John Carpenter’s Forgotten 70s Action Movie Is Secretly One Of His Best Horrors

Published Oct 21, 2026, 12:15 PM EDT

Zoë Miskelly is an editor and second in command for Screen Rant's Movies team, having covered the entertainment industry for almost 10 years now. Zoë's love of superheroes and all things Marvel & DC started out in childhood, and has blossomed into a career getting to talk about some of the biggest and best movies and shows of all time, having previously focused on comics while working at WhatCulture.

John Carpenter's oft-overlooked 70s action thriller is also simultaneously a solid horror movie in its own right, making the release an intriguing corner of the famous figure's expansive filmography. Between his work as a director, writer, composer, and actor, John Carptener's mark on the world of movies is almost impossible to ignore - and definitely possible to want to ignore, given the quality of his overall movie roster.

Of course, John Carpenter's name is effectively synonymous with the horror genre, thanks to his work directing movies like Halloween, The Fog, and The Thing, as well as his work composing music for the wider Halloween series, and other suitably spooky installments like Firestarter.

With that said, some of John Carpenter's most frightening moments and tensest scenes actually can be found outside of his work in the horror genre, as his action films are strong themselves, and use the same talents that make Carpenter a master of horror to great effect in other realms. With that said, one of Carpenter's action films also works as a horror in its own right, even if it's often regarded as not being a part of the genre itself.

Assault On Precinct 13 Is A Strong Horror Movie Despite Being An Action-Thriller

Assault On Precinct 13 is at once a movie that contrasts with horror fans' pre-conceived notions about what a John Carpenter film is like, while also matching them greatly in a way that may surprise those who only know the movie has been labeled as an action thriller.

As the name suggests, the movie follows an attack on a police precinct by a ruthless criminal gang. However, to make things more tense, said precinct is one that's being decommissioned, meaning the majority of the officers who could have stood against this onslaught are not in the building, and the precinct is isolated in a way that means help may not be coming.

This sets it up as an effective action thriller, but the movie throughout its run dives into being an outright horror film. This both because of the immense talents director John Carpenter has when it comes to building tension and a creeping sense of dread, and because of just how vicious the gang themselves are, with one early scene of a member gunning down a young girl setting them up as effectively horror movie villains from the get-go.

Assault On Precinct 13 Not Trying To Be A Horror Movie Ironically Makes It More Terrifying

In a semi-paradoxical way, the fact that Assault on Precinct 13 doesn't seem to be actively trying to be a horror movie actually helps it enter this genre more effectively.

This is because viewers know the terror that the gang instill in all those they encounter isn't crafted for the sake of unnerving the audience, but rather is depicted simply to communicate how dangerous these characters are, which makes them consequently more imposing by far.

Indeed, this is what has led to the most horror movie comparisons for Assault on Precinct 13, as many viewers have compared the antagonist group to the likes of the zombies in George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead, because of how hostile and almost unthinkably cruel they prove to be. Whatever the case, it's clear that John Carpenter's action thriller is also a truly striking story in terms of its horror potential, and that those who love Carpenter's horror work may also find themselves engrossed with the film in much the same way.