“I think the very first film I saw was THE AFRICAN QUEEN,” said director John Carpenter in our interview last year. “That was in 1951 and I was in the theater in northern New York. I was thinking there were people behind the screen; this is like a theater show, they’re back there! My Father had to explain to me that no, that’s not how it works and he pointed to the projection booth and there was this flickering light and he said “that’s where they come from, from in there and then they’re projected onto the screen.” I thought man, that is magical. That was my first taste of movies. My first early influence was a film called IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE. In 1952 that was a 3D movie back then, it just blew my mind. It was like my god what is this? I think I fell in love viscerally with the movies then. I was so terrified by the opening sequence and I thought anything that can do this is magic, absolute magic.”

Carpenter grew up in Bowling Green, Kentucky along with his good friend (and fellow director) Tommy Lee Wallace. When he wasn’t drawing, making music, or writing elaborate stories, he was making movies with his Father’s 8mm. Carpenter knew at an early age that he wanted to be behind the camera. Something happened in the theater, something deep and personal. A true bond with filmmaking was forged and the results have produced multiple classics that have transcended their genres. We asked Carpenter if he would dig deep into the films that made an impact on him. What were the films that made him think that he could create the magic he had been so impressed by? Carpenter said yes, and so we now bring you…

JOHN CARPENTER’S TOP 10 FILMS THAT MADE ME WANT TO BECOME A DIRECTOR

10. X THE UNKOWN (1956)

9. ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS (1939)

8. NOT OF THIS EARTH (1957)

7. TOUCH OF EVIL (1958)

6. HELP (1965)

5. THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1957)

4. THE QUATERMASS EXPERIMENT (1955)

3. VERTIGO (1958)

2. RIO BRAVO (1955)

1. FORBIDDEN PLANET (1956)

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Jon Abrams

Editor-In-Chief at Daily Grindhouse

Jon Abrams is a New York-based writer, cartoonist, and committed cinemaniac whose complete work and credits can be found at his site, Demon’s Resume. You can contact him on Twitter as @JonZilla___.

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