Assault on Precinct 13

Due to budget constraints (and the need to shoot on expensive Panavision) the early Carpenter coined the slogan "shoot as little footage as possible and extend the scenes for as long as one can". It's possible that as a result his early films have uncomfortably long exposition and the whole thing is edited into a rather lethargic whole. Despite this, however, the first half works paradoxically well before the events mentioned in the film's title ever occur. But then the long, cold wait loses a bit of its impact in the end, when you learn that it wasn't the director's intention, but a method of stretching the film to feature length. The resulting action, dialogue, and lead actors are then the usual 70s exploitation cringe, dominated mainly by Laurie Zimmer, who must have had someone constantly throwing pills into her drink, because most of the time she gives the impression that she doesn't even know where she is. As is so often the case in the end, the scene for which most people remember this film is also the scene Carpenter is now most ashamed of. Today, all Kathy would have to do is write a disgruntled review on Google and the plot would be over. (21/09/2020)

The skillfully executed direction, which escalates tension, builds a bleak atmosphere, and often finds relief in dark humor, manages to cover up the weak plot, implausible characters, lack of logic, and the hysterical performance of one of the main actresses. Accompanied by his own music (the main theme is perfect), Carpenter plays like a little child and relying solely on his own abilities paid off for him. A film that relies on overall simplicity will definitely teach you that bought ice cream is not to be exchanged, and that when asked, "Anybody got a smoke?" the immediate response should be: "Yes! Here!" (11/10/2005)

The roughly half-hour exposition is awesome and perfectly reflects Carpenter's directorial genius. You can feel the Halloween atmosphere and you are excited for the expected plot twist. But that twist comes quite suddenly and the rest of the film turns into an action B-movie in the rather routine setting of an abandoned police station. It's still very wholesome carnage, though, it can surprise at the right moment and replace the narrative inevitability with an entertaining script or stylistic interlude. The cryptic opening, with its gradual interweaving of actors and nervous point-of-view shots, just baited me too intensely, and the ice cream truck scene is a premature highlight of the film. Anyway, I'm enjoying early Carpenter more and more. 80% (03/09/2018)