It’s not news that John Carpenter is a master of horror. It’s also not news that he can be a bit of a grump in interviews sometimes. But Carpenter, even when grumpy, still dishes out insights on what makes a great horror story.
In a recent interview with Insider to promote Suburban Screams (pictured above), his new anthology series on Peacock, the filmmaker seemed more interested in talking about the WNBA. He also, when asked what he thought about people considering him to be a master horror director, simply replied, “That’s nice. Sorry, I’m eating a popsicle.”
He did, however, share what he thinks makes a good horror flick. “The thing that matters, in a horror movie, most of all—forget everything else—is a great story,” he said. “I don’t care about final girls or jump scares or anything else. That’s all secondary. That’s all beside the point. Good story is what horror is all about. That’s what I searched the world for, what I try to do.”
But what does he really think about being considered a master of horror, now that he finished eating his popsicle? “Look, I’m not a master of anything,” he said after the interviewer valiantly tried once more to get him to talk about his career. “I just want to play video games and watch basketball. That’s all I care about doing. I don’t want to bother anybody. I made a little series [Suburban Screams on Peacock]. If you don’t like it, f*** off. If you do like it, I like you. So there you go.”
Suburban Screams is now streaming on Peacock.
