One of the Best Maverick, B-Movie Directors Ever, John Carpenter has Gained Legions of Fans and has Attained an Almost Deity Status that, say, Roger Corman Never Could, Mostly because of Home Video and the Internet.
He has Directed a lot of Entertaining Movies, mostly Outside the Hollywood System and has Always been Comfortable Making Low to Mid Budget Movies with that Carpenter Vision. He has made Sure Enough Classics, a Few Mediocre (although His Cult would never admit it) Movies, and a Handful of Bad Ones (Blasphemy).
This is One that when First Released was Unfairly Maligned, Dismissed, and Outright Blasted by the Critics. It was Ignored at the Box Office and was a Big Flop. But the Director Never thought He was in Big Trouble. He just Continued Making Movies as if Nothing Ever Happened. This Film is Part of the Carpenter Canon and has become a Cult Favorite.
It is a High Energy Hoot of a Movie. The Director's Homage to those Mystical Asian Movies Full of Sorcery, Fun and Fantasy, Combined with an Over the Top Take on Marital Arts and Monsters. This was a Colorful, Costumed Creation Done with Wire Works and Real Life Make Up with a Minimal Use of the Primitive CGI Available. It is Entertaining as All Get Out.
