Perhaps the director and musician John Carpenter is not entirely innocent of the numerous Halloween parties this weekend. His style-defining horror film “Halloween – Night of Horrors” from 1978 made the American tradition a little better known in this country.
The supposedly last part of the series is currently showing in the cinema with “Halloween Ends”. John Carpenter provided the soundtrack, which was released via Sacred Bones. To talk about it, he granted ROLLING STONE author Daniel Koch one of his now rare interviews, which he conducted via Zoom.
Carpenter’s “Christine” in check:
Mr. Carpenter, I had been listening to your soundtrack for a couple of weeks before I was allowed to see the film. Now that I’ve seen it, I have to say, your soundtrack scared me more than the movie. And this despite the fact that I was in a late screening for “Halloween Kills” and even sat in the cinema all by myself …
Thanks. Then I’ve done my job. That’s my one and only job in life: to scare people. Either with pictures or with music.
As you have done for years, you recorded the music with your son Cody Carpenter and your godchild Daniel Davis. You once described this family collaboration as a “very functional deal”. Can you elaborate on that a little?
Carpenter’s “They Live” in Check:
When I work with both of them, each of us brings our strengths to the table. That complements each other perfectly. Daniel is a very curious, immensely creative sound researcher and a guitar virtuoso. Cody is a keyboard virtuoso. And I bring my experience with me.
only experience? Not more?
Basically: yes.
That’s what you call an understatement. How was it for you to immerse yourself in the sound world of “Halloween” one last time?
You know, when Cody, Daniel and I make music, it’s always about taste. Which means: our taste. We look at what is needed and then we decide: What do we think is appropriate? Which melody should be the focus of this sequence? What kind of sounds do we want to use? That’s all. Together we dug up the old “Halloween” soundtrack again, grabbed a few themes and elements, dusted them off, polished them and reused them. That’s all.
You once said you hate watching your old films. Does that also apply to your soundtracks?
I don’t hate listening to my old soundtracks. Although I do think that the newer ones are more interesting because they are more complex and the sounds are better. When I listen to the old ones, I tend to think something like: how the hell did I get that sound? And then I fail to reconstruct it today.
How can one imagine the working process in the case of “Halloween Ends”. Is there an order from the director? Watch the film and decide where it takes what?
“The Thing” in review:
This is also a very simple process. We’ll talk to David Gordon Green first. Then we watch the film and he tells us where he wants music and what is important to him in a certain sequence. And then Cody, Daniel and I start – we improvise a lot, record everything and then decide what goes in. Very easily. Our job is to be there and support the movie, support the themes, support the scenes, find themes for specific characters. We are storytellers in the musical sense. For the movie. That’s our job.
How do you feel now that the Halloween Ends series you started is coming to an end?
I feel great. And by that I mean: Back then, 1978, was my film. I directed it. Now it’s David Gordon Green’s film and it’s his ideas. I support his ideas. I have no possessiveness or feelings that drive me. Everything great. Everyone wants to know from me: “What do you think of the film? Are you upset?” No. I don’t care about that at all. i’m doing my job
I didn’t even want to get into a diss in the direction of David Gordon Green. I mean, how is it for you to see Michael Myers and Jamie Lee Curtis’ as Laurie for what will be the last time?
I have the utmost respect for Jamie Lee Curtis. She has truly become an exceptional actress. It has grown in many ways since we worked together back then. She was just a kid then – but we were all kids. now we are old I primarily associate Michael Myers with our “Halloween Theme” song. This is a piece of music written explicitly for a killing machine. And this is Michael. The way this song sounds is how I feel about it.
“Halloween Ends” was advertised on a poster with the slogan: “It’s the final battle against evil.” Would you sign that?
That’s a great sentence. I love this sentence. But I’m not sure if he’s quite right. Maybe there are a few more fights against evil than just the one. It seems to me that in real life there are battles against evil every day. And in the film business in relation to “Halloween”? You never know in this business. You just never know what’s going to happen.
Do you actually follow current cinema events?
I still watch a lot of current films. Yes. Also horror films. And I always try to see all the films that are nominated for an Oscar. By the way, have you seen Black Adam yet?
All about “The Rattlesnake”:
Ah. Not yet. I actually wanted to, but the first reviews were so devastating that I’m now arguing again. Did you see him?
no Just interested me.
Have you seen a film in the last few weeks that you were particularly excited about and that you could recommend?
Yes.
Which one would that be?
I won’t tell you. Then just write about it again. I do not like it. I only recommend them: watch basketball!
fair enough That’s a lot of thrills too. Then let’s talk about your music again and take a few steps back in your biography. What first awakened your love for music?
I grew up with music. My father had a PhD in music. He was a virtuoso on the violin. When I was eight, my father decided it was a good time to send me to violin lessons. There was only one problem. I had no talent at all. And the violin is the most difficult instrument to sound good on. She is merciless. Unforgiving. However. But I kept going anyway, learning the keyboard and the guitar. My musical taste leaned more towards rock ‘n’ roll and of course I succumbed to the Beatles when they released their first albums. So my love for music has evolved since the beginning, but it has always been a part of my life. In my life, in my head, there is always music playing.
How did it happen that you didn’t just want to make films, but also the soundtracks for them and chose this electronic sound, which wasn’t that great back then in vogue was?
I still remember how my love for these soundtracks and this sound was awakened. It was a 1956 film called Forbidden Planet that had a score composed entirely of electronic music. There was no orchestral music at all. There weren’t any synthesizers back then, so other methods were used. The music came from the Barrons – a married couple who composed together. I still listen to this soundtrack often. He was really influential for me, especially in connection with the film images. This film changed me in every way. After seeing the film I decided that I wanted to be a film director and the soundtrack inspired me to go in that direction musically. These synthesizers later enabled me to sound big and menacing without having to hire an orchestra or be a virtuoso instrument myself. They were effective.
In the meantime, your work area has shifted exclusively to making music. That became particularly clear to me when the first album in your “Lost Themes” series came out in 2015 – you basically listen to film music for films that you have to make up yourself. I find that almost more exciting. I was like, if not a new Carpenter movie, at least it can send me into my own nightmares…
Then you did it exactly right. That’s how these albums are meant to be.
But how do you feel about just being in that role of the musical storyteller, as you called it before?
I don’t think much about it. But I think it feels great. I mean everything feels great. I just traded directing for recording movie soundtracks and my own albums. I don’t have that terrible pressure anymore. Making films is an extremely tough job. Like working in a lignite mine. It’s that hard. It eats up time. Money. There’s the pressure on you. In every single second. That wore me down. In my case it was also the case that I sometimes wrote the screenplay, directed the film and in the end also had to write the film music. So I was completely burned out from directing and took a break for years. Now I’m feeling better. Much better.
A colleague of mine asked me to speak to you about another musical project – the Coupe De Villes. Their new wave band, which they formed with Nick Castle (author of The Rattlesnake and Michael Myers body double in the first Halloween) and Tommy Lee Wallace (director of Halloween III and It with Tim Curry). . They performed the title track to Big Trouble in Little China, had a cameo in Nick Castle’s 1986 The Boy Who Could Fly, and even recorded an album called Waiting Out The Eighties, which was never officially released , because it was intended as a gift for friends of yours. I should now ask: will there ever be an official release or even a reunion?
(laughs) Oh man. The coups. Oh well. I dont know. We’ve all gotten so old. I don’t know if our voices would go along with that. But you never know. I would not say no.
You and Cody and Daniel have been very creative in recent years. Are you already working on new albums or projects?
Yes. But of course I won’t tell you anything about that. You know the game.
Clear. But you can try it. But then you’ve almost made it with me. I have one more question: do you still feel like giving interviews these days? You only do it very selectively and I think your label had to persuade you a little bit this time too…
Oh, I still like it to a lesser extent. I just need to massively cut back on the time I spend on it because it does make my brain a little muddy after a while. Especially when everyone is asking the same thing. But of course your questions were great. (laughs).
Naturally.
But no offense: I’m still looking forward to watching almost exclusively basketball for the rest of the day and week. You know, the NBA league just started and the Golden State Warriors defeated the Los Angeles Lakers. This is off to a good start.
Then I wish you a lot of fun with it.
Thank you very much. I will have that.
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