Legendary horror director John Carpenter sat down with Variety to discuss creating some of his most popular films, like “Halloween,” “The Thing” and many others that have gained a cult following over the years. Despite many of his movies receiving negative reviews early on, Carpenter helped revolutionize the horror genre and became known as a cult classic filmmaker.
“‘The Thing’ was a bomb. Fans hated it, critics hated it. They thought I showed them too much of the monster. You just don’t do that. Only if you’re a low-rent director, like me, do you show the monster. You’re supposed to hide it in the shadows,” he said. After “The Thing” debuted in 1982 to mostly bad press, the movie went on to inspire countless horrors, thrillers and TV shows, like “Stranger Things,” and received a prequel in 2011.
