combined splatter films with comedy with Bad Taste (1988) and Braindead (1992) which has the largest following of the mentioned films. Film producer Ant Timpson had an influence curating New Zealand horror films, creating the Incredibly Strange Film Festival in the 1990s and producing his own horror films over the 2010s including The ABCs of Death (2012), Deathgasm (2015), and Housebound (2014). Timpson noted

10823-670: The eleventh entry in the Halloween film series, simply titled Halloween , released in October 2018. The film is a direct sequel to Carpenter's original film, ignoring the continuity of all other subsequent films. It was his first direct involvement with the franchise since 1982's Halloween III: Season of the Witch . Carpenter also worked as a composer and executive producer on the 2021 sequel Halloween Kills and 2022's follow-up Halloween Ends . During Summer Game Fest in June 2023, it

10960-410: The emergence of sub-genres like splatter films and torture porn. In a study by Jacob Shelton, the many ways that audience members are manipulated through horror films was investigated in detail. Negative space is one such method that can play a part in inducing a reaction, causing one's eyes to remotely rest on anything in the frame – a wall, or the empty black void in the shadows. The jump scare

11097-433: The environment reminds them of particular scenes. A 2021 study suggested horror films that explore grief can provide psychological benefits to the bereaved, with the genre well suited to representing grief through its genre conventions. In a study by Medes et al., prolonged exposure to infrasound and low-frequency noise (<500 Hz) in long durations has an effect on vocal range (i.e. longer exposure tends to form

11234-536: The evolution of the horror genre through various cultural and historical contexts. He discusses the impact of socio-political factors on the genre , such as the influence of World War I and II, the Great Depression , and the Cold War , which shaped the themes and narratives of horror films. For instance, the anxieties of the post-war era manifested in horror films as fears of invasion , contamination, and

11371-482: The executive producer of the Superman film series , Ilya Salkind , offered Carpenter the chance to direct the latest Alexander–Ilya Salkind fantasy epic Santa Claus: The Movie . Salkind made the offer to Carpenter during lunch at The Ritz, and while he loved the idea of differing from his normal traditions and directing a children's fantasy film, he requested 24 hours to think about the offer. The next day he had made

11508-508: The film's characters. Being a graphic, sinister horror film , In a 1999 interview, Carpenter said audiences rejected The Thing for its nihilistic, depressing viewpoint at a time when the United States was in the midst of a recession . When it opened, it was competing against the critically and commercially successful E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ($ 619   million), a family-friendly film released two weeks earlier that offered

11645-589: The films stated if you partook in such vices such as drugs or sex, your punishment of death would be handed out. Prior to Scream , there were no popular teen horror films in the early 1990s. After the financial success of Scream , teen horror films became increasingly reflexive and self-aware until the end of the 1990s with films like I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) and non-slasher The Faculty (1998). The genre lost prominence as teen films dealt with threats with more realism in films like Donnie Darko (2001) and Crazy/Beautiful (2001). In her book on

11782-487: The financial failure of his big-budget action–comedy Big Trouble in Little China (1986), Carpenter struggled to get films financed. He resumed making lower budget films such as Prince of Darkness (1987), a film influenced by the BBC series Quatermass . Although some of the films from this time, such as They Live (1988) did develop a cult audience, he never again realized mass-market potential. Carpenter's 1990s career

11919-552: The first graduating class for the university was in 2010. The USC School of Cinematic Arts announced it would remove an exhibit devoted to actor and former USC student John Wayne , after months of insistence from a small number of students denouncing the Hollywood star’s views and the portrayal of indigenous Americans in his films. The exhibit has been relocated to the Cinematic Arts library which has many collections for

12056-402: The first season. His episode, " Cigarette Burns ", received generally positive reviews from critics and praise from Carpenter's fans. He later directed another original episode for the show's second season in 2006 titled " Pro-Life ". The Ward , Carpenter's first film since Ghosts of Mars , premiered at Toronto International Film Festival on September 13, 2010, before a limited release in

12193-554: The focus is generally upon an individual and their sense of identity, primarily them watching their own body change. The earliest appearance of the sub-genre was the work of director David Cronenberg , specifically with early films like Shivers (1975). Mark Jancovich of the University of Manchester declared that the transformation scenes in the genre provoke fear and repulsion, but also pleasure and excitement such as in The Thing (1982) and The Fly (1986). Christmas horror

12330-521: The genre among viewers (ahead of South Korea), according to a 2016 research. In a study done by Uri Hasson et al., brain waves were observed via functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). This study used the inter-subject correlation analysis (ISC) method of determining results. It was shown that audience members tend to focus on certain facets in a particular scene simultaneously and tend to sit as still as possible while watching horror films. In another study done by John Greene & Glenn Sparks, it

12467-431: The genre continuously evolves, incorporating elements from other genres and responding to contemporary societal fears and anxieties. This adaptability is evident in the various sub-genres that have emerged over the years, such as psychological horror, body horror, and found footage horror, each addressing different aspects of human fear and the unknown. Rhodes also explores the role of censorship and regulation in shaping

12604-597: The genre did not become a codified genre until the release of Dracula (1931). Dracula was a box office success, leading to Universal and several other American film studios to develop and popularise horror films well into the 1940s . By the 1950s , horror would often be made with science fiction themes, and towards the end of the decade horror was a more common genre of international productions. The 1960s saw further developments, with material based on contemporary works instead of classical literature. The release of films like Psycho , Black Sunday and Night of

12741-579: The genre's popularity." Prior to the release of Dracula (1931), historian Gary Don Rhodes explained that the idea and terminology of horror film did not exist yet as a codified genre , although critics used the term "horror" to describe films in reviews prior to Dracula ' s release. "Horror" was a term used to describe a variety of meanings. In 1913, Moving Picture World defined "horrors" as showcasing "striped convicts, murderous Indians, grinning 'black-handers', homicidal drunkards" Some titles that suggest horror such as The Hand of Horror (1914)

12878-429: The greatest and most elegantly constructed B-movies ever made". Trace Thurman described it as one of the best films ever, and in 2008, Empire magazine selected it as one of The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time, at number 289, calling it "a peerless masterpiece of relentless suspense, retina-wrecking visual excess and outright, nihilistic terror". It is now considered to be one of the greatest horror films ever made, and

13015-500: The horror film have feelings similar to happiness or joy felt with friends, but intensified. Alternatively, audience members with negative feedback regarding the film would typically feel emotions they would normally associate with negative experiences in their life. Only about 10% of the American population enjoy the physiological rush felt immediately after watching horror films. The population that does not enjoy horror films could experience emotional fallout similar to that of PTSD if

13152-485: The horror films of Europe were often more erotic and "just plain stranger" than their British and American counter-parts. European horror films (generally referred to as Euro Horror) draw from distinctly European cultural sources, including surrealism , romanticism , decadent tradition , early 20th century pulp-literature , film serials , and erotic comics . In comparison to the narrative logic in American genre films, these films focused on imagery, excessiveness, and

13289-515: The horror genre" between both fans and critics of the genre. Jancovich found that disagreements existed from audiences who wanted to distinguish themselves. This ranged from fans of different genres who may view a film like Alien (1979) as belonging to science fiction , and horror fan bases dismissing it as being inauthentic to either genre. Further debates exist among fans of the genre with personal definitions of "true" horror films, such as fans who embrace cult figures like Freddy Kruger of

13426-521: The horror genre. The enforcement of the Hays Code in the 1930s and subsequent rating systems influenced the depiction of violence and sexuality in horror films. This regulation often pushed filmmakers to find creative ways to imply horror elements without explicit content, leading to a focus on atmosphere, suggestion, and psychological horror. The relaxation of censorship in the late 20th century allowed for more graphic and explicit horror, contributing to

13563-607: The indie label Sacred Bones Records released his album Lost Themes . On October 19, 2015, All Tomorrow's Parties announced that Carpenter will be performing old and new compositions in London and Manchester , England. In February 2016, Carpenter announced a sequel to Lost Themes titled Lost Themes II , which was released on April 15 that year. He then released his third studio album, titled Anthology: Movie Themes 1974–1998 , on October 20, 2017. Carpenter returned, as executive producer, co-composer, and creative consultant, on

13700-490: The irrational. Between the mid-1950s and the mid-1980s, European horror films emerged from countries like Italy, Spain and France, and were shown in the United States predominantly at drive-in theatre and grindhouse theaters. As producers and distributors all over the world were interested in horror films, regardless of their origin, changes started occurring in European low-budget filmmaking that allowed for productions in

13837-582: The largest to any film school in the world. His previous donations resulted in the naming of two buildings in the school's previous complex, opened in 1984, after him and his then-wife Marcia , though Lucas was not fond of the Spanish Colonial Revival architecture used in those buildings. An architectural hobbyist, Lucas laid out the original designs for the project, inspired by the Mediterranean Revival Style that

13974-494: The latter horror entries from New Zealand are all humorous films like What We Do in the Shadows (2014) with Jonathan King , director of Black Sheep (2006) and The Tattooist (2007) stating "I'd love to see a genuinely scary New Zealand film but I don't know if New Zealand audiences – or the funding bodies – are keen." After the 1931 release of a US-produced Spanish-language version of Dracula by George Melford for

14111-462: The mashup of classic gothic and romantic themes and characters with autochthonous features of the Mexican culture such as the Ranchería setting, the colonial past or the myth of La Llorona (shared with other Hispanic-American nations). Horror has proven to be a dependable genre at the Mexican box office in the 21st-century, with Mexico ranking as having the world's largest relative popularity of

14248-505: The moment is Danny Bilson. The Media Arts + Practice Division (MA+P) creates and analyzes media for fields as diverse as business, medicine, education, architecture, law, urban planning, filmmaking. The current co-chairs are Holly Willis and Elizabeth Ramsey . The USC School of Cinematic Arts offers Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees in Writing for Screen and Television for students who seek professional preparation for

14385-565: The more technical aspects of recording, allowing Carpenter to focus on writing the music. The renewed interest in John Carpenter's music thanks to the Death Waltz reissues and Lost Themes albums prompted him to, for the first time ever, tour as a musician. As of 2016, Carpenter was more focused on his music career than filmmaking, although he was involved in 2018's Halloween reboot, and its sequels. Horror film Horror

14522-461: The music in his films. He won a Saturn Award for Best Music for the soundtrack of Vampires (1998) and has released five studio albums: Lost Themes (2015), Lost Themes II (2016), Anthology: Movie Themes 1974–1998 (2017), Lost Themes III: Alive After Death (2021), and Lost Themes IV: Noir (2024). Since 2012, he has co-owned the comic book company Storm King Comics alongside his wife, film producer Sandy King . John Howard Carpenter

14659-441: The music was inspired by both Dario Argento 's Suspiria (which also influenced the film's slightly surreal color scheme) and William Friedkin 's The Exorcist . Carpenter again worked with a relatively small budget, $ 300,000. The film grossed more than $ 65 million initially, making it one of the most successful independent films of all time. Carpenter has described Halloween as "true crass exploitation. I decided to make

14796-427: The popularity of sites like YouTube in 2006 sparked a taste for amateur media, leading to the production of further films in the found footage horror genre later in the 2000s including the particularly financially successful Paranormal Activity (2007). In their book Gothic film , Richard J. McRoy and Richard J. Hand stated that "Gothic" can be argued as a very loose subgenre of horror, but argued that "Gothic" as

14933-554: The process of understanding issues by making use of their optical elements. The use of horror films can help audiences understand international prior historical events occurs, for example, to depict the horrors of the Vietnam War , the Holocaust , the worldwide AIDS epidemic or post-9/11 pessimism. In many occurrences, the manipulation of horror presents cultural definitions that are not accurate, yet set an example to which

15070-430: The release of Francis Ford Coppola 's Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), a small wave of high-budgeted gothic horror romance films were released in the 1990s. Also described as "eco-horror", the natural horror film is a subgenre "featuring nature running amok in the form of mutated beasts, carnivorous insects, and normally harmless animals or plants turned into cold-blooded killers." In 1963, Alfred Hitchcock defined

15207-525: The same source material as the 1951 Howard Hawks film, The Thing from Another World , it is more faithful to the John W. Campbell Jr. novella Who Goes There? , upon which both films were based. Moreover, unlike the Hawks film, The Thing was part of what Carpenter later called his "Apocalypse Trilogy", a trio of films ( The Thing , Prince of Darkness , and In the Mouth of Madness ) with bleak endings for

15344-542: The same year as the Academy Awards. Determined to make it a success, Fairbanks brought in the biggest industry names of the era to lecture, including Douglas Fairbanks , Mary Pickford , D. W. Griffith , Charlie Chaplin , William C. DeMille , Ernst Lubitsch , Irving Thalberg , and Darryl Zanuck . From that one class grew a Department of Cinematography (1932) in the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, renamed

15481-637: The sci-fi western Terror from Space , starring the one-eyed creature from It Came from Outer Space . He graduated from College High School, then enrolled at Western Kentucky University for two years as an English major and History minor. With a desire to study filmmaking, which no university in Kentucky offered at the time, he moved to California upon transferring to the USC School of Cinematic Arts in 1968. He would ultimately drop out of school in his final semester in order to make his first feature film. In

15618-565: The study of figures whose lives and works are part of society's shared history. These materials are preserved for posterity and made accessible for research and scholarship as will the materials in the Wayne Collection. The current Chair is Gail Katz, holder of the Mary Pickford Endowed Chair; Vice-Chair is Susan Arnold. The Division of Cinema & Media Studies (CaMS) is the central hub for film theory at

15755-549: The sub-genre sits within a trend of holiday-themed slasher films, alongside films such as My Bloody Valentine (1981) and April Fool's Day (1986). Others take a broader view that Christmas horror is not limited to the slasher genre, noting how it evolved from the English Christmas tradition of telling ghost stories. Christmas in literature has historically included elements of "darkness"—fright, misery, death and decay—tracing its literary antecedents as far back as

15892-424: The turn of the millennium. Bill Gibron of PopMatters declared a mixed definition of the psychological horror film, ranging from definitions of anything that created a sense of disquiet or apprehension to a film where an audience's mind makes up what was not directly displayed visually. Gibron concluded it as a "clouded gray area between all out splatter and a trip through a cinematic dark ride." Religious horror

16029-402: The unknown, reflecting the collective psyche of the time. Rhodes also highlights the significance of technological advancements, such as the advent of sound in cinema, which revolutionized the horror genre by enhancing its ability to evoke fear and suspense through auditory effects. Moreover, the horror genre's flexibility and adaptability are crucial to its enduring popularity. As Rhodes notes,

16166-584: The use of faith to defeat evil. The slasher film is a horror subgenre which involves a killer murdering a group of people (often teenagers), usually by use of bladed tools. In his book on the genre, author Adam Rockoff wrote that these villains represented a "rogue genre" of films that are "tough, problematic, and fiercely individualistic." Following the financial success of Friday the 13th (1980), at least 20 other slasher films appeared in 1980 alone. These films usually revolved around three properties: unique social settings (campgrounds, schools, holidays) and

16303-495: The westerns of Howard Hawks and John Ford , as well as 1950s low-budget horror films such as The Thing from Another World (which he would remake as The Thing in 1982) and high-budget sci-fi like Godzilla and Forbidden Planet . Carpenter began making short horror films with an 8 mm camera before he had even started high school. Just before he turned 14 in 1962, he made a few major short films: Godzilla vs. Gorgo , featuring Godzilla and Gorgo via claymation , and

16440-455: The years following its release, critics and fans have reevaluated The Thing as a milestone of the horror genre. A prescient review by Peter Nicholls in 1992, called The Thing "a black, memorable film [that] may yet be seen as a classic". It has been called one of the best films directed by Carpenter. John Kenneth Muir called it "Carpenter's most accomplished and underrated directorial effort", and critic Matt Zoller Seitz said it "is one of

16577-542: Was Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), a low-budget thriller influenced by the films of Howard Hawks , particularly Rio Bravo . As with Dark Star , Carpenter was responsible for many aspects of the film's creation. He not only wrote, directed, and scored it, but also edited the film using the pseudonym "John T. Chance" (the name of John Wayne 's character in Rio Bravo ). Carpenter has said that he considers Assault on Precinct 13 to have been his first real film because it

16714-418: Was a melodrama about a thief who steals from his own sister. During the silent era, the term horror was used to describe everything from "battle scenes" in war films to tales of drug addiction. Rhodes concluded that the term "horror film" or "horror movie" was not used in early cinema. The mystery film genre was in vogue and early information on Dracula being promoted as a mystery film was common, despite

16851-475: Was adapted (in collaboration with David Zelag Goodman ) from a spec script titled Eyes , written by Carpenter, and would become Carpenter's first major studio film of his career. Halloween (1978) was a commercial success and helped develop the slasher genre. Originally an idea suggested by producer Irwin Yablans (titled The Babysitter Murders ), who thought of a film about babysitters being menaced by

16988-444: Was an early adopter of synthesizers , since his film debut Dark Star , when he used an EMS VCS3 synth. His soundtracks went on to influence electronic artists who followed, but Carpenter himself admitted he had no particular interest in synthesizers other than that they provided a means to "sound big with just a keyboard". For many years he worked in partnership with musician Alan Howarth , who would realize his vision by working on

17125-526: Was announced that Carpenter was collaborating with Focus Entertainment and Saber Interactive on the zombie first-person shooter video game John Carpenter's Toxic Commando . The game is set to release in 2024 on PlayStation 5 , Xbox Series X/S , and Windows via the Epic Games Store . Carpenter's films are characterized by minimalist lighting and photography, panoramic shots, use of steadicam , and scores he usually composes himself. With

17262-468: Was born in Carthage, New York , on January 16, 1948, the son of Milton Jean (née Carter) and music professor Howard Ralph Carpenter. In 1953, after his father accepted a job at Western Kentucky University , the family relocated to Bowling Green, Kentucky . For much of his childhood, he and his family lived in a log cabin on the university's campus. He was interested in films from an early age, particularly

17399-452: Was difficult to make as both Carpenter and O'Bannon completed the film by multitasking, with Carpenter doing the musical score as well as the writing, producing, and directing, while O'Bannon acted in the film and did the special effects (which caught the attention of George Lucas who hired him to work with the special effects for the film Star Wars ). Carpenter received praise for his ability to make low-budget films. Carpenter's next film

17536-412: Was enlarged to 35 mm , sixty prints were made, and the film was released theatrically by Universal Studios for two years in the United States and Canada. Carpenter's first major film as director, Dark Star (1974), was a science-fiction comedy that he co-wrote with Dan O'Bannon (who later went on to write Alien , borrowing freely from much of Dark Star ). The film reportedly cost only $ 60,000 and

17673-442: Was ever gonna do a sequel, and I said no. I was through with horror, I didn't come into the business to do just horror. He said, "Well, what would you do if you did do a sequel?" I said it would be the next year, and the guy would have actually been caught, escape from a mental institution, go back to the house, and they would start all over again. And I would call it 'Halloween'. The truth is John didn't copy 'Black Christmas', he wrote

17810-445: Was found that the audience tends to experience the excitation transfer process (ETP) which causes a physiological arousal in audience members. The ETP refers to the feelings experienced immediately after an emotion-arousing experience, such as watching a horror film. In this case, audience members' heart rate, blood pressure and respiration all increased while watching films with violence. Audience members with positive feedback regarding

17947-474: Was received well by critics. He said he directed it because it was the only thing offered to him at the time. Starman (1984) was produced by Michael Douglas ; the script was well received by Columbia Pictures , which chose it in preference to the script for E.T. and prompted Steven Spielberg to go to Universal Pictures . Douglas chose Carpenter to be the director because of his reputation as an action director who could also convey strong emotion. Starman

18084-429: Was released and was also unsuccessful. During 2005, there were remakes of Assault on Precinct 13 and The Fog , the latter being produced by Carpenter himself, though in an interview he defined his involvement as, "I come in and say hello to everybody. Go home." Carpenter worked as director during 2005 for an episode of Showtime's Masters of Horror television series as one of the thirteen filmmakers involved in

18221-509: Was reviewed favorably by the Los Angeles Times , New York Times , and LA Weekly , and described by Carpenter as a film he envisioned as a romantic comedy similar to It Happened One Night only with a space alien. The film received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for Jeff Bridges ' portrayal of Starman and received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Musical Score for Jack Nitzsche . After seeing footage of Starman ,

18358-483: Was the first Australian horror production made for theatrical release. 1970s Australian art cinema was funded by state film corporations, who considered them more culturally acceptable than local exploitation films ( Ozploitation ), which was part of the Australian phenomenon called the cultural cringe . The greater success of genre films like Mad Max (1979), The Last Wave (1977) and Patrick (1978) led to

18495-647: Was the first film that he filmed on a schedule. The film was the first time Carpenter worked with Debra Hill , who would collaborate with Carpenter on some of his most well-known films. Carpenter assembled a main cast that consisted of experienced but relatively obscure actors. The two main actors were Austin Stoker , who had appeared previously in science fiction, disaster, and blaxploitation films, and Darwin Joston , who had worked primarily for television and had once been Carpenter's next-door neighbor. The film received

18632-498: Was to play a major role in his later career: he composed the music to most of his films, and the soundtrack to many of those became "cult" items for record collectors. A 21st-Century revival of his music is due in no small amount to the Death Waltz record company, which reissued several of his soundtracks, including Escape from New York , Halloween II , Halloween III: Season of the Witch , Assault on Precinct 13 , They Live , Prince of Darkness , and The Fog . Carpenter

18769-656: Was used in older campus buildings as well as the Los Angeles area. The project also received another $ 50 million in contributions from Warner Bros. , 20th Century Fox and The Walt Disney Company . In fall 2006, the school, together with the Royal Film Commission of Jordan , created the Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts (RSICA) in Aqaba , Jordan . The first classes were held in 2008, and

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