John Carpenter Would Direct a Feature Again if It’s ‘The Right One’

John Carpenter has returned to directing for his new series Suburban Screams, and he’s open to helming another feature film under the right circumstances.

Carpenter Finds Music Easier Than Film

Speaking in an interview with the L.A. Times about the series and his life in general, the Master of Horror talks about the freedom of directing for streaming, and how he did it remotely. But when asked about perhaps returning to feature film directing, he’s pretty honest about what it would take, and what it would take seems simple enough…on the surface, at least.

”Get the right one or the right budget — yeah, I’ll do it. I don’t want to work that much, though. Compared to music, it’s so different because music is the purest art form there is”, he says, and goes on to explain, ”You don’t have to talk about it, you don’t have to explain it. I can play it, and somebody in Indonesia can just feel it. Across time, I can listen to Bach’s St. Anne and tears come to my eyes just like when I first heard it, it’s so profound. A human being wrote that. Wow. There’s no comparison to that in any other form. But unfortunately, I fell in love with movies, which is the craziest, silliest art form there is.”

When asked how he used to deal with the stress of making movies, Carpenter reveals it wasn’t especially good for his health.

”Not very well! I was a chain smoker, which had a terrible effect on my health. I was too stressed. I had to stop making movies for a bit. I had to have some space. You know, I am closer to the end than I was. I think about that now. I think about nothingness; what’s next. Anyway. I’ve got to tell you, I’m lucky as hell. I’m lucky.”

Carpenter last directed a feature film in 2010 with The Ward, starring Amber Heard, Jared Harris, Danielle Panabaker, and Sydney Sweeney.

John Carpenter’s Suburban Screams is out on Peacock on October 13, 2023.