Weekly Poll Results: Best John Carpenter Movie

Posted by on October 21st, 2011   Filed under: Polls

Well I think we all knew there were a couple of John Carpenter movies in particular that would be battling for the top spot in last week’s poll, but I certainly didn’t expect to see such an overwhelming majority pick The Thing. With over 50% of the votes, I can’t help but wonder if it would it have dominated by such a large margin if the new remake/prequel hadn’t just hit theatres. Perhaps an even bigger surprise, however, was the fact that Big Trouble in Little China actually took second place, just barely edging out Halloween, which is widely considered to be his most influential film. Escape from New York and They Live rounded out the top 5, while Starman pulled up the rear. Do you agree with these results?

1. The Thing — 51.4%
2. Big Trouble in Little China — 16.3%
3. Halloween — 15.4%
4. Escape from New York — 6.3%
5. They Live — 4%
6. Assault on Precinct 13 — 2.5%
7. The Fog — 1.5%
8. In the Mouth of Madness — 1.3%
9. Prince of Darkness — 1%
10. Starman — 0.4%



  • Kasper

    Personally I find Halloween to be mediocre at best, so I’m not surprised Big Trouble takes second place – I’m more surprised Halloween took third.

  • Could it be Assault On Precint 13 and Starman are rated so low because not many people have seen them?
    Big Trouble In Little China is fun and silly and I love it too, but no way is it a better Carpenter movie than Assault On Precint 13. That film is a corker.

  • Matt McNeely

    I could see how someone could think Halloween is not good but it is surprising that so few seem to find it as good as The Thing. I personally think the low budget suspense of Halloween is better than the, perhaps, overly slick Thing remake. They Live is a truly terrible movie notable only for its campy cult status and deserves a number 10 ranking at best. Big Trouble in Little China is, as Lior says, fun and silly but it’s not really that great a film. I definitely don’t agree with these results.

  • Mason

    I was going to say his best movies are the ones he writes as well as directs- but then I noticed he did not write The Thing. Since that was a remake, it could be that he is more comfortable letting someone else adapt a new screenplay for a remake he wants to direct. This didn’t work so well for Village of the Damned. I didn’t think that was written or directed that well, but I like the concept and want to check out the original.