"Son of a bitch must pay" (John Carpenter's Lost Themes)

John Carpenter
Lost Themes

why you'll love it: Vintage Carpenter

why you'll hate it: Just a bunch of fiddling with a synth.

Being able to praise a modern product of John Carpenter's is probably the best gift 2015 will give me.  His films of the 70s and 80s were groundbreaking, inspiring, and still relevant today.  His contributions to the art form still earn him regard, despite not directing anything better than embarrassing in over 15 years.  I could go on about the subtle touches to Halloween that leave it unparalleled in its genre to this day. I could write a thesis on why the title "Master of Horror" underplays his pulp-adventure films, and how wonderful they are at balancing camp with class.  There is one common thread running through all of John Carpenter's most beloved films : a overly synthesized soundtrack...

What this collection of Lost Themes does is bring back that John Carpenter charm so many of his films of the last 25 years have lacked.  Perhaps the brooding synthesizers were mostly a product of 70s culture, embraced by Carpenter, but nevertheless he made them his own.  Just about every track on here gives me instant flashbacks to Assault on Precinct 13 and The Thing.  These literally are lost themes; a puzzle with missing pieces.  What I mean is that there isn't a lot of meat on these bones.  They were meant to accompany visuals that either never happened, or found a better companion.  You won't find the kind of satisfaction here that you would out of an album convinced and produced for simple consumption.  Even the titles ("Abyss" Domain" "Mystery") are vague.  What depth you imagine from these tracks depends on the depth of your imagination.

Although, that is where John Carpenter originally found his place in cinematic history.  1978's Halloween is praised for birthing the modern teen slasher.  Some watch is as pure popcorn horror, with a masked man and a big shiny knife.  What Carpenter subtly did in Halloween to make it stand out even today was cloud the details of who "The Shape" is, who "The Boogeyman" is, what "evil" is, and how unfair and terrifying completely random tragedy can be.  You see, it's not really about Michael Mye... ok, I said I wasn't going to do this.  

To cut things short, John Carpenter's Lost Themes reunites his audience with that kind of uncertainty.  It's wonderfully nostalgic, effective, and interesting.  It's just about everything it possibly could be, which isn't saying a whole lot.  As cool as some moments can be, nothing on here will set the world on fire.  I've had this on a lot when I play The Binding of Isaac or Arkham Horror.  You don't need to have warm fuzzy memories of a fantastic decade of films to enjoy this, just a little imagination.