AS A DIRECTOR, John Carpenter singlehandedly destroyed the innocence and safety of babysitting with Halloween, created one of film's meanest protagonists with Escape from New York's Snake Plissken, and with Nostradamus-like accuracy predicted the alien-controlled political puppet show we have today with They Live.
As influential and groundbreaking as many of his films were to the horror and sci-fi genres, what truly sets Carpenter's apart are their excellent scores and soundtracks. After all, in a horror film it's not the masked murderer or shape-shifting alien that gets your heart rate up—it's the pulsating, frightening music behind the images that really sets your spine tingling. For virtually everything Carpenter has put to film, he's had a hand in composing and sometimes even performing the musical accompaniment. Not only did he create the visual template for terrifying cinema, he also made the blueprints for maximum sonic impact.
On a soggy lunch-hour phone call with Carpenter, I had to do a little backpedaling after asking why he has decided to focus more on creating music instead of films in the twilight of his career.
"Not that you're old or anything..." I muttered.
He swiftly and playfully interrupted, "Yes, I am. Let's just say it. Let's get it on the table. I'm an old man now. And as an old man, I get to do this. I love it!"