Assault on Precinct 13

This is rightly considered a classic cult movie from the 1970's by the once reliable John Carpenter (who also composed the edgy early synth score). Basically it's a faint mish-mash of other movies, the dialogue is reminiscent of great westerns as a black policeman and a white convict battle against gang members in a Night of The Living Dead re-working. It's also tempting to draw Vietnam allegories (as with many American movies of the mid 1970's and after); the faceless, nameless gang members die in the droves but keep attacking the besieged police station and the lawmen and the lawbreakers, black and white, must unite to defeat them and escape with their lives.

The real joy of this movie, however, is the playing of the two virtually unknown leads, Austin Stoker and the late Darwin Joston. They have a great, almost wry chemistry and use Carpenter's stripped-down witty dialogue to great effect. Because there are no 'stars', there are no real expectations, and the shocks when they come (including the famous ice cream sequence) are more shocking for it.

The representation of women leaves a little to be desired (the two female characters obviously shop at the same sweater store!) but the character Lee shows some inner strength and resolve, and even has time for some kind of upper hand in terms of sexual tension between herself and Joston's Napoleon Wilson.

If you haven't seen this movie I urge you to watch it; in terms of B movies and cult thrillers it's the yardstick in my opinion; simple, stylish, violent, witty and not remotely sentimental.

John Carpenter is the master of the B-Movie genre, making well-liked films such as Halloween (birth of the slasher film), Big Trouble in Little China and Escape to New York. Assault on Precinct 13 is one of Carpenter's best, and one of my favourites of his.

In Los Andres gang-warfare is troubling the streets, and one gang was able to steel some advanced weapons to use for their mayhem. The gang, Street Thunder play revenge on the LAPD and swear a blood oath. On his first day on the job, Lieutenant Ethan Bishop (Austin Stoker), is assigned to run Precinct 9, Division 13 police station, a station about to closed down, and running on a skeleton staff. At the same time Napoleon Wilson (Darwin Joston), a prisoner on his way to death row is transfered, but on the way to a high security prison, a prisoner becomes ill and they have to stop at Bishop's station. In South Central LA, Lawson (Martin West) is searching for the house for his daughter's nanny. When he stops his young daughter buys an ice-cream from a van, and ends up getting shot by a gang member. Lawson quickly seeks revenge, killing one of the gang members. By doing this, he obviously get the gang hunting him, and ends up in the police station. The gang lays siege on the station, and the cops and criminals have to work together to survive.

It's a simple premise and plot, and works as a suspenseful horror like film. The siege of an numerous enemy is very similar to George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead. It is a short film, and very action packed. It is violence, as excepted, with a shocking scene involving a young girl dying. My DVD is rated 15, but I'm surprised it's not an 18 (and that is rare). The acting a little wooden, but it doesn't matter so much in this type of film. At least John Carpenter tries to bring some character and backstory, especially Napoleon Wilson who works as an anti-hero and a early prototype to Snake Plissken in Escape from New York. Some of the pacing is a little off, especially in the beginning. But Carpenter knows simple ideas, like cops and criminals working together to stop a greater threat, and action and set pieces.

Watching John Carpenter's latest 'Ghosts Of Mars' recently I couldn't help but wonder what happened to Carpenter's vision. 'Assault On Precinct 13' was made 25 years earlier on probably a tenth of the budget and is basically the same movie only ten times better! Carpenter self-consciously uses Hawks' 'Rio Bravo', adds a touch of Romero's 'Night Of The Living Dead' and comes up with arguably the most exciting siege movie of all time. This gem is a perfect example of superior low budget film making. Relative unknowns Austin Stoker ('Abby') and Darwin Joston ('Eraserhead') are both outstanding as the stars of this taut and unpredictable thriller, and the supporting cast includes Laurie Zimmer (sadly her only movie), Nancy Loomis ('Halloween'), Kim Richards ('The Car' - in the movie's most controversial and memorable scene), and Carpenter semi-regular Charles Cyphers ('Escape From New York'). One of Carpenter's best efforts and overall an extraordinarily underrated movie. 'Assault On Precinct 13' is a classic! Add this to your "must see" list immediately!

I long for the days when John Carpenter was ingenious enough to make such excellent films as his classics like Halloween, Escape From New York, and of course, The Thing. He's gone way downhill since those glory days but thankfully he built himself enough of a legacy that the aforementioned films will be the one's he is known for, along with a little film called Assault of Precinct 13. This is one of Carpenter's very first films, made back in 1976. It tells the story of a group of people holed up in a police station that is under siege by a ruthless South Los Angeles gang. It is a wicked film full of intense action, riveting suspense, and an incredible score written by Carpenter himself. It is a brief 90 minute flick that has a very low budget indie feel to it, but this only adds to the experience which makes this film into something truly remarkable.

It's hard to place exactly why I love this film. It is one of those that seems like it shouldn't be nearly as enjoyable and excellent as it is. There's plenty of cheese and its a very small scale low budget flick that doesn't possess any kind of pizazz, no remarkable production value, and no big name stars to carry the film. But it might just be all of these things that combine to make this film so much fun and so incredibly compelling. Carpenter makes the most out of what little he has and makes a uniquely awesome film. Herein lies a style that you either love or hate. If you can stand low budget action then you should love this film, as I do. If you long for something bigger then chances are you won't get much out of this. It's a matter of personal preference, but my preferences make me enjoy this film almost too much.

Something else that makes this film work is its overall tone. It's a very serious and hard hitting film. It is brutal and unapologetic when it comes to the level of violence, and it doesn't hold back. The immense darkness of the film makes us believe in what we are seeing and draws us deep into the film's driving emotion and sincerely intense action. This film is not satire, it's not a farce, it's not a parody. It is it's own type of film, managing to be utterly serious and absolutely wicked. This is a must see whether you are a John Carpenter fan or not.

It's time for the old precinct to retire, the last night, after which it's not required, with Ethan Bishop holding fort, there should be nothing to report, what could possibly go wrong, you might enquire. A visit from a bus going to jail, then a shell-shocked guy who's struggles to inhale, there's a gathering outside, where some pressure is applied, before you know it, there's a full frontal assail.

A quiet evening doesn't quite go to plan for the skeleton staff of an almost decommissioned police station, as a gang of vengeful thugs take their frustration out on the inhabitants after an incident earlier that day. It remains a great piece of filmmaking with some brilliant performances from a director who went on to make a difference.