Editing John Carpenter (section)

===1980s: Continued commercial success===
Carpenter followed up the success of ''Halloween'' with ''[[The Fog]]'' (1980), a ghostly revenge tale (co-written by Hill) inspired by horror comics such as ''[[Tales from the Crypt (comic)|Tales from the Crypt]]''<ref>Interview with John Carpenter in the 2005 documentary film, ''Tales from the Crypt from Comic Books to Television.''</ref> and by ''[[The Crawling Eye]]'', a 1958 film about monsters hiding in clouds.<ref name="Audio">Audio commentary by John Carpenter and Debra Hill in ''The Fog'', 2002 special edition DVD.</ref>

Completing ''The Fog'' was an unusually difficult process for Carpenter. After viewing a rough cut of the film, he was dissatisfied with the result. For the only time in his filmmaking career, he had to devise a way to salvage a nearly finished film that did not meet his standards. In order to make the film more coherent and frightening, Carpenter filmed additional footage that included new scenes.

Despite production problems and mostly negative critical reception, ''The Fog'' was another commercial success for Carpenter. The film was made on a budget of $1,000,000,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/pages/press/rollingstone790628.html |title='The Fog': A Spook Ride On Film |access-date=March 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150228140340/http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/pages/press/rollingstone790628.html |archive-date=February 28, 2015 |magazine= Rolling Stone | via = theofficialjohncarpenter.com }}</ref> but it grossed over $21,000,000 in the United States alone. Carpenter has said that ''The Fog'' is not his favorite film, although he considers it a "minor horror classic".<ref name="Audio"/>

Carpenter immediately followed ''The Fog'' with the science-fiction adventure ''[[Escape from New York]]'' (1981). Featuring several actors that Carpenter had collaborated with ([[Kurt Russell]], [[Donald Pleasence]], [[Adrienne Barbeau]], [[Tom Atkins (actor)|Tom Atkins]], [[Charles Cyphers]], and [[Frank Doubleday (actor)|Frank Doubleday]]) or would collaborate with again ([[Harry Dean Stanton]]), and other actors ([[Lee Van Cleef]] and [[Ernest Borgnine]]), it became both commercially successful (grossing more than $25 million) and critically acclaimed (with an 85% on [[Rotten Tomatoes]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1006717-escape_from_new_york/ |title=Escape from New York |website=Rotten Tomatoes |date=July 10, 1981 |access-date=March 7, 2015}}</ref>

His next film, ''[[The Thing (1982 film)|The Thing]]'' (1982), has high production values, including innovative special effects by [[Rob Bottin]], special visual effects by [[matte (filmmaking)|matte]] artist [[Albert Whitlock]], a score by [[Ennio Morricone]] and a cast including Russell and respected character actors such as [[Wilford Brimley]], [[Richard Dysart]], [[Charles Hallahan]], [[Keith David]], and [[Richard Masur]]. ''The Thing'' was distributed by [[Universal Pictures]]. Although Carpenter's film used the same source material as the 1951 Howard Hawks film, ''[[The Thing from Another World]]'', it is more faithful to the [[John W. Campbell Jr.]] novella ''[[Who Goes There?]]'', upon which both films were based. Moreover, unlike the Hawks film, ''The Thing'' was part of what Carpenter later called his "Apocalypse Trilogy", a trio of films (''The Thing'', ''[[Prince of Darkness (film)|Prince of Darkness]]'', and ''[[In the Mouth of Madness]]'') with bleak endings for the film's characters.

Being a graphic, sinister [[horror film]],<ref>[http://www.dareland.com/emulsionalproblems/carpenterjohn.htm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120730190936/http://www.dareland.com/emulsionalproblems/carpenterjohn.htm|date=July 30, 2012}}</ref> In a 1999 interview, Carpenter said audiences rejected ''The Thing'' for its nihilistic, depressing viewpoint at a time when the United States was in the midst of [[Early 1980s recession|a recession]].{{sfn|Bauer|1999}} When it opened, it was competing against the critically and commercially successful ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' ($619{{spaces}}million), a family-friendly film released two weeks earlier that offered a more optimistic take on alien visitation.{{sfn|Kirk|2011}}{{sfn|Bacle|2014}}{{sfn|Nashawaty|2020}}

The impact on Carpenter was immediate{{snd}}he lost the job of directing the 1984 science fiction horror film ''[[Firestarter (1984 film)|Firestarter]]'' because of ''The Thing''{{'}}s poor performance.{{sfn|Leitch|Grierson|2017}} His previous success had gained him a multiple-film contract at Universal, but the studio opted to buy him out of it instead.{{sfn|Paul|2017}} He continued making films afterward but lost confidence, and did not openly talk about ''The Thing''{{'}}s failure until a 1985 interview with ''Starlog'', where he said, "I was called 'a pornographer of violence'{{spaces}}... I had no idea it would be received that way{{spaces}}... ''The Thing'' was just too strong for that time. I knew it was going to be strong, but I didn't think it would be too strong{{spaces}}... I didn't take the public's taste into consideration."{{sfn|Lambie|2018a}}

While ''The Thing'' was not initially successful, it was able to find new audiences and appreciation on [[home video]], and later on television.{{sfn|Lambie|2017b}}

In the years following its release, critics and fans have reevaluated ''The Thing'' as a milestone of the horror genre.{{sfn|Abrams|2016}} A prescient review by [[Peter Nicholls (writer)|Peter Nicholls]] in 1992, called ''The Thing'' "a black, memorable film [that] may yet be seen as a classic".{{sfn|Nicholls|2016}} It has been called one of the best films directed by Carpenter.{{sfn|Corrigan|2017}}{{sfn|Anderson, K|2015}}{{sfn|O'Neill|2013}} [[John Kenneth Muir]] called it "Carpenter's most accomplished and underrated directorial effort",{{sfn|Muir|2013|p=285}} and critic [[Matt Zoller Seitz]] said it "is one of the greatest and most elegantly constructed B-movies ever made".{{sfn|Zoller Seitz|2016}}Trace Thurman described it as one of the best films ever,{{sfn|Thurman|2017}} and in 2008, ''[[Empire (film magazine)|Empire]]'' magazine selected it as one of The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time,{{sfn|Empire500|2008}} at number 289, calling it "a peerless masterpiece of relentless suspense, retina-wrecking visual excess and outright, nihilistic terror".{{sfn|Mahon|2018}} It is now considered to be one of the greatest horror films ever made.{{sfn|Muir|2013|p=285}}{{sfn|LegBoston|2007}} 

Carpenter's next film, ''[[Christine (1983 film)|Christine]]'', was the 1983 adaptation of the Stephen King [[Christine (1983 novel)|novel of the same name]]. The story concerns a high-school nerd named Arnie Cunningham ([[Keith Gordon]]) who buys a junked 1958 [[Plymouth Fury]] which turns out to have supernatural powers. As Cunningham restores and rebuilds the car, he becomes unnaturally obsessed with it, with deadly consequences. ''Christine'' did respectable business upon its release and was received well by critics. He said he directed it because it was the only thing offered to him at the time.<ref>Interview with John Carpenter on the DVD documentary film "Christine: Ignition"</ref>

''[[Starman (film)|Starman]]'' (1984) was produced by [[Michael Douglas]]; the script was well received by [[Columbia Pictures]], which chose it in preference to the script for ''E.T.'' and prompted [[Steven Spielberg]] to go to [[Universal Pictures]]. Douglas chose Carpenter to be the director because of his reputation as an action director who could also convey strong emotion.<ref>[http://www.acmewebpages.com/articles/8412glob.htm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204221612/http://www.acmewebpages.com/articles/8412glob.htm|date=February 4, 2012}}</ref> ''Starman'' was reviewed favorably by the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', ''[[New York Times]]'', and ''[[LA Weekly]]'', and described by Carpenter as a film he envisioned as a romantic comedy similar to ''[[It Happened One Night]]'' only with a space alien.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/pages/press/laheraldex841214.html |title=John Carpenter: Press: Los Angeles Herald Examiner: 12–14–84 |publisher=Theofficialjohncarpenter.com |date=December 14, 1984 |access-date=March 7, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151104192752/http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/pages/press/laheraldex841214.html |archive-date=November 4, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/pages/press/laweekly841214.html |title=John Carpenter: Press: LA Weekly: 12-14/20-84 |publisher=Theofficialjohncarpenter.com |access-date=March 7, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151104192752/http://www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/pages/press/laweekly841214.html |archive-date=November 4, 2015 }}</ref> The film received [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Oscar]] and [[Golden Globe Award|Golden Globe]] nominations for [[Jeff Bridges]]' portrayal of Starman and received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Musical Score for [[Jack Nitzsche]].

After the financial failure of his big-budget action–comedy ''[[Big Trouble in Little China]]'' (1986), Carpenter struggled to get films financed. He resumed making lower budget films such as ''Prince of Darkness'' (1987), a film influenced by the [[BBC]] series ''[[Quatermass (TV serial)|Quatermass]]''. Although some of the films from this time, such as ''[[They Live]]'' (1988) did develop a cult audience, he never again realized mass-market potential.