If You Enjoyed Netflix’s The Rip, Check Out This Iconic John Carpenter Film Next
Best cinematic pals Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have collaborated on screen multiple times, and the outcomes have often been a delight. The duo joined forces again for a gritty Netflix crime thriller titled “The Rip,” casting them as two Miami police officers who stumble upon a massive cache of ill-gotten cash. As time runs out on what to do with their discovery, lines are crossed and loyalties are put to the test as friends turn adversaries, all while holed up in a house in a disturbingly deserted neighborhood, where assailants are attempting to invade.
Though the film may not have achieved the same heights as their earlier collaborations, it succeeds in creating a tone reminiscent of other thrillers taking place over a single night, and, more notably, a John Carpenter classic. The ambiance is centered around a quiet night that’s just a shade too still, with characters probing each other’s intentions amid onslaughts from unseen gunmen lurking just beyond view. Devoted movie enthusiasts would certainly want to queue up the 1976 classic, “Assault on Precinct 13,” after finishing “The Rip,” to remember how films of this caliber are truly executed.
Assault on Precinct 13 is not only an outstanding thriller — it’s a remake executed flawlessly
Long before John Carpenter introduced audiences to characters like Kurt Russell’s Snake Plissken from “Escape from New York” — a film James Cameron contributed to prior to “The Terminator” — the legendary director had audiences gripped in the titular location where the law-abiding and the lawless had to join forces. “Assault on Precinct 13” portrays Lieutenant Ethan Bishop (Austin Stoker) and the minimal staff of a police precinct standing their ground against a heavily armed gang called Street Thunder, who aim to eliminate everyone in the building, including convicted killer, Napoleon Wilson (Darwin Joston).
For what was, at the time, a contemporary reinterpretation of the 1959 western “Rio Bravo,” “Assault on Precinct 13” remains an exhilarating thriller, superbly performed by its small cast. It also showcases Carpenter’s extraordinary talent for amplifying the anxiety of confinement, a technique he would replicate in the sci-fi horror film, “The Thing,” in 1982 (the finest year ever for cinema). Carpenter’s mastery of silence and the encroaching faceless threats would define his career for years, securing his place as a favorite for many fans seeking a thrill. More crucially, however, “Assault on Precinct 13” clearly illustrated to audiences that Carpenter was willing to challenge limits, even if, in retrospect, he came to regret one of his most unsettling artistic choices.
John Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13’s most troubling moment
“The Rip” may have taken cues from “Assault on Precinct 13,” but there’s one element of Carpenter’s classic that other films might not replicate, involving the tragic death of a child. Early on in the movie, one of the Steel Thunder gang ruthlessly shoots a young girl (Kim Richards) at an ice cream truck. It’s a shocking moment that sets the tone for the film and the villains intent on eliminating those striving to survive it. However, looking back, Carpenter expressed regret over including the death and would have omitted it from the film completely if given another chance.
In an interview with Review Graveyard, Carpenter was questioned about how he managed to avoid an X rating from the MPAA back then. It turns out he presented the certifier a version of the film without the scene before reinstating it for release. “Those were the old days when they didn’t scrutinize as much, so that’s what we did,” he revealed. Yet, he still felt dissatisfied with the final outcome. “I’m not sure how clever it was. We had a scene where a little girl gets shot, and it was pretty awful at that moment — explicit. I don’t think I’d do it again, but I was young and foolish.” Perhaps, but this youthful talent would flourish in the future, and we owe a nod to “Assault on Precinct 13” for helping him along the way.