Escape from New York

It's strange watching this movie and seeing the origin of so many action movie character stereotypes. The main character of Snake Plissken has the low, grizzly voice, smokes cigarettes constantly, and glares at nearly everybody. He has a backstory that causes everyone to seem to know of him. I had remembered this film being far more of an action movie, and that it was a bit of a departure for John Carpenter who is more known for horror movies. After re-watching it however, I realized that this simply isn't true. While there is certainly action, this is much more of a horror movie than I think most would realize. Snake is only truly in control up until he first finds the president's tracker. After that, he is constantly on the run either from pursuers or from time. This becomes especially apparent when the crazies come filtering out and Snake is forced to hide. It's almost as though the island itself is the horror movie villain chasing after Snake throughout the film. He isn't safe until he is finally able to escape over the wall and get the bombs in his neck disarmed. I find it interesting and inspiring that this film can be a horror film without being a horror film.