Search the Fresh Air Archive

Close Search

Film Director John Carpenter on Building Suspense in Horror Movies

Carpenter is best known for the film "Halloween," one of the most successful independent films ever. His other credits include "The Thing," "Christine," "Starman," and "Memoirs of an Invisible Man," starring Chevy Chase. His upcoming movie is "Into the Mouth of Madness." Terry spoke to him in 1988. (Rebroadcast).

06:04
Queue

Guest

Host

Related Topics

Other segments from the episode on October 28, 1994

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, October 28, 1994: Interview with Raymond McNally; Interview with John Carpenter; Interview with Patrick McGrath; Review of the film "Bullets Over Broadway."
Queue
16:29

The Grim History and Folklore of Vampires

Professor and writer Raymond McNally has studied the many portrayals of vampires in folklore and film. He has traced the origins of the Dracula story in Transylvania. His book about what he's found is called "In Search of Dracula," written with Radu Florescu. McNally is a professor of Rumanian and Eastern European culture at Boston College. (Rebroadcast)

Interview
Queue
16:06

Horror Writer Patrick McGrath on the Evolution of Gothic Fiction

McGrath has been described as "a Poe for the 80s," a postmodern-gothic storyteller. Horror writing comes easily to McGrath, who grew up on the grounds of an English asylum for the criminally insane. He's written a collection of short stories and several novels. In this 1990 interview, he reads from his book, "Spider." His latest is called "Doctor Haggard's Disease." (Rebroadcast)

Interview

Transcript

Transcript currently not available.

Transcripts are created on a rush deadline, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of Fresh Air interviews and reviews are the audio recordings of each segment.

You May Also like

Queue
27:39

Film Director John Carpenter

Carpenter has made films in a variety of genres, but he has a special affection for horror and sci-fi. His first movie, Halloween, spawned several sequels. His latest, They Live, is a political satire about aliens colonizing Earth.

Interview
Queue
21:36

Horror's 'Shock Value' Redefined In The 1960s.

Rosemary's Baby, Night of the Living Dead and Targets all came out in 1968. Theater critic Jason Zinoman says the three films redefined Hollywood horror in the aftermath of the Vietnam War — and influenced the genre for the next several decades.

Interview
Queue
21:10

Filmmaker Alejandro Amenabar

28-year-old Spanish filmmaker Alejandro Amenabar's new film, a horror film called The Others, stars Nicole Kidman. It his first English language feature. His first film Tesis (Thesis) won seven Goyas, the Spanish equivalent of the Oscars, in 1997. His second movie, Abre los Ojos (Open Your Eyes) has been remade in the US. The film, Vanilla Sky, was made by Cameron Crowe and stars Tom Cruise.

Interview

Did you know you can create a shareable playlist?

Learn How
Advertisement

There are more than 22,000 Fresh Air segments.

Let us help you find exactly what you want to hear.
Just play me something
Your Queue

Would you like to make a playlist based on your queue?

Generate & Share View/Edit Your Queue