13 John Carpenter movies ranked from worst to best

11. Village of the Damned (1995)

We all know remakes are never really well received by enduring fans and the science fiction horror film Village of the Damned proves that statement to be true. The previous 1960 film of the same name was also adapted from the 1957 novel The Midwich Cuckoos written by author John Wyndham.

The 1995 version stars Christopher Reeve, Kirstie Alley, and Mark Hamill with Carpenter directing, writing and even composing for the film. In the film, we can see many flaws including the pacing of the storytelling and the choices the characters would make.

Director John Carpenter spoke in an interview in 2011 about how the film was more of a contractual duty for him and not a passion project. Village of the Damned was met with many negative reviews and ultimately being a box office failure, even being nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award in the Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off, or Sequel category. This entry was not one of Carpenter’s best, but still, it’s a mark he’s left in cinema history.

10. Escape From L.A. (1996)

When a movie makes a big impact with memorable characters, story, and world-building it’s only a matter of time for Hollywood to spew out a sequel with hopes of striking the same success twice. The same was hoped for 1996’s Escape from L.A. starring Kurt Russell reprising his role as the iconic Snake Plissken.

Kurt Russell definitely wanted to expand his role as Snake and create a franchise. Russell even produced and helped write the film alongside John Carpenter and long-time collaborator Debra Hill. Escape From L.A. earns merit for its cult following just like its predecessor but the movie has many flaws with it. An apocalyptic story full of campiness and very cheesy moments but definitely still worth a watch and it is still a fun movie to just kick back and turn your brain off for a few.