Customer Reviews

John Carpenter: Master of Fear 4 Film Collection (The Thing / Prince of Darkness / They Live / Village of the Damned)

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Will the real John Carpenter step forward? Is he the diabolical, masterful horror trailblazer who made Halloween and The Fog, or the sardonic, self-aware b-movie cheese-slinger who made Escape From L.A., Ghosts of Mars, and Body Bags? What makes this collection so good is that it not only represents some of his biggest and best, but you can almost see the transition take place. Carpenter is in top form with The Thing, a gripping, atmospheric feat of pure horror. Prince of Darkness is somewhat of an experimental film, with little in the way of special effects, a relaxed and naturalistic pace, and perhaps even heavier on the atmosphere, complete with a strange, somewhat elliptical tale. While it has its moments, Village of the Damned seems to be a misstep, and while Carpenter seems to handle this movie with a straight face, the subject matter is ultimately too meager and silly to make it a worthwhile watch. Thankfully, Carpenter remedies this disjunction with They Live, helming a far out, 50s pulp era story and giving it both the seriousness it needs for us to connect with it while also ensuring hammy performances and exaggerated visuals as a counterpoint.

The four movies are collected on two DVDs, and thankfully, they're one-sided discs with artwork instead of those abominable flippers. We get The Thing and Prince of Darkness on the first disc, with They Live and Village of the Damned on the second. All four movies are in Widescreen, but that's all you get here. There are no special features of any kind, not even any trailers. In fact, there aren't even chapter selection options on the menu screens, so if you want to get to a certain point in the movies, you have to play them from the beginning and then skip chapters from there.

Thankfully, the packaging makes up for the threadbare content. This four movie set is contained in a standard size, clear 2-DVD case with 2-sided artwork, although the inner artwork is pretty plain. This is topped with a slipcover that has the same cover art but highlighted with iridescent ink that lends some beauty to the horrible images imposed there.

So, is this set worth it? Chances are, if you're a fan of the man, you already own most of these, and the lack of any special features really degrades the value of this set. But, if your Carpenter collection consists of The Thing and Halloween, this inexpensive, compact, varied array of movies housed in a handsome package is too good to pass up.

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This set is fantastic to get out if you want to experience the chill that older movies can send down your spine without the use of all the special effects that are currently used today. The best of the set, in my opinion, was Village of the Damned. Let's face it... any film about scary, evil children is flat out freaky. I am crossing my fingers for a remake of this movie.

As the DVD format slowly meanders it's way toward the tar-pits of extinction, I've been consolidating my collection w/ these multi-packs. JOHN CARPENTER: MASTER OF FEAR is a worthwhile addition. THE THING is a gooey, crawly masterpiece, as good, if not better than the original. PRINCE OF DARKNESS is a grab-bag of possession, Satan, homeless zombies (led by Alice Cooper!), and physics! THEY LIVE is an alien invasion tale w/ those fantastic, special sunglasses! VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED is the weakest of the bunch, giving us a rather cheeezy 90s-take on the 60s classic. Worth owning for the Carpenter nut (like me)...

If you want a great sampling of John Carpenter at his best,get these.

Let me be clear I love John Carpenter's movies.Nothing else feels like his gritty mix of mild gore,cheese and sense of impending doom.Everything from the score to the camerawork contributes to this,but it is the story that keeps me coming back.I really think these are not true horror flics,but there is not really a genre to squeeze them into,they dabble in sci-fi,horror,action but don't really fit into any single frame.In essence they are Carpenter,and you really can't say a nicer thing!

This contains four of John Carpenter's films, all which I enjoyed watching. The Thing is simply an amazing movie, and even today I'm impressed by the effects used. I also happen to love Prince of Darkness, and it is one of my favorite horror flicks. Village of the Damned is probably my least favorite out of this collection, though it's still somewhat entertaining. And who can forget They Live? The movie has some of the most memorable lines that you'll find yourself quoting again and again, despite the poor acting and the mullet.

My first time ordering on Amazon. The DVD was great. Surprised how easy. Love it!

I consider The Thing & Prince of Darkness masterpeices & cult classics.The other 2 movies on this dvd are good, but don't rise to the level of the before mentioned titles.For the price of admission this dvd is a steal,especially if you are a fan of John Carpenter.

needed a set of BW movies for a holloween party...
haven't watched the whole set but all the movies have been in great condition!