DVD
-
- --
THRILLER Joston's open ''Assault'' in ''Precinct''
Credits
Rated: R; DVD Release Date: Mar 11, 2003; Genres: Action/Adventure, Crime; With: Darwin Joston, Laurie Zimmer and Austin Stoker
B+
Dalton Ross
Dalton Ross is an editor-at-large at EW and swears there are better pictures of him out there...somewhere.
He went from being one of the masters of horror (''Halloween,'' ''The Thing'') to putting out loads of horrifyingly bad movies (''John Carpenter's Vampires'' and ''Ghosts of Mars''). But before director John Carpenter turned his attention almost completely to scary fare, he directed Assault On Precinct 13, a tight, tense thriller in which cops and cons join forces in an abandoned police station to fight off a mob of revenge-minded gang members. Sure, the acting (from never-really-heard-from-agains like Austin Stoker and Darwin Joston) is suspect, and certain plot points -- such as the fact that the so-called assault actually takes place at Precinct 9, not 13 -- range from confusing to nonsensical. Still, Carpenter's eerie score and Douglas Knapp's stylish cinematography give this low-budget shoot-out all the weight of an urban ''Rio Bravo'' (although it should be noted no one here is named Stumpy or Feathers). And trust me, you'll never look at an ice cream truck the same way again.
Posted Mar 14, 2003
You Might Also Like
- Movie News Get ready for a remake of ''Assault on Precinct Thirteen'' (1976)
- Video Review Assault on Precinct 13 | Steve Simels
- THE Q&A John Carpenter talks modern horror | Mike Bruno
- The Pop of King Stephen King on how to get in the Halloween mood | Stephen King
- ENTERTAINERS OF THE YEAR 'The Dark Knight': Entertainers of the year (Jul 18, 2008) | Jeff Jensen
- Movie Commentary 'Dark Knight': Oscar-worthy? (Jul 18, 2008) | Mark Harris
Add Your Comments
The rules: Keep it clean, and stay on the subject or we might delete your comment.
If you see inappropriate language,
e-mail us.
You must have javascript enabled to submit a comment.
You Might Also Like
- Movie News Get ready for a remake of ''Assault on Precinct Thirteen'' (1976)
- Video Review Assault on Precinct 13 | Steve Simels
- THE Q&A John Carpenter talks modern horror | Mike Bruno
- The Pop of King Stephen King on how to get in the Halloween mood | Stephen King
- ENTERTAINERS OF THE YEAR 'The Dark Knight': Entertainers of the year (Jul 18, 2008) | Jeff Jensen
- Movie Commentary 'Dark Knight': Oscar-worthy? (Jul 18, 2008) | Mark Harris
