Assault On Precinct 13 (1976)

I've been planning on watching this John Carpenter directed film for a while. A few years ago I saw his film 'They Live' (1988) in which scumbag aliens have taken over on the sly and are subliminally controlling humans through advertising. Man, I loved that film. Recently I saw it again and then watched 'The Thing' (1982) which, although having some hilariously dated special effects, is still a bit of fun. I wasn't really into horror as a kid, sure I watched the Elm Street films and the odd zombie flick but I was just a little queasy with the hacking and splintering of body parts. I could happily watch people get riddled with bullets in shitty action flicks or pounded into a bloody pulp in martial art films but no chainsaws being driven up between legs, thanks. Anyway I have since gained an appreciation for horror and after watching a few Carpenter films I am keen to investigate more of his films including the Halloweens. For the moment however I'll  continue my quest with this little firecracker.

A small group of cops, secretaries and cons are spending the final night in the Anderson district cop shop before it is relocated. Suddenly a spazzed out mute busts through the front doors sobbing. The lads in the cop shop are surprised to learn that he is being pursued by a blood thirsty gang who want to chop up everything in their path. Thus begins the big siege and the start of many shotgun blasts, aimed to remove the middle sections of countless silent foes.
One of the things that I dig about Carpenter's films is the subtle comedy throughout. Often the characters deliver quirky little lines that you may not have been expecting and you think, 'Heh, you're not such a prick after all mate!". Not the sort of thing you laugh out loud at, not on first viewing anyway, but like I found rewatching 'They Live' and some of this film's scenes, is that the humour grows on you.  Then you get a scene like this little beauty...




Wow, you don't see that too often these days. A great little wake up call if you are getting too comfortable. It reminds me of when I watched Pulp Fiction for the first time and Marsellus Wallace shoots bystanders accidentally while firing at Bruce Willis. Bit of a shock but also a bit of a laugh too!
Of course the acting can be a little wooden at times and the dialogue often sounds like it was written the night before shooting but the lead actors all bring something to the table especially Austin Stoker who plays the lead cop. Dodgy editing appears at times too. One scene shows a cop standing by idly on the edge of the screen, obviously assuming he was out of shot, as one of the cons goes berserk with his prison chains on the warden's hide.
One of the stand out aspects of this film is the soundtrack. It's totally bad arse. I've listened to it before and couldn't wait to see it attached to the action. Whenever it kicked in I found myself rubbing my hands with glee in expectation to what sort of crazy shit was around the corner. Fortunately it's used to great effect and quite often too. Carpenter composed and recorded it as he does in many of his films. He's pretty renowned for them, having their own cult following. Please, check this out and get your dark brood on...




Being set in a major US city, featuring a rampaging gang and made in the 70's it reminded me of other films I'm a fan of such as 'The Warriors' (1979). Modern day action films should look more to this combination of suspense with shorts bursts of ultra violence instead of just 90 minutes of gun fire and bland car chases. It's not without it's flaws but it is a blast (in your oxygen thieving face)!
4/5