Few directors give better interviews than John Carpenter—despite, or maybe even because of, how little interest Carpenter often shows in being interviewed, and especially in talking about himself and his storied career. Case in point: A new conversation the horror legend had with Insider this week, ostensibly about his new Peacock docuseries Suburban Screams, but which memorably includes a moment where Carpenter is so disinterested in the question of whether he’s a “master of horror” that he decides to grab a snack Literally! When told “some people would view you as one of the master directors of horror films,” Carpenter responds with, “That’s nice. Sorry, I’m eating a Popsicle.”
Apparently sated, Carpenter goes on to suggest that, “I’m not a master of anything. I just want to play video games and watch basketball. That’s all I care about doing. I don’t want to bother anybody.” (On the topic of negative reviews of Suburban Screams, a category which includes, admittedly, our own, he’s equally succinct: “I made a little series. If you don’t like it, fuck off. If you do like it, I like you. So there you go.”)
On a personal note—and having interviewed Carpenter just last year—your humble Newswire writer can attest that this stance is not a posture or affectation on Carpenter’s part: Although he weathered our questions about his career and legacy with a blend of humor, courtesy, and humility, he also really doesn’t seem to find “John Carpenter” a very interesting topic of conversation; the man notably perked up once we stopped trying to bug him about movies, and moved the topic over to video games instead. Or, to quote him: “It’s a lot more fun than directing movies. That’s hard work. That’s stressful. This is relaxing.”
Of course, Carpenter also can’t help himself when it comes to talking a bit about the craft of horror: When asked by Insider about people finally taking horror “seriously,” Carpenter fires back with a quick historical analysis of the genre’s roots, noting that, “It’s always been with us. Every generation, a director will come along, a producer will come along, and reinvent the horror film. Look back at the Depression era—out came Dracula. It was a huge sensation followed by Frankenstein, also a huge sensation. Why were these movies a sensation? Because they spoke to the people of the generation who were going through a tough, tough, tough time.” Detailing the subsequent cultural shifts, tracing through Hitchcock, Romero, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Carpenter asserts, “These things happen, and they’re generational. Our generation is doing it, and the next generation will come along and pick up the pieces of horror, the tropes, the stories, and remake it. And I love that. That’s something that keeps renewing it.”
Then he goes back to apologizing for “preaching,” and, presumably, hits the freezer for a treat. That’s John Carpenter for you; we wouldn’t have him any other way.