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Saturday Night In: Escape from New York


Escape from New York may not be a horror title but one must not forget that this futuristic 80's action flick is still brought to us by a true horror icon, John Carpenter. Luckily, one element he's kept in mind for this title is the violence. Escape from New York features an awesome group of characters led by none other than Kurt Russel playing our hero and his leather and camouflage get-up lets you know he's not messing around.
The story takes place in a futuristic U.S.A where the entirety of New York has been quarantined and used as prison. The people run rampant and chaos has taken over making this place unfitting for a president. The stakes come way up when said president (played by the late and great Carpenter favorite Donald Pleasance) is kidnapped and dropped off (quite literally) right in the middle of murder central. Enter: our hero, Snake Pliskin, a rough and tough ex-soldier with an impressive resume (and criminal record). He is offered a deal by pseudo-villain, Haulk who is played by the iconic Lee Van Clief (or Angel Eyes for all of you The Good, Bad and the Ugly fans): Go in the madness, rescue the president and get him back here in 22 hours and Snake is free to slither off.
I can honestly say that the film delivers on this premise and Carpenter really had fun with the execution. The action scenes are wonderfully over the top and the characters we meet living in New York that join Snake for the ride have an intentionally hammy charm that makes this film all the more fun.  As usual for carpenter, the score only enhances the mood with his signature subtle synth creations running in the background. They add the perfect amount of tension without getting too dark or serious to feel matched.
All in all, Escape from New York is a classic that is perfect to check out (or revisit) for a Saturday night in. Catch it available for stream on Amazon Instant Video and free to stream with Amazon prime. Not even Snake Pliskin can beat a deal like that.


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