Regarding the Jason Voorhees classic: “It just doesn’t rise above its cheapness.”
John Carpenter does not think highly of the classic Friday the 13th film that gave birth to the hockey-mask-wearing serial killer.
Known for his work on The Thing, Halloween, among other classics, the 68-year-old director described the slasher film as nothing more than a “lackluster money grab.”
He revealed these comments on author Bret Easton Ellis’ podcast, also adding that he is a fan of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie.
“One springs from an organic idea and has a truly artist’s eye working,” Carpenter said to the author, known for works such as American Psycho. “And Friday the 13th, I feel, affects me as very cynical. It’s very cynical movie-making. It just doesn’t rise above its cheapness.”
Carpenter’s original Halloween classic, which debuted in 1978, proved to be a box office hit. He firmly believes that other flicks that followed (including Friday the 13th) were merely copying its success and ultimately flooded the market.
“I think the reason that all these slasher movies came in the ’80s was a lot of folks said, ‘Look at that Halloween movie. It was made for peanuts, and look at the money it’s made. We can make money like that. That’s what the teenagers want to see,’ ” Carpenter stated. “So they just started making them, cranking them out. Most of them were awful.”
This rivalry came to the surface after it was revealed that Carpenter will executive produce a new Halloween film. The newest entry will be produced by Jason Blum and backed by Blumhouse and Miramax.
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