If he does a signing, then do yourself a favor and stick around until the line dies down. I went to one that was done in his hometown at a hotel and after the crowd left he took a small group of us to a table and sat and talked to us for about two hours while smoking a cigarette and drinking a cup of coffee. He's a really cool guy and way down to earth.

John Carpenter is actually in his early 60's, which is not too old for a director, but he does look about 20 years older than that due to the premature aging effects of chain-smoking like a madman for decades.

Its flawed but I enjoyed Madness as well. Escape from LA was where it all began to come undone in my eyes for Carpenter. Ghost of mars is unwatchable.

Some of the worst CGI I've ever seen. The surfing scene with Fonda was just cringe inducing.

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/38558...ie-collection/

He never did do a signing.

I hope he isn't doing a combination of Hostel and Shutter Island.

Carpenter interview for french site, interview starts at 2:50 talks about The Ward, some behind the scenes footage, why he hasn't made a film in years. Got this via Dread Central.

http://didierallouch.blog.canalplus....john+carpenter

I saw this tonight in Toronto. It's really pretty bad. A scary ghost that appears with jump scares doesn't do much for me. A major plot reveal brought laughter from the audience.

*sigh*

I love the man. But for some people, talent does sometimes just run out. Doesn't diminish their previous body of work, but it's just over. He hasn't made a movie that worked for me since Invisible Man and it doesn't sound like he'll ever return to form.

Count me as one who enjoyed Ghosts Of Mars, so much so that I own it. It definitely has its entertainment value with me. -kd5-

^ you're not alone. I own it as well and caught it again on HD a couple months back. I can't quite explain why, but I really dig that movie.

I love the high points of Carpenter's career....I think it ended w/ BTILC. Though They Live was good too...just...some aspects of it haven't fared well w/ time. I don't give a damn about JC's current work. I'll never see a great film of his in theaters I guess. I was born too late.

Not to dismiss the opinion of the poster above but at least one or two critics I trust saw it and said it was solid, so I'll withhold judgment for now.

I dunno, man. JC has done way too much crap for me to care. It's amazing for me to even pop in this thread cuz...it'd been a while.

I will give anything Carpenter does a fair shake. The man is responsible for one of the greatest cinematic runs in film history from '76-'88 (maybe '94, but I don't think Memoirs is totally solid). I will absolutely see this opening night.

I will watch a leaf blowing around in the air on film if Carpenter shot it. Cant wait to see the Ward.

What I don't get is why he didn't do more work; even if he wanted a hiatus, his comeback with Cigarette Burns should have started a slew of films from him.

Same here.

In short, he's a lazy stoner with more interest in video games, basketball and collecting checks for useless remakes of his films than dealing with the corporate world of studios.

This slashfilm review is pretty brutal.

http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/09/14/...ters-the-ward/

This comment stuck out: I'm certainly not expecting much going in, so I suppose I won't be particularly disappointed when it turns out to be lousy. I'm guessing this will only play theatrically for a few weeks, so I'll just hold off for the Netflix rental.

well it depends on how cool they can make a trailer for it to market it and get people's interest.

I know Carpenter well enough to go into this with low, low expectations which I will secretly hope are at least mildly exceeded.