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.
Comments
Post a Comment