(10/10)
Classic action movie from John Carpenter based loosely on "Rio Bravo" (though certainly incorporating
elements of "Night of the Living Dead"). This was the beginning of a real winning streak from Carpenter
when he had an almost flawless streak of great films to his credit.
Through a series of coincidences and unfortunate (though not implausible) events, a police officer, two
secretaries, and two death row convicts end up under siege by an almost demonically possessed gang
who have declared war on them. Holed up in an abandoned police station without any way of
communicating for help it becomes a taut, tense, battle to the finish.
That's the premise, but Carpenter wisely (like George A. Romero dd in "Night of the Living Dead") keeps
the action inside and among the good guys rather than dwelling on endless shootouts with the bad
guys. The characters are all sharply drawn and multi-dimensional, making their inter-play all the more
interesting going beyond the obvious scenario of the cops and criminals forming an uneasy alliance to
stay alive. And the characters work so well because the acting is all top-notch - Austin Stoker as the
police officer 'in charge' is steadfast and is believably decent and honorable throughout, Laurie Zimmer
is as sizzling and smoky a siren as any tough broad the screen has ever known, Tony Burton (who would
go on to figure prominently in the "Rocky" movies) is a great baddie, but the true breakout star is
Darwin Joston as Napoleon Wilson.
Napoleon Wilson is hands-down one of the coolest characters ever on film and Joston plays him with a
restrained southern wisdom that makes him impossible to not trust, even though we really don't know
what exactly it is he's done to deserve the death penalty and the awe of everyone who runs across him.
Carpenter shows great storytelling skill weaving such an interesting yarn around these people and
constantly blurring the lines of the characters - the admirable honor of the death row convict alongside
some of the less than honorable attitudes of some of the police station's inhabitants. This is a great
movie.
A few of the faces would show up in future Carpenter films in small bits and in a few other little roles,
but sadly most of the cast never went very far after this excellent debut. An independent filmmaker
actually made a film searching for what happened to Zimmer thirty years later (turns out she gave up
acting and became a schoolteacher). Joston unfortunately died of leukemia at age 60. A Hollywood
remake or 're-imagining' (or whatever they call it these days) came out in 2005 but like most people I
avoided it. If it ain't broke don't fix it and this one is far from broke. Over thirty years later it's still a great
movie.
Classic action movie from John Carpenter based loosely on "Rio Bravo" (though certainly incorporating
elements of "Night of the Living Dead"). This was the beginning of a real winning streak from Carpenter
when he had an almost flawless streak of great films to his credit.
Through a series of coincidences and unfortunate (though not implausible) events, a police officer, two
secretaries, and two death row convicts end up under siege by an almost demonically possessed gang
who have declared war on them. Holed up in an abandoned police station without any way of
communicating for help it becomes a taut, tense, battle to the finish.
That's the premise, but Carpenter wisely (like George A. Romero dd in "Night of the Living Dead") keeps
the action inside and among the good guys rather than dwelling on endless shootouts with the bad
guys. The characters are all sharply drawn and multi-dimensional, making their inter-play all the more
interesting going beyond the obvious scenario of the cops and criminals forming an uneasy alliance to
stay alive. And the characters work so well because the acting is all top-notch - Austin Stoker as the
police officer 'in charge' is steadfast and is believably decent and honorable throughout, Laurie Zimmer
is as sizzling and smoky a siren as any tough broad the screen has ever known, Tony Burton (who would
go on to figure prominently in the "Rocky" movies) is a great baddie, but the true breakout star is
Darwin Joston as Napoleon Wilson.
Napoleon Wilson is hands-down one of the coolest characters ever on film and Joston plays him with a
restrained southern wisdom that makes him impossible to not trust, even though we really don't know
what exactly it is he's done to deserve the death penalty and the awe of everyone who runs across him.
Carpenter shows great storytelling skill weaving such an interesting yarn around these people and
constantly blurring the lines of the characters - the admirable honor of the death row convict alongside
some of the less than honorable attitudes of some of the police station's inhabitants. This is a great
movie.
A few of the faces would show up in future Carpenter films in small bits and in a few other little roles,
but sadly most of the cast never went very far after this excellent debut. An independent filmmaker
actually made a film searching for what happened to Zimmer thirty years later (turns out she gave up
acting and became a schoolteacher). Joston unfortunately died of leukemia at age 60. A Hollywood
remake or 're-imagining' (or whatever they call it these days) came out in 2005 but like most people I
avoided it. If it ain't broke don't fix it and this one is far from broke. Over thirty years later it's still a great
movie.
 |
Rating;
| by Jim Haggerty |
