LouHomey From my favorite movies..

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Gutsycurene Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Pjtaylor-96-138044 Initially controversial for its then uncompromising violence and flashes of unrelenting sadism, this expertly set-up action-flick makes good on its promise of an explosive finale but spends just as much time building its fantastic characters so that its tension is true and palpable. 'Assault On Precinct 13 (1976)' is fantastically well-realised and brings a relatively realistic grit to all of its sequences, painting a picture of a near inescapable situation and putting your smack-dab in the centre of it, and it is gripping pretty much right from the off. 7/10

Panos242 Assault on Precinct 13 is another great moment in John Carpenter's filmography. First of all the screenplay is masterful. The way all the characters are introduced in order to intersect is precise and methodical. A few flaws during the confrontation are minor. Direction and cinematography are great as well. For example, the way the empty streets are filmed like a deserted urban landscape (mainly with panoramic shots) or the claustrophobic and tense atmosphere that is achieved at the precinct. And this part of the movie brings in mind a lot The Night of the Living Dead. Moreover, the exceptional synths by John Carpenter underline functionally the action. 8,5/10

FlashCallahan An L.A. street gang declares war on a police station about to be shut down that has given refuge to a man who has witnessed a gang slaying, and killed one of them.Because of the shutdown, the phones and electricity have been turned off, and gang members await outside with knives and guns where the precinct has been totally shut off from the outside world......A loose remake of Rio Bravo, AOP13 is an intense ride from beginning to end, and although that sounds like a cliché and a half, the intensity of the silence once the titular assault begins, it can almost deafen yours senses.Apart from the fact that not all the characters are fleshed out, Carpenter keeps the dialogue to the minimum, and let the squibs do the talking.The series of events that cause that cause the assault are pretty unnerving, and I guarantee you'll never question what kind of gelato you are served with in future.The gang are sinister, almost zombie like, and if the film had any horror elements to it, the gang are a hybrid of the pirates from The Fog, The Shape from Halloween, and The Dukes Gang from EFNY. It's as if Carpenter has written these members in a sort of Carpenter-esque multiverse.The soundtrack is compelling, and the lighting adds much to the mise en scene.Check it out, it shows again just what a masterful film maker he was in his heyday.

lloobee_4-1 How much can you say - Stoker and Joston are Perfectly cast in this wonderfully relaxed, low-budget action thriller. Stoker's naivety "This can't happen" plays perfectly against Joston's laconic mass murderer (with his memorable introduction line "got a smoke?").The music is probably the best Carpenter has done - with the possible exception of "the Thing". Somehow very slow and easy, yet intense. "Tap-tap-tap...tap. Tap-tap-tap-tap...tap" you'll recognise it once you hear it.And the last scene - after all the words have been said - is truly hard-core tough guy heaven.