John Carpenter Movies Ranked

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John Carpenter is one of the most influential and celebrated filmmakers of all time. Here is how I rank all 18 of his theatrically released films.
Cody J Leach
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[@CodyLeachYT]

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[@akabatflack]

I thought the lost boys is your fav horror movie of all time?

[@CodyLeachYT]

Yeah yeah yeah...Karen Allen wasn't in Groundhog Day. I meant to say Scrooged. Cue the dozen comments that only mention that flub. lol

[@billyrattlesticks6949]

Also Kurt Russell has done sequels beside Escape from lol He was in both Christmas chronicles movies :) He was also in a couple of the fast and furious movies and part 2 of Guardians of the galaxy....Just to make you feel a little bit more 'Damn my viewers really piss me off sometimes' 😂

[@mat0920]

Dude, I was racking my brain trying to remember her in groundhog day 😂. Great video

[@jsolack]

way to ruin the 4th of july, jk, love your content

[@HeelSection3825]

I wasn't gonna give you 💩 about the mistake, but I was racking my brain about what Bill Murray movie Karen Allen WAS in. Scrooged! Thanks, Cody. GREAT video!❤

[@tylerrumfelt3353]

Well actually.

[@Bobby_Hall]

Big Trouble in Little China is one of my absolute favorite movies of all time. When I was a little kid I wrote a fan letter to Dennis Dun (the actor who played Wang Chi) and he mailed me back a high-quality photograph of him from the film with a personalized autograph. That was super cool of him. I have huge nostalgia for the film and find it endlessly entertaining, so it’s at the top of my list. Here’s my ranking. Sorry in advance for where I put Vampires, but I just couldn’t get into that film! Maybe it deserves a second chance… 18. Ghosts of Mars 17. Vampires 16. Escape from L.A. 15. The Ward 14. Dark Star 13. Memoirs of an Invisible Man 12. Village of the Damned 11. They Live 10. Escape from New York 9. In the Mouth of Madness 8. Prince of Darkness 7. The Fog 6. Assault on Precinct 13 5. Starman 4. Christine 3. The Thing 2. Halloween 1. Big Trouble in Little China

[@langerdan11]

Nah I reckon vampires was poo too .

[@GR-bn3xj]

I really was disappointed in vampires myself. I realize Ghost of Mars isn't a great movie, but I have to admit I liked it lol. I still quote big trouble in little china, And usually people look at me like what in the hell am I talking about😅 It's an awesome movie

[@Bobby_Hall]

@@GR-bn3xj My brothers and I often quote Big Trouble in Little China. It has so many great lines. 😁

[@rorman13]

@@Bobby_Hall as soon as i saw btlc was 10 i groaned out loud

[@lukeharbolt7681]

😊 I am in perfect agreement. BTILC my favorite movie ever. Thing is number 2

[@thedonald011]

Imo his t.v movie "someone's watching me!" from 1978 is top 5, just nonstop tension and suspense.

[@k-slay4407]

I'm ashamed to say I have yet to see this one.

[@djtek9ine]

Vampires is one of my favorite horror movies. One of the most underrated horror movies of the 90’s.

[@MrVicePresident]

The Thing, hands down the best

[@JaceDeanLove]

Finally. Also, Halloween at #2? You better be on the lookout for Myers copycats seeking revenge. As a massive Halloween fan, I’ll be the first to admit the fanbase is INSANE

[@CodyLeachYT]

Yep got a couple crazies already. Fucking wackos some of them.

[@JaceDeanLove]

@@CodyLeachYT pretty much all* I had to leave the Halloween subreddit which sucks because I grew up on that franchise

[@daltonvalero2772]

Finally my prayers have been answered!!

[@thomasffrench3639]

Halloween is a bit overrated and The Thing is better so I’m with you there. I wish Halloween was a standalone film with no sequels because it’s the perfect standalone horror film or they at least went with the anthology idea instead. I think it would be way more fondly remembered. I do want to mention is that the reason why The Thing had such a negative reception is basically because it was a remake that was way gorier than the original. So remember everyone, maybe the remake that you hate, you might be on the wrong side of history.

[@jwadewalt]

The Endgame of Cody Leach rankings

[@ryanswayze8822]

This ranking just happened to come at a time when Carpenter got his star on the hollywood walk of fame. It was fate.

[@NeoConnor1]

He deserves it.

[@paulinegallagher7821]

He only got that star NOW?? oh ffs.

[@joshuanelson6795]

Before even watching the video, all I could think was "Halloween fans are going to be mad..."

[@HEYitzED]

Nah lol. As much as I adore Halloween I think The Thing is the better film.

[@autisticDementia]

@HEYitzED Hot take: Big Trouble In Little China is better then both

[@DerMoerpler]

I'm not so sure about that, Considering how much The Thing is widely seen as one of the best horror films of all time. I'd say putting Halloween at #1 of a Carpenter ranking is arguably the hotter take.

[@inrockwetrust73]

​@@HEYitzEDFully agree. The Thing is one of my top favorites.

[@GR-bn3xj]

I think everybody was thinking, is it The Thing or Halloween at #1

[@justjbeats4241]

The Thing is the best, sorry not sorry!!!

[@matthewmutchman6360]

Wow what an original pick!

[@joequai2977]

@@matthewmutchman6360I mean it’s a pretty much flawless movie. What do you expect

[@matthewmutchman6360]

@joequai2977 well I don't think flawless, just pretty good. While the effects work is great, some of the thing designs are stupid looking. I think The Fly is way better.

[@edvaira6891]

Strangely enough, my favorite movie of his all-time is probably Starman, his gentlest most mainstream film ever

[@inrockwetrust73]

I love that movie! Jeff Bridges is great in that.

[@erikramaekers63]

Bridges should have won an Oscar

[@davecostello3095]

I agree with you on this. A charming, fun road movie. One of Carpenter's best.

[@Winnipegger]

I love Starman as well! It was an adult E.T. in a way. Jeff Bridges' alien character was so sweet natured it was easy to see why Karen Allen's character fell in love with him even if he was an alien and looked like her deceased husband. If he thought that was creepy I can only imagine what he would think of Dean Koontz's Demon Seed lol!

[@tonyklaas7654]

The fact that Halloween, New York, China, and the Thing are all movies I’d put in my top 25 movies of all time show how amazing of a director he is. Carpenter and Scorsese are my 2 favs

[@LeeTAZ-sl7de]

Very true, very similar to my opinion, I have Halloween, The Thing and The Fog in my top 10 alone. China and New York just miss out but are top 20.

[@HeathenTrucker]

And those were good only good movies he ever did, yet people think he was one of the best.

[@slylataupe4272]

The Thing top 3. In fact 2, just after 2001 a space odyssey

[@BusinessOfFear]

​@@HeathenTruckerRidiculous trolling.

[@Tyler_W]

Good balance between pretentious and the exact opposite of that, lol. Both are great storytellers for almost completely different reasons.

[@innercynic2784]

I saw 'The Thing' in the theater when it first came out. Blew me away then and is still at the top of my list.

[@dylanelliott8718]

Carpenter is a Mt Rushmore director! Super stoked to wake up and see this ranking has dropped from Cody

[@stevenduering7155]

I was surprised at how high you ranked Christine. A lot of people don’t even rank it in their top 10. Christine is a VERY underrated Carpenter film. It was my introduction into horror, so it’ll always be my number 1.

[@leecroft7311]

Christine is my number two choice, after The Thing. Always loved, Christine. Great movie, very underrated. It is liked but not usually loved by movie fans.

[@Jerguy]

Agreed, I place Prince of Darkness and Big Trouble ahead of Christine. Personally I think Big Trouble is Top 3 though, with The Thing being #1, Big Trouble #2, and Prince of Darkness being #3. PoD scared the hell out of me as a kid and always loved it. I don't think Cody got Big Trouble and the magnificence it is.

[@FrankieTeardrop1998]

I own a model of Christine, with the same numberplate from the movie. It has functional headlights, though the battery has been flat for ages now.

[@MrCarpen7er]

I rank Christine very high on my favorite John Carpenter list.

[@NickPusch]

Been waiting 84 years for this! All jokes aside - Thanks for the great stuff Cody!

[@thomasrose4646]

18 THE WARD 17 VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED 16 MEMOIRS OF AN INVISIBLE MAN 15 STARMAN 14 DARK STAR 13 ESCAPE FROM L.A 12 VAMPIRES 11 GHOSTS OF MARS 10 BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA 9 IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS 8 ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK 7 PRINCE OF DARKNESS 6 CHRISTINE 5 THEY LIVE 4 THE FOG 3 ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 2 HALLOWEEN 1 THE THING

[@davidloflin3098]

Damn, I'm watching John Carpenter's Vampires for the first time, and this comes on. That's some cosmic shit man. This list must have been quite a challenge Cody, good job.

[@pesky716]

I had to take a break at the halfway point. Big Trouble in Little China at #10 is definite insanity to me. No hate though, it’s your list. It just would have been drastically higher for me.

[@Rob_Reed]

My favourite horror movie of all time and also my favourite Sci fi is his version of The Thing. The paranoia creeps out of the screen and infects the viewer too. Absolute masterpiece.

[@xSKYKILLAx]

Halloween, The Thing, and They Live has always been my top 3

[@MichaelTomsyck]

Definitely one of my Top 10 Favorite Directors of All Time. Carpenter doesn’t have the most prestigious filmography, but he’s a storyteller who’s near and dear to my heart as a horror fan as well as just a general movie fanatic.

[@thomasffrench3639]

One thing I love about John Carpenter is that he really tried to make genre fiction and B-movies into something that could be respected. The fact that people call him one of the best directors ever despite only making genre fiction is a testament to John Carpenter’s skill as a filmmaker.

[@peterfrost377]

For me it's The thing 1982. My childhood was filled with stuff like Akira 1988, Ninja scroll, Perfect blue, Memories 1995, Wicked city & VhD: Bloodlust. By the time I finally checked out Halloween, It felt a kids film to me. Not scary at all but still a good one though.

[@thomasffrench3639]

@@peterfrost377 we got a weeb here lol

[@rabidmyers]

@@thomasffrench3639 yeah and its most definitely you, not peter

[@misterlint8077]

It's finally here, Cody. Congratulations, you did it!!🎉

[@AlmightyBruce]

18: Ghosts of Mars 17: The Ward 16: Vampires 15: Village of the Damned 14: Prince of Darkness 13: In the Mouth of Madness 12: Memoirs of an Invisible Man 11: Escape From LA 10: Assault on Precinct 13 9: The Fog 8: Escape From New York 7: They Live 6: Big Trouble in Little China 5: Dark Star 4: Christine 3: Halloween 2: Star Man 1: The Thing

[@scottvincent184]

I understand your thoughts on "Starman", however I love it simply because I watched it on HBO as a kid, and the scene with him bringing the deer back to life made me cry, the first time I ever cried from a film.

[@CodyLeachYT]

I’m sure I would’ve liked it more if I watched it younger.

[@stonegasman3866]

@@CodyLeachYT The horror community's quasi-disdainful dismissal of Carpenter's Starman along w/Craven's Music of the Heart just because they are not horrors triggers me to no fucking end. Starman is a helluva better version of ET, It actually showed Carpenter had a heart and goddamn did Bridges deserve his Oscar nom just like Streep deserved hers for MOTH. I had my bets that Cody wouldn't have it high on his list and that he had never even seen it before his ranking and I was proven right; RLM at the very least saw the artful aspects of Starman. (And yes, tbf, Cody saw merit in Music of the Heart and gave that one at least a respectable position on that ranking but this was a disappointment.)

[@cnkclark]

Even being a Carpenter fan, it's rather shocking (in a good way) to step back and look at this listing, and just consider the breadth of variety of his work. A legend, a master, a groundbreaker. Truly one of the GOATs.

[@HLHReviews]

At least I can walk away happy that Big Trouble in Little China made it to the top ten.

[@N00bkillr693]

If Halloween is not #1, I’m gonna rage out and throw a tantrum. Jk

[@CodyLeachYT]

Couple of your friends beat you to it

[@mintomax2]

Great video and while I personally would have put things differently I respect your opinions, personally I would have put big trouble as 1 and had vampires and Christine a lot lower down I can see why to you they rank higher,. I am shocked saying that John is your favourite director and you thought the assault on precinct 13 remake was the original till making this video. The ones you don't like I personally still like but agree they should be near the bottom of this list. You said that carpenter has only done one sequel and while this is true he did co write Halloween 2 with Debra. I love everything carpenter has done including all the TV movies that are excluded from this every film he has written for eg black moon rising and his shorts on masters of horror even the remakes of his films as you can see traces of him in them (although I'm aware that most people hate the remakes of his stuff).

[@checkmate9111]

Star man & Invisible man should easily have made the top 10. Little China should have been rated a few better also. But everyone has opinions. Thanks for the review.

[@rogerdodger1984]

Literally half of Kurt Russell's roles are loveable dumbasses. I think you just havent seen a ton of Kurt Russell movies. Big Trouble deserves to be higher even with personal bias in play.

[@Fordyshoor]

Keith Gordon is amazing in it but Christine is not above They Live, Escape, Big Trouble. Nutso.

[@danfarmer3019]

I have Halloween at 14 of the 18. People gonna hate this opinion but i think the film has aged really poorly. On top of that it’s not even particularly fun to watch.

[@istartedajoke1704]

Cody leach, wwam, and haunted hippie are the best movie channels on youtube!!.

[@CodyLeachYT]

Thank you

[@istartedajoke1704]

@CodyLeachYT .no...thank you for the entertaining and informative videos!

[@shudderbutter4540]

Halloween not being a gore fest doesn't hurt it, still holds up, it's still scarier than most slashers that are gorier.

[@randallflagg606]

Sorry man. Lost respect for your rankings when you put Prince of Darkness 11th

[@prostishinobi6481]

Damn!! When I saw StarMan for the first time it instantly became one of my favorite John Carpenter movies. I was invested from the beginning, loved both performances and the emotional payoff. That’s the beauty of Cinema, we can all love and enjoy different movies and later get to talk about it. Great Video.

[@MrJanitorman77]

I`m surprised to see Prince so low on Carpenter fan lists, I was lucky enough to see it in 1987 in a old broken down theatre, I was actually scared to go to my car when the film was over.

[@owl509]

My personal ranking: #18.) The Ward #17.) Memoirs of an Invisible Man #16.) Prince of Darkness #15.) Dark Star #14.) Ghosts of Mars #13.) Vampires #12.) Village of the Damned #11.) Escape From L.A #10.) Starman #9.) Assault on Precinct 13 #8.) In the Mouth of Madness #7.) Escape From New York #6.) Christine #5.) The Fog #4.) Big Trouble in Little China #3.) The Thing #2.) They Live #1.) Halloween Some of these placements can be flip-flopped but this is what I'm going with for now.

[@kevinsmith3900]

What about Body Bags?

[@owl509]

@@kevinsmith3900 if I was going to include that I would probably put it between In The Mouth of Madness and Assault on Precinct 13

[@MrGIJuu]

Prince of Darkness so low is wild man.

[@4truth123...]

You ALMOST had me: Move 2 to 6 and 6 to 2, move 4 to 8, move 13 to 4, then move 8 and all left below it down 1 space and you BEAT Cody Leach!!! GREAT JOB!!! ps (55 yr old says) "Nostalgia" makes Halloween #1 FOREVER!!!

[@lukeharbolt7681]

I agree and respect that ranking more than this video. But I guess that's the beauty of opinions

[@poissonsumac7922]

Just watched In The Mouth Of Madness today. Holy crap, that was a trip! I actually think that one is my favorite Carpenter movie now. The other ones I watched were The Thing, Halloween, and The Fog, all of which I quite enjoy. Hoping to find my next fix from this list!

[@gilpinsteven]

Rob Bottin's effects on The Thing are pure genius

[@archiecinema]

Great list. Big Trouble In Little China has been my favorite since childhood.

[@Toxicgamer-ut9dd]

The time has come this about to be a banger as usual

[@mrradio6223]

Banger? Gross 🤢 are you from LUNDUN MATE?!

[@rabidmyers]

@@mrradio6223 L

[@mrradio6223]

@@rabidmyers yes, L. That's a letter, often used in the alphabet. Try harder.

[@rabidmyers]

@@mrradio6223 major L

[@RonH-tf7gi]

Take your Lumps like you give em’ Cody!!!

[@kencoakley8366]

Prince Of Darkness is in my top 3 for the "Brotherhood Of Sleep" sequences alone. I'm also a Christian, so when Satan motivated the woman to write I LIVE! Over and over freaked me out. The first time I saw it was Halloween Day 1987. I was 21 and it still freaked me out.

[@andrewgriecoii1588]

The ending with her in the mirror and the hand...still makes me shiver

[@user-ug5fd3qo8n]

Vampires ahead of Escape from New York? Excuse me?

[@namethestars]

My #1 will always be They Live. And I'm probably on an island here lol but I really don't care for Halloween, definitely wouldn't be my own top five.

[@danielflory2104]

Great video man! Hurts a little to see the fog so low, for me it’s probably too 5, but this video has been a long time coming and didn’t disappoint!

[@kjwash7]

1: The Thing 2: Big Trouble In Little China 3: Christine 4: Halloween 5: They Live

[@jamesmorant1406]

Great list

[@Spthomas47]

I might move They Live to #3 and move the others down, but I've no real arguments other than preference. 🤘🏼✌🏼

[@quantumparadox2518]

1. Big trouble 2. The thing 3. Escape from NY 4. Assault on precinct 13 5. Halloween 6. They live 7. Prince of darkness 8. In the mouth of madness 9. Vampires 10. Ghosts of mars 11. Village of the damned 12. The fog 13. Christine 14. Escape from LA 15. The ward 16. Invisible Man 17. Dark star 18. Starman Ask me tomorrow and the top 13 or 14 could all change place because I love them all quite a bit.

[@stonegasman3866]

Fucking disgusting you have Starman at the bottom.

[@wardenmagellan2643]

Cody please give us your top 10 John Carpenter Characters! The man had some great characters(Michael Myers, Christine and Arnie, Snake Plissken!) Loved this review series…

[@scottv8124]

Good call

[@MasonGrant0704]

1. Halloween, I will agree that I'm burned out on talking about it and the fighting in the fanbase but this is still my favorite horror movie. 2. In The Mouth of Madness is awesome and gets better each time you watch it. 3. They Live is a crazy fun movie and I dig the darker ending. You didn't see too many movies end with the main heroes dying in the 80s. It was a cool twist that the so-called love interest was actually a villain the whole time. Great social commentary with how the middle class is declining and it's scary how this movie feels more real in 2024. 4. The Thing, great special effects, great music, cool characters and another great dark ending. 5. Christine, mixing Stephen King and John Carpenter is my jam. 6. Escape From NY has Kurt as one of the coolest movie characters ever. 7. Vampires is criminally underrated and James Wood is awesome in everything. 8. Assault on Precinct 13 is really cool low budget 70s thriller, 9. The Fog, it drops the ball a little bit in the 3rd act but most of it was really strong and love Tom as the lead. 10. Big Trouble in Little China, I don't like it as much as I did as a kid, but I still have fun with it and Jack Burton is a fun character. I find most JC movies to be a least watchable, but I hate Ghost of Mars and his Invisible Man with Chevy Chase is also pretty unwatchable. Movies like The Ward and Escape from LA fall on the disappointing side but I don't hate them.

[@wildcatattack]

Cody the goat, inspiration fr. Started doing more things I loved bc you always do things bc you want to and that inspired me💯

[@CodyLeachYT]

Awesome!

[@markmaioli4]

Can't believe you put Escape from L.A. over Starman INCONCEIVABLE! 1-The Thing 2-Escape From New York 3-Halloween 4-Big Trouble In Little China 5-Vampires 6-They Live 7-Christine 8-Star Man 9-Prince of Darkness 10-The Fog

[@thomasffrench3639]

I love John Carpenter, but I prefer his action movies to his horror movies aside from The Thing. Although Halloween has grown on me when I stopped treating it like a John Carpenter film because it doesn’t really feel like a John Carpenter movie to me. For horror directors Tobe Hooper is probably my favorite

[@grega8875]

Anyone who loves John carpenter gets a like in my book

[@MatthewFerrisi]

Must be a relief to finally get this off your back. So glad you finished and John Carpenter is and always will be the goat.

[@thomasffrench3639]

Tobe Hooper next?

[@masebearcat]

Great List Cody! Here is my updated John Carpenter Film List (including TV movies) 21. Dark Star (1974) 20. Big Trouble In Little China (1986) 19. Elvis (1979) 18. Memoirs Of An Invisible Man (1992) 17. In The Mouth Of Madness (1994) 16. Ghosts Of Mars (2001) 15. The Ward (2010) 14. Escape From LA (1996) 13. Village Of The Damned (1995) 12. Body Bags (1993) 11. Starman (1984) 10. Vampires (1998) 9. Someone's Watching Me! (1978) 8. Assault On Precinct 13 (1976) 7. Prince Of Darkness (1987) 6. They Live (1988) 5. The Fog (1980) 4. Christine (1983) 3. Escape From New York (1981) 2. The Thing (1982) 1. Halloween (1978)

[@everythingiseverything9814]

Great work sir. You bring out details that I never noticed, and I'm grateful for that. I love Carpenter and his films. He's one of the last of the great old school directors.

[@PREPFORIT]

Good choices.(new subscriber) 1. The Fog was terrifying to me as a child it was the first scary movie I snuck downstairs to watch. In the movie, the Girl is reading out the directions of the fog and she mentions my street name. -I lost it. 2. I was an extra in They Live. Lots of stories and a few I promised never to tell. ( I was visiting a friend in L.A.)

[@CodyLeachYT]

Welcome aboard! And that’s too cool you were in They Live.

[@k-slay4407]

I think the Fog is underrated as hell! It is one of the most atmospheric horror films ever made. It just drips with dread and eeriness. Absolutely no need for onscreen blood and gore.

[@cnkclark]

One of my favorite horror movies period, and generally one of my favorite tales of spectral revenge. Maybe I'm especially biased towards the vibe of The Fog but it ranks up with Alien in my mind with its moody atmospheric building of tension until all hell breaks loose.

[@andrewpomerantz6162]

Don't let your fans bully you. If you wanted Christine at #2, you should have put it there.

[@CodyLeachYT]

I’m the last person who would’ve let Halloween fans pressure me. I toyed with it but ultimately had to give the razor edge to Halloween.

[@ApertureScienceInnovatorsRepre]

For me personally: 18. The Ward 17. Memoirs of an Invisible Man 16. Village of the Damned 15. Ghosts of Mars 14. Vampires 13. Escape From LA 12. Christine 11. In the Mouth of Madness 10. Dark Star 9. Starman 8. Big Trouble in Little China 7. Prince of Darkness 6. They Live 5. Assault on Precinct 13 4. The Fog 3. Escape From New York 2. The Thing 1. Halloween

[@shwonsh]

Does Kurt Russell doing 3 Fast & Furious movies count as doing sequels?

[@thomasffrench3639]

I was thinking the same thing. Also does Guardians of the Galaxy 2 count?

[@ShinyMiaTV]

Kurt Russell Being In A Sequel To Kurt Russell’s Film Where Kurt Russell Is The Lead Is What Cody Meant. Ego Is Not In The Original Guardians Nor Was He The Lead In Either That Or The Fast Franchise.

[@shwonsh]

@thomasffrench3639 No Because he was only in the 2nd Guardians

[@thatchillingeffect]

Such a great idea to add the clips from his interviews!

[@greghaus]

I agree with most of this list, but I totally disagree with your take on Starman and Jeff Bridges' performance. He was nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars, which I believe is the only nominated performance from any John Carpenter film. Starman would be #3 for me, behind The Thing & Halloween. I barely remember Vampires and recall not really liking it, but I'll check it out again since you ranked it so high.

[@scottv8124]

Yes!!! Been looking forward to this. My top 5: Escape from NY, The Thing, Halloween, The Fog and Prince of Darkness

[@davidthorson2036]

I was surprised to see Vampires ranked so high. My top 5 would be Escape From New York, Halloween, The Thing, They Live, and Christine.

[@taissirbilal4758]

Halloween is #2? I respect that. At least it wasn't #4 or above that.

[@etienneleroi9515]

I say, of those I’ve seen: Halloween (1978) The Thing Escape From New York They Live (Those 4 are masterpieces) Halloween III: Season of the Witch Big Trouble in Little China The Fog Prince of Darkness In the Mouth of Madness Halloween II (1981) Assault on Precinct 13 Christine (Huge drop in quality) Village of the Damned Vampires Escape From L.A. I know he didn’t direct Halloween II and III, but he had huge creative involvement, so I’ll count them

[@Dreamcancel696]

Interesting take on Kurt Russel to me because big trouble in little China was my introduction to him and John carpenter movies.. then I saw the thing and thought “whoa jack Burton’s a bad ass!”

[@dotsloops7486]

Carpenter is a legend. A trillion times out of a trillion times. Escape from NY is above Vampires. Just saying. Not hating. All to their own….but Escape might be number 1. Might be. 🎉 but loved the list all the same. Carpenter is boss!

[@matthewperris]

I'm so pleased Vampires is seeing some love! I took a date to see that at the cinema back in 1999 (UK release date) and we both loved it. It was also one of the first DVDs I ever bought, and Carpenter does a brilliant commentary on it.

[@AadenTjarks-pv5qz]

i may be wrong but i believe they live was the first R rated movie so ever watched or its atleast the first one i can clearly remember

[@the_repugnant_gamer]

I watched Assault on Precinct 13 for the first time yesterday, and I spotted a number of things that looked very familiar to me. I decided to Google it, and I nailed it! That movie had a huge influence on the making of the game Resident Evil 2. I'm a huge fan of RE 1 - 3, so that made me super happy to see the origin of one of those games.

[@etienneleroi9515]

Fascinating putting Vampires so high, but particularly over Escape From New York. I think of the lead guy in that movie as a less cool, less interesting, more problematic version of Snake Plissken

[@PAPPADASH]

1. They LIVE!!!! (I've come here to chew bubblegum and write this comment, and I'm all out of bubblegum)

[@RK-rf8rc]

Ranking Carpenter films is so difficult. For me The Thing is the obvious number one. From the rest that I've seen... 2. The Fog, 3. Halloween, 4. Prince of Darkness, 5. They Live, 6. Escape From New York, 7. Christine, 8. Assault on Precinct 13, 9. In The Mouth of Madness, 10. Big Trouble In Little China, 11. Vampires, 12. Ghosts of Mars, 13. Escape From LA,

[@shrapnel77]

Starman at 13? No way. Did you realize Jeff Bridges was nominated for an Oscar for his performance? Escape from LA over it? No way man. Top 5 in Carpenter's movies.

[@robertchambers6344]

1. The thing 2. The fog 3.escape from New York 4. Halloween 5.prince of darkness 6 they live 7 assault on precinct 13 8 ghost of mars(severely underrated) 9. In the mouth of madness 10. Escape from La 11. Christine 12. Big trouble in little china 13 village of the damned 14 memoirs of an invisible man 15 vampires 16 starman 17 dark star 18 the ward Honorable mention Cigarette Burns from masters of horror

[@TheTonyahawk]

I my self would flip the top 2 but I knew what you're #1 would be 😎. I like what I see of your shirt, where did you get it?

[@christophercarlucci7750]

Rankings VERY subjective most of the time but fun and entertaining post.....thanks ! Love Carpenter's work

[@scumworx]

Putting Vampires above Escape from New York is crazy but you gotta do you. Escape is top 3 in my book, it's "action" but its also scifi and horror, and the commentary is scathing, the scope is massive, just Carpenter firing on all cylinders.

[@raymondhall3682]

Top 6: 1) Escape From NY, 2) They Live, 3) The Thing, 4) Escape From LA, 5) Big Trouble in Little China, 6) Assault om Precinct 13. Middle 6: 7) Christine, 8) The Fog, 9) Halloween, 10) Dark Star, 11) Memoirs of Invisible Man, 12) In the Mouth of Madness. Bottom 6: 13) Starman, 14) Village of the Damned, 15) Prince of Darkness, 16) Vampires, 17) Ghosts of Mars, 18) The Ward Comment: John Carpenter is a visionary as well. The top 6 are great movies, with great characters and are, unfortunately, prophetic (except for BTiLC) ahead of time about our collapsing society and culture as well. The Top 6, here, define John Carpenter the best. P.S. These movies would not be experienced the same without the unique and individualistic musical accompaniments he provides.

[@ghostlightx9005]

Of the ones I have seen... 1. The Thing 2. In the Mouth of Madness 3. Big Trouble in Little China 4. Halloween 5 Escape from New York 6. Dark Star 7. The Fog 8. Assault on Precinct 13 9. They Live 10. Vampires 11. Prince of Darkness 12. Christine 13. Ghosts of Mars

[@leecroft7311]

My top 5. 1# The Thing. 2# Christine. 3# Big Trouble In Little China. 4# Escape From New York. 5# They Live. And my number 6# In The Mouth of Madness. Halloween might be 7# or 8#.

[@Stuart267]

*And here I was about to start finishing my collection. I'll be damned if I am going to buy a film with Amber Heard in it. But what about "Separating the art from the artist"? STFU! Amber Heard spent YEARS lying about her ex abusing her & it turns out that, surprise to millions of simps, but not myself. SHE was the one abusing him. I can't justify buying a film with her anyway involved. I am a huge Stephen King fan, so much so I purchased that God awful remake of The Stand (Original was the best, biggest scope work King ever got adapted on to screen.) but then I found out Heard was in it, now it just sits on my shelf, still sealed & gathering dust.*

[@82nddave38]

Big Trouble at 10 is crazy talk. I honestly think you need to rewatch this movie considering you don't even know who the hero is. It's Wang, not Jack Burton. They Live at 7????? Escape from NY at 6? Your killing me bro. I admit ranking JC movies is an impossible task to please the masses considering we all have our own Carpenter movie/movies that we grew up on either watching every time it came on basic cable or endlessly rewatching on VHS.

[@peterconlon8234]

Interesting take 18) memoirs... 17) escape from LA 16) vampire$ 15) ghosts of Mars 14) dark star 13) village of the damned 12) the ward 11) in the mouth of madness 10) Christine 9) prince of darkness 8) the fog 7) they live 6) Starman 5) assault on precinct 13 4) Halloween 3) escape from NY 2 big trouble in little China 1) the thing

[@cnkclark]

Big Trouble In Little China is my favorite Carpenter action movie and The Fog is my favorite of his horror movies. Starman is a special piece of sci fi storytelling and ranks high as well.

[@hx3trapped]

I agree with most…I’d just switch Prince Of Darkness and Christine. Never been a Christine fan and I absolutely love Prince Of Darkness for its atmosphere and especially the soundtrack.

[@andremcpherson1424]

Did you mention Body Bags?? I could be wrong but I don't think you did?? Was that because it was a TV non cinema release movie and/or that John only gets a co-directing credit with Tobe Hooper?? Either way, I liked it, it had a lot of regular Carpenter elements to it that most of his films have, plue he acts in it, quite well I thought!! Apologies if you mentioned it and I missed it!! You're so right about the very last shot of They Live, absolute classic, but in my opinion you were a bit unkind about Starman, maybe it's because I love Jeff Bridges, but personally, I think it's a great film!!

[@jeremiahrose4681]

which do you rank #1, Halloween or the Thing? The Thing, but its close....everything else well. Shoot he did Escape from NY right? so those are the top 3. I keep remembering ...Starman, Christine....I still stick with my top three,

[@ralphgolladay9030]

I'm gonna give my theory on John Carpenter films success and lack there of,which watching the first part of your video actually expanded alil,so thank you,in abother comment,but I wanted to comment this before I'd forget it watching more,but 9/10 Jeff bridges is not a good actor.

[@jlogan2228]

1. The thing 2. Big trouble 3. Mouth of madness 4. Escape from ny 5. They live Tbh i never liked halloween and find it very boring

[@Stuart267]

*Never a fan of Jeff Bridges. Now his father will always be superior to me as an actor, in his prime he could do serious films like High Noon, Sahara & The Sound of Fury to classic comedies like Airplane movies & Hot Shots. Hell Jeff Bridges best performance came in Blown Away which again had his father giving the most emotion scene in the film.*

[@MrCarpen7er]

Vampires better than Assault, The Fog, They Live, POD and specially EFNY ? LOL