150 Word Review: 'Assault On Precinct 13' (1976)
Lawlessness & Disorder
There was a moment a few decades ago when director John Carpenter understood what lurked in the dark basement of America's psyche better than any other pop cultural artist. His movies asked questions: what if the idyllic suburbs are evil? What if capitalism is a lie? What if the future is fascist?
But in Assault From Precinct 13, Carpenter taps directly into an evergreen national fear: What if hordes of criminals are coming for us? He traps cops and crooks in a nearly abandoned precinct surrounded by a surprisingly diverse gang of heavily armed, murder-happy psychos. Can they survive this hell night?
The cast is a solid B+, including dashing Austin Stoker as a straight-shooting Lieutenant, poker-faced Laurie Zimmer as one tough cookie who can take a bullet, and Darwin Joston as a convicted killer who's not that bad. This is low-budget exploitation filmmaking at its best: witty, ruthless mayhem.
Random Rankings
Top 5 John Carpenter Movies
5. ‘Christine’ (1983)
4. ‘In The Mouth Of Madness’ (1994)
3. ‘Assault On Precinct 13’ (1976)
2. ‘They Live’ (1988)
1. ‘The Thing’ (1982)